Below is a group of original SCR-300 radio images (though some images are also of field phones and switchboards as they are commonly seen together with a radio, especially in a command post type setting). These were collected by Chad Phillips on Facebook and reposted here to get it out of their walled garden and searchable on the broader internet. You can download the complete photo collection here.
For a holistic review of the SCR-300 see: The SCR-300 for WW2 Reenactments.
This post will highlight some tools, resources, information, and thoughts on CryptoKitties and CryptoCurrency in general.
Need to avoid Know Your Customer laws? This site looks like it could help https://kycnot.me/.
This is a blockchain-based game that came out around 2017 where you breed kitties. I have 4 cats in this game and unfortunately, they’re all kinda locked up as the price of Ethereum means it costs more to sell them than to keep them. The game also has taken a nose-dive in terms of usage.
However, one tool to use is Kittyhelper which helps you identify trends in buying and selling.
I’ve recently discovered a fondness for Metal music (courtesy of Stranger Things and a few friends who like the genre). Now, other than Ghost (which is awesome) I haven’t explored the newer metal music. My metal tastes are stuck more or less in the 80s.
I’m a history guy by default and I can appreciate the early metal music more than the newer stuff because metal (and punk and rap) all come out of the same historical era, the deregulation and free market capitalism of Reagan (and Thatcher) which worked to kill the New Deal era programs/Welfare State and in doing so hurt the working class (both black and white). These policies were expressed as new musical genres.
In particular, I’ve been drawn to Metallica (though maybe one day I’ll explore Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeath) as they were first brought to my attention in the 1990s when they achieved more mainstream success. I like the fast pace and it helps me get out my frustrations and stress. I just feel a bit better after listening to it.
So I’ve gone back and mined their original roots.
I’ve been purchasing a few of their original records. I prefer the original vinyl instead of a reproduction. Partially, it’s a potential asset and partially is just the “vibes and feels” it makes me feel to hold something original from a period.
One item I happened to pick up was the Ride The Lightening on the Megaforce label. Inside this gem was a super cool Metallica Metal Militia Membership and Merchandise 8.5in. by 11in. form.
For 5 dollars you got a 1-year membership and included things like a quarterly newsletter, autographs, buttons, and discounts on merchandise. With inflation, it would be $15.45 in Aug 2024 dollars.
I got it scanned and wanted to post it here (or click on the image) for folks to download and print off as a neat accessory for the album. So enjoy it!
Also, please don’t sue me Metallica. 😅
Advanced Guard Militaria offered a French repacked switchboard for $250 dollars, shipped. When I saw that I pounced on it as it was a good price and I wanted to rebuy the BD-71 switchboard I once had. I bought that one for $80 dollars at an auction in 2011.
The switchboard came in a large box and a smaller box contained the accessories.
Unpacking the switchboard was like peeling back an onion. First I had to peel back some paper coverings and open the box.
Next, I discovered some kind of canvas, metallic-backed waterproof bag. When I opened it up, I probably should have done it outside to be safe as the bag appeared to be vacuum sealed, and yet when I opened it, I heard gasses escaping.
Who knows what kind of gas might have been pumped into the bag prior to sealing? At any rate, I got a lung full of 1968 French air.
When I opened it up, there was another box!
When I opened the box, the switchboard finally came into view. It was packed tightly up against cardboard (which left packing lines on the unit). It also contained this weird brown cloth-like packing material (if anyone knows what that is let me know!) –
The accessories were all in waxy and gummy waterproofed cardboard boxes. I had to use scissors to cut it open.
The results look great! I really like the switchboard, the white/tan cardboard lines not so. If anyone had an idea on how to remove them without damaging the wood let me know!
When I began to open up the switchboard, there were documents and manuals. There was a French inventory list, a French wire and circuit test, a wiring diagram, and a field manual, TM 1-330.
The wiring diagram can be downloaded as a pdf here and is 7in x 9in. The material isn’t quite computer print paper, but not cardstock. I’d say if you could find a lightweight cardstock, that’s probably the best, or just printing it off on white computer paper would also work. The diagram would be glued or taped (unsure which) to the inside access panel in the back of the switchboard.
Now to make the switchboard more historically accurate to WW2, I bought a data plate and swapped it out. I kept the old French one and just added it to my bar as kitsch.
Hobsons Soap 4oz Airborne – Looks to be some kind of 101st Airborne -branded soap box. Made by the Hobson Soap Co. out of New York. Print on cardstock and then cut and fold where applicable. The soap was likely wrapped in paper inside the container. Use any standard 4-oz soap bar.
French Soap Savon fin Milled – Product of France. Size and container unknown. Probably printed on white paper. So you may need to retype the text.
Soap OQMG No. 100-A-Type 1 4 oz – Bar of soap wrapper. Print regular paper. Use a standard 4-oz soap bar. The soap wrapper was made waterproof somehow. Maybe dipped in wax or used white waxpaper to wrap the soap, and then put the soap in the box.
Individual Chemical Prophylactic Packet G.Barr and Co – Kit used to treat venereal disease
British Red Cross Parcel Label – a label that would be fixed to Red Cross packages coming from Britain.
Aspirin 200 tablets 325 MG each 1943 – Box to put aspirin tablets into. Unsure if there was an inner package or not. Print on brown cardstock.
Foot Powder 1/5 Ounce packet – Print on brown bag-like paper, fold and glue, and wrap in cellophane. Put 1/5 ounce of foot powder into it. Five of these go into a Foot Powder, 1 Ounce box. For another packet to print, see here.
US Condom wrapper – Forthcoming. For a historical review of condoms in wartime service, see Condoms in WW2.
Toilet Paper Package – The US Army got 22 sheets wrapped up in brown kraft paper. About 6in in wide by 4in. long
Fold in the sides to the center. Fold up the bottom to about a third. Use some Elmer’s type glue to glue the bottom. Put toilet paper in the top. You can glue the top down or leave it open so you can reuse the package. Note that you really have to smash the paper in.
Shaving Cream Boxes –
Barbasol Tube – maybe prewar?
Barbasol Tube variant 2 – WW2 Era
Red Cross Snack Bar Ticket Nibble for a Nickel – A Red Cross ticket to purchase something at a snack bar.
This measures 1.75in wide by 3in long. This was originally taken from an eBay listing in the late 1990s/early 2000s.
The paper type is unknown. It’s not cardstock, but not regular 8.11in by 11in printing paper. Worthpoint has a picture of a similar model (that doesn’t include the pedestal).
The PDF hasn’t been tested, but if needed, you can download the document file and make edits.
As it’s supposed to be Romulus and Remus, it’s probably a Red Cross Ticket associated with the Italian Campaign.
Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Permit No. 157416 | For use by a member of the US armed forces or its allies. It is dated 2 Dec 1944.
3.5in wide by 2.25in long.
The paper type is unknown, as is the use case. There is no PDF associated with this; you’d have to take the images and create one.
V-Mail Envelope – This has two parts. The front and the rear. Print off the front first on a standard 8.5×11 sheet of printing paper. Then, flip it over such that the address on the rear is at the bottom (link to my Google Drive) when holding the front. See the image gallery for specifics.
Then fill out the V-mail using a pencil or a WW2-era pen. Fold the sides inward and then close it.
Note that the actual V-Mail is 9.25 inches high by 11in. wide. This is because the envelope closure lip extends out.
Another vmail printing example is here: V-Mail scan 95pct of original size to print on Letter size.
Fighting Man’s Notebook and The Service Tablet – Two types of notebooks. I made the Fighting Man’s one, and it turned out pretty well. The Service Tablet doesn’t include the number of pages.
1944 Calendar – a pocket-sized/wallet-sized paper calendar. Other calendars including a 1943 one can be downloaded here. Size is unknown.
US Marine Correspondence Stationery Letterheads – 3 different kinds, including a Camp Lejeune one.
GI Jerry Guide Book by Lt Dave Berger – A PDF of about a dozen GI Jerry comics. Lt Dave Berger was a cartoonist who published a book of his comics in 1945. His Wikipedia article explains more.
Army Hit Kit Dec 1943 – A list of popular songs in Dec 1943.
Tobacco Box Tax Stamp – A stamp that would be affixed to secure the box and verify that taxes on it have been paid. The stamp banner seems to be cut off, but that may not matter, as you would fold this over the lid to secure it.
Big John Tobacco – Made by the John Weisert Tobacco Company out of St Louis. For a brief history of the tobacco industry in St Louis, see: https://notgoodatnormal.com/the-tobacco-history-of-st-louis/.
3 Jahre lagerfähig Odilei doppelt geprüft 1944 – German condom
Sunlicht Seife – German soap brand wrapper
The Ordnance Soldiers Guide – This is a booklet that an Ordnance replacement soldier would have gotten at a replacement depot. It’s designed to be a quick refresher of content they would’ve learned in basic training.
Converting an Ohio Ordnance Works BAR into a WW2 BAR – Ohio Ordnance Works no longer sells BARs, but if you come across one, you can use this guide to help swap out parts for correct works to make it period correct. This is not a WW2 document, but a helpful one for reenactors.
M1917 Ammunition box plans – Plans on how to create the wooden M1917 ammo box used to hold different kinds of ammo
60mm M2 Mortar Firing Tables – FT60-D-2 – Print on ivory-coloured A4 paper (approximately 100-120gsm). Print on both sides to produce one Firing Table.
60mm M49a2 High Explosive Mortar Rounds Crate Stencil Markings Type 1 and Type 2 – Various stencils that would appear on different types of WW2 6mm mortar crates. Stencils support the m49a2 60mm H.E. mortar round.
More information on ammunition crates during WW2 see: WWII CRATES, BOXES AND CONTAINERS.
M1a1 Bangalore Torpedoes and Crate: There are a few guides out there, such as one from the US Militaria Forum, one from a group of reenactors out of New Zealand, and another one out of Belgium. However, these guides are very brief and don’t provide quality step-by-step instructions or a PDF.
See Bangalore Torpedo Training on YouTube for a great video on how they work.
Denver Arsenal 30 cal – Prints off 10 little cards that get inserted into a bandoleer. Print on brown cardstock.
Also, a 30 Cal Ball m2 1500 CTGS in Carton 1944 card that would go inside a crate.
Cardboard 5-round stripper clip insert instructions – notes on how to reproduce.
1/2 Pound TNT – Prints off two types of labels. A white one and a yellow one. I’m not sure which is more accurate. You can follow this 3D printing guide by ChrisNZ to print off the block and then wrap the paper around it.
1 Pound TNT – Prints off a white label. You can follow this 3D printing guide by ChrisNZ to print off the block and then wrap the paper around it. My guess is you need to print off two 1/2 pound blocks and then put them together and wrap the label around them.
Chemical Warfare Identification and First Aid Pocket Reference Gas Guide inside and outside | Describes what to do during a gas attack
5th Army Engineer Training March 1943 – Looks to be a cleaned-up version of a quick primer on how to lay a minefield using the Hawkins mine.
The M-E5 Series Flame Throwers May 1944 – A tactical discussion of the E5R1-5 and E4-5 Flame Throwers in tanks. E5R1-5 is installed in light tanks, and E4-5 is installed in medium tanks.
The doctrine is to use the flame throwers where infantry units are likely to cluster, such as in bunkers, heavy underbrush, and basements in an urban setting.
This year’s Summer Tour will find Pat in the following locales –
The official 2024 #SummerOfPat Song is: Texas Hold Em by Beyoncé
