04 January 2022
|
Editor Duncan Evans talks through what you can come to expect from reading the February 2022 issue of The Armourer. On sale in most good newsagents 04.01.2022
REGULARS
Welcome
What the Editor has to say about this month’s issue as we head for the South Atlantic and the first naval clash of WWII as the Royal Navy went after the German pocket battleship, the Graf Spee.
News
What’s happening in the world of militaria, museums, exhibitions, collections and events. This month there are Spitfires at Duxford, the Japanese Royal Collection and the WWI planes of Peter Jackson.
Militaria for sale
Lenny Warren takes a trip around the internet in search of rare, interesting and desirable collectables.
EVENTS
In the sale rooms
As we’ve produced this issue early thanks to Christmas there’s no auction sale information available so we are looking at militaria on eBay.
Newary Civil War Museum
Newark saw fierce fighting in the English Civil Wars and now has a museum dedicated to the conflict, as Kerry Culbert discovers.
Under the hammer
Let’s have a look at what’s gone under the hammer in auction rooms, with swords, daggers and armour at Hermann Historica; flintlocks and revolvers at Bruneau; Japanese swords and armour at C&T.
FEATURES
Dutch M78 Set webbing
In the latest instalment of Ed Hallett’s six part series looking at the accoutrements of the NATO Allies in the Cold War, his attention turns to the piecemeal Dutch set.
British East Africa medal
Peter Duckers has a look at the medal awarded by another overseas British company, this time securing a large portion of East Africa.
Russian women soldiers
Unlike any other Allied nation, the Soviet system put women of the Red Army on the front line. John C Pursley has the story of snipers, medics and German retaliation.
Fort York
The Napoleonic Wars were global in scale, as Graham Priest reveals with this story of the weapons used in the siege of a Canadian Fort in the war of 1812.
Smatchet and the SOE
Ron Flook reveals the history of the Smatchet, its connection to WE Fairbairn, the Special Operations Executive and the Commandos.
The Fetterman Massacre
Overshadowed by Custer’s Last Stand, this was the other battle during the Indian Wars where there were no white survivors, as Graham Caldwell explains.
Willy Messerschmitt
Discover the life and airplanes of the famous designer responsible for the German fighter that went up against the British Spitfire and Hurricanes.
China's Kalashnikov rifles and bayonets
The People's Republic of China was greatly influenced by Soviet automatic weapons after WWII. Graham Priest investigates the Type 56 rifle, based on the iconic Soviet weapon.
Athenian and Spartan armies
Gabriele Esposito outlines the structure and organisation of the Athenian and Spartan military forces taking part in the major conflicts of ancient Greece.
The Photo Inspector
Ray Westlake looks at the uniform of a Squadron Sergeant Major of the 5th Royal Irish Lancers.
COVER FEATURES
The Battle of the River Plate
The first naval battle of WWII ended in the destruction of the flag ship of the German Kriegsmarine but at a heavy cost. Mark Wood explains how the Royal Navy tracked down the Graf Spee.
Collecting the River Plate
Ed Hallett is your guide to collecting items of militaria from the Battle of the River Plate and early WWII naval action, with everything from equipment and uniforms to medals and ephemera.
SIGNALS
Militaria reviews
Duncan Evans takes a look at the latest releases including a treat for RAF uniform collectors with Blue/Grey, espionage and intrigue with Crimes of the Gestapo and the desperate fighting at end of WWII with Slaughter at Halbe.
Your Letters
Your comments on what you’ve been reading and doing. This month we’re discussing Panther tank numbering again, air pistols and the Zimbabwe medal.
Auction & Fair Diary
Check out the online arrangements for the auctions where you can top up your militaria collection and what fairs will be opening.
Competition
Thanks to our friends at Amberley Books we three sets of prizes up for grabs. Each winner gets a copy of the fascinating Crimes of the Gestapo and the brutal Isandlwana to Ulundi: The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.
Buy the print copy Download the digital edition