Militaria for sale

Lenny Warren trawls the internet to find bargains, rare, interesting or bizarre items of militaria

Lenny Warren takes a trip around the internet in search of rare, interesting and desirable collectables.

Lockdown is still in place as I write this, so I’ve been tidying up my loft. When I do this, I find things I forgot I ever had. This time I found a collection of Warlord annuals from the late 1970s. These annuals, as well as the iconic Commando comics were instrumental in a lifetime’s passion for military history. I suspect I’m not the only one of us who started this way, they were almost like an early guide to collecting militaria.

When I grew older, with growing disposable income, I started to collect militaria. As a way of reliving my childhood, some of the artefacts I bought had first been learned about from the pages of Warlord and Commando comics.

As a young boy, I dreamt of owning the most iconic sub-machine gun ever, the MP40. Of course, as a kid I called it a “Schmeisser” which we all now know isn’t correct. Hugo Schmeisser, who designed the MP 18, was not involved in the design or production of the MP40. Designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with inspiration from its predecessor the MP 38, it was heavily used by infantrymen and by paratroopers on the Eastern and Western Fronts.

Here we have a lovely condition 1942-dated

MP40, maker-marked BNZ. Deactivated with a working action, it can be stripped, cocked and dry fired. Priced at £1,995 from www. deactivated-guns.co.uk.

Another weapon that I learnt about from Warlord was the PIAT. The Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank Mk I was a British man-portable antitank weapon developed during World War II. The PIAT was designed in 1942 in response to the British Army's need for a more effective infantry anti-tank weapon and entered service in 1943.

The PIAT was based on the spigot mortar system and projected a 2.5pnd shaped charge bomb using a cartridge in the tail of the projectile. It possessed an effective range of approximately 115yd in a direct fire antitank role, and 350yd in an indirect fire role.

The PIAT had several advantages over other infantry anti-tank weapons of the period; it had greatly increased penetration power over the previous anti-tank rifles, it had no back-blast which might reveal the position of the user or accidentally injure friendly soldiers around the user, and simple construction. However, the type also had some disadvantages: powerful recoil, a difficulty in cocking the weapon, and early problems with ammunition reliability.

They are very hard to find for sale, this example has some surface wear, such as paint chipping and general usage wear, however a very desirable collectable. Priced at £4,500 from www.sallyantiques.co.uk.

And finally, if you want to relive your childhood, and I seriously suggest you should, you can still pick up plenty of the old Warlord annuals, or Commando comics, online. Here’s the 1977 Warlord annual, the best £7 you’ll ever spend, guaranteed. Available from www.abebooks.co.uk.