A new member in for some advice.

[OdinRu]

Good day! I'm new on this Forum and need a piece of advice as to some tools. A friend of mine came into possession of a tools set. The set is a heritage from his grandfather who was a Soviet Air Force Bomber Squadron Commander in the end of the WW2. In summer 1946 they were deployed at Aspern airfield (Vienna), and, as a family story tells, the set was obtained from some American aircrew.
Then, the set was used for maintaining a car (Ford Model 48 Tudor Sedan) that belonged to the grandfather.
I'm not sure, if the pictures are uploaded correctly, but I'll do my best. So, the first thing is a ratchet & sockets set:

It does look like a Snap-on's, but collectors from tools forums refused to recognize it as a Snap-on's item. The ratchet looks similar but has wrong dimensions. And, besides, there are no markings remaining, except for digits. One socket revealed a mark that appears to be either "446" or "A46" in a double diamond.

The wooden inlay bears ink numbers which, mostly, correspond with numbers pressed on sockets/adaptors. But, there are two or three discrepancies, the ratchet being the main one. It bears "94", but the ink marking on the inlay is 31.
The strange thing is that the ratchet stud (attachment square) is 9,9 mm, which is closer to 10 mm then to 3/8". Markings on the sockets, more or less, correspond to their size. For instance, socket 11-84 has AF size 11,3 mm, socket 13-80 has AF size 13,35 mm, socket 14-87 - 14,2 mm, and so on. But, my friend says that the sockets do not fit metric nuts...
It seems that the inlay might have had some other marks, but it's impossible to make them out. For example, this could be the marking remnant:

That would give anything like this:

But no one can tell for sure.
Together with ratchet & sockets came this tool:

It appears to be a kind of torque wrench with adaptor and undetachable socket (22,4 mm AF):

In order to change the rotation direction one should pull that protruding part and turn it 180 degrees.
The wrench "head" and handle bear number "29", and so does the adaptor. The wrench handle is marked "823046":

One more picture:

So, is it possible to identify the manufacturer of the set? Does the set belong to aviation maitenance or it could have come elsewhere from?

 

[Airframes]

It looks similar to the sets supplied with Packard Merlin engines, but I don't know enough regarding sizes and markings to advise.
Probably someone here may be able to help further.

 

[mikewint]

I have a ratchet wrench that is quite similar that originated with my Dad/Grandfather from about 1940?? That tapered and contoured hand grip which is smooth and not cross-hatched looks IMHO distinctly Snap-On. In addition the recessed reversing lever and two screws holding the ratchet cover on are also Snap On features. That being said Snap On tools were stamped MADE IN THE USA with patent numbers.
In 1923 Snap On established a second line of tools BLUE POINT based in Chicago located at Snap On's distribution company - Motor Tool Speciality Company of Chicago. Blue Point tools were all manufactured by outside contractors so things get a bit hazy as to who produced what. Usually Blue Pont tools were stamped BLUE POINT between two arrows.
With WWII in full swing and the Lend-Lease act the US was exporting huge amounts of materials to Russia, over 400,000 jeeps and trucks. These would have been manufactured to SAE or English measurements thus SAE tools would also have had to been supplied with the vehicles.
In short with the massive Lend-Lease manufacturing push who made what is an open question as Russia also copied US designs in their own manufacturing

 

[OdinRu]

It looks similar to the sets supplied with Packard Merlin engines, but I don't know enough regarding sizes and markings to advise.
Probably someone here may be able to help further.

Airframes, thank you very much! This could be one of the search guidelines. I've dug into it a little bit. The story of this engine creation is a thrilling episode of that heroic time! I'd leave this link ( The Packard Merlin: How Detroit Mass-Produced Britain's Hand-Built Powerhouse - Tested.com) here, for it brings forth some interesting detailes.
Getting back to the sockets (and other hand tools in general), which were supplied together with Packard Merlin engines, I've heard that, allegedly, they should bear "AT-" markings. For instance, like on this AT-8019 812 3/8" drive socket :

But, anyway, this Packard Merlin version deserves some further search.

 

[OdinRu]

I have a ratchet wrench that is quite similar that originated with my Dad/Grandfather from about 1940?? That tapered and contoured hand grip which is smooth and not cross-hatched looks IMHO distinctly Snap-On. In addition the recessed reversing lever and two screws holding the ratchet cover on are also Snap On features. That being said Snap On tools were stamped MADE IN THE USA with patent numbers.
In 1923 Snap On established a second line of tools BLUE POINT based in Chicago located at Snap On's distribution company - Motor Tool Speciality Company of Chicago. Blue Point tools were all manufactured by outside contractors so things get a bit hazy as to who produced what. Usually Blue Pont tools were stamped BLUE POINT between two arrows.
With WWII in full swing and the Lend-Lease act the US was exporting huge amounts of materials to Russia, over 400,000 jeeps and trucks. These would have been manufactured to SAE or English measurements thus SAE tools would also have had to been supplied with the vehicles.
In short with the massive Lend-Lease manufacturing push who made what is an open question as Russia also copied US designs in their own manufacturing

View attachment 527542

mikewint, thank you for a detailed answer! Well, yes, "who made what" is an intricate question indeed. But we've started to untwist this story, for hitting a good road brings good friends and knowledge, eventhough the road is long. I was happy to find, among others, a site devoted to aviation Lend-Lease issues. The link to it is here ( Lend-Lease on airforce.ru ) The interviews with veterans of the WW2 are absolutely captivating! The interviewers copied everthing, just as it was said, and then posted it, with all due explanation of the detailes, when necessary.
As to your ratchet production year, you can find a small sign under the selector switch, right between "ON" and "OFF". And then, find it in the table:

We started with that Snap-on version too. But, as I've mentioned, the garagejournal.com guys showed us some inconsistencies of our version, implying, that the ratchet might be just one time subcontract or a knock-off. Probably, foreign one. So, we departed from our initial approach and now have been trying different ones, the aviation and auto versions being main lines.
I think, we'd add some fotos later, just in case someone would drop in this thread and bring some further clues, as to where we might proceed.

 

[mikewint]

one time subcontract or a knock-off. Probably, foreign one.

I am familiar with Snap On's date coding from their web site. I don't really use that ratchet any more it just sits in a tool drawer with several other antique tools that came down from Dad, and both Grandfathers.
As to the above statement that is exactly what Snap On used Blue Point for, i.e. somewhat lower quality and therefore cheaper tools actually made by sub-contractors both domestic and foreign. Then there is the outright piracy of US designs by foreign countries that ignore copyrights and patents. Then add in the free-wheeling times of the '20s and '30s plus the confusion of WWII and you have a first class Gordian knot

 

[special ed]

The British used Whitworth measurments for tools Pre WW2. I'm not sure the time range but in the 1960s I could sometimes find whitworth sockets at Sears (craftsman ) on the clearance table and still have them. They fit some U.S. sizes but not as marked. Some did not fit SAE or metric.

 

[herman1rg]

Maybe we should have an Antique Tools thread?

 

[special ed]

It would be difficult to work on WW2 aircraft without tools.

 

[OdinRu]

Maybe we should have an Antique Tools thread?

herman1rg, I'd vote for such a proposal. Of course, there'd be some difficulties as to identifying a particular tool as "made for aviation purpose" one. And a manufacturer could be unclear. But, in some instancies, it could be possible to identify both.
Here are some pictures of a Werkzeugkasten:

It was made by Rheidco (Reinh. Heidfeld & Comp. from Remscheid):

This, probably, appears to be a "Werftzug" inscription:

The plate shows that the case refers to aviation:

Though, such cases were used not in aviation solely (left bottom corner):

So, I'm for a tools thread.