Truffle Pig
Airman
Aluminum suitcase from downed US aircraft?
A dealer from Texas offered a dented old aluminum suitcase through an auction platform some time ago. He wrote: "... interesting WWII era aluminum suitcase made out of a shot down American plane that was liberated from a Nazi factory near Stuttgart in 1945 by the US Third Army."
After a long trip, careful cleaning and slight denting it almost shows its original beauty again - with the traces of its history.
Case made of 1.0mm aircraft aluminum, size 65 x 40 x 21 centimeters, weight 3.3 kg, dark olive green paint with black, or formerly white writing.
The case is made of thin aluminum sheet. The leather handle and the two locks are recognizably from the conventional suitcase industry. The bar hinge, on the other hand, is a typical product of aircraft technology.
What is absolutely unusual about this suitcase (compared to other aluminum suitcases made in Germany between 1945 and 1950) is that it was welded at the corners.
Various welding techniques were also common during WW2, but after the war ended, there was often a lack of the gas necessary for welding. This is one of the reasons why almost all aluminum cases from that time are riveted, or in rare cases electrically spot-welded.
On our case here, only the hinge, locks and handle were riveted on. Also unusual is the use of "little feet".
An absolutestroke of luck is the note glued into the lid. Normally, there is no longer any meaningful information about the previous owner and acquisition, and the current owners have no idea what they actually own. However, the information on this note should be considered with caution, because the case was of course "only" made of sheet metal, which came from melted aircraft. And these were both Allied and German. For if the sheet metal used itself came from an aircraft, then at least some non-functional rivet holes or weldingspots would have to show up.
The melting of aircraft scrap forthe production of new aircraft parts had been steadily improved inGermany during the war, and as a result a temporary aluminum shortage had long since ended in 1945.
The statement about the origin "near Stuttgart" reduces the amount of possible producers, but the Stuttgart area was an important industrial and armament center with a large number of metal processing companies.
However,an intensive search on the Internet yielded a hit: In the company archives of the BEHR company, a manufacturer of radiators for cars and airplanes from Stuttgart Feuerbach, there is supposed to be an aluminum case from the immediate post-war period. But after the BEHR company was sold to a new owner (MAHLE) some time ago, the archive and the case are unfortunately no longer accessible today.
However, it was possible to get a former employee (now 80 years old) to look at this case again on site (a photo was not allowed). His memory log revealed certain differences (the riveted locks were different, for example, and it was unpainted) and two weighty similarities: The case there was also welded at the corners and had "little feet". Both are, as already mentioned, absolutely unusual.
In this respect, I think it is very likely that Captain Frick's case was manufactured by BEHR.
It would be very helpful for me to know more about Edward H. Frick. Maybe a reader can help?
Capt. Edward H. Frick
0-1533783
RF 73 85-C (The 85-C are unclear and maybe painted over).
A dealer from Texas offered a dented old aluminum suitcase through an auction platform some time ago. He wrote: "... interesting WWII era aluminum suitcase made out of a shot down American plane that was liberated from a Nazi factory near Stuttgart in 1945 by the US Third Army."
After a long trip, careful cleaning and slight denting it almost shows its original beauty again - with the traces of its history.
Case made of 1.0mm aircraft aluminum, size 65 x 40 x 21 centimeters, weight 3.3 kg, dark olive green paint with black, or formerly white writing.
The case is made of thin aluminum sheet. The leather handle and the two locks are recognizably from the conventional suitcase industry. The bar hinge, on the other hand, is a typical product of aircraft technology.
What is absolutely unusual about this suitcase (compared to other aluminum suitcases made in Germany between 1945 and 1950) is that it was welded at the corners.
Various welding techniques were also common during WW2, but after the war ended, there was often a lack of the gas necessary for welding. This is one of the reasons why almost all aluminum cases from that time are riveted, or in rare cases electrically spot-welded.
On our case here, only the hinge, locks and handle were riveted on. Also unusual is the use of "little feet".
An absolutestroke of luck is the note glued into the lid. Normally, there is no longer any meaningful information about the previous owner and acquisition, and the current owners have no idea what they actually own. However, the information on this note should be considered with caution, because the case was of course "only" made of sheet metal, which came from melted aircraft. And these were both Allied and German. For if the sheet metal used itself came from an aircraft, then at least some non-functional rivet holes or weldingspots would have to show up.
The melting of aircraft scrap forthe production of new aircraft parts had been steadily improved inGermany during the war, and as a result a temporary aluminum shortage had long since ended in 1945.
The statement about the origin "near Stuttgart" reduces the amount of possible producers, but the Stuttgart area was an important industrial and armament center with a large number of metal processing companies.
However,an intensive search on the Internet yielded a hit: In the company archives of the BEHR company, a manufacturer of radiators for cars and airplanes from Stuttgart Feuerbach, there is supposed to be an aluminum case from the immediate post-war period. But after the BEHR company was sold to a new owner (MAHLE) some time ago, the archive and the case are unfortunately no longer accessible today.
However, it was possible to get a former employee (now 80 years old) to look at this case again on site (a photo was not allowed). His memory log revealed certain differences (the riveted locks were different, for example, and it was unpainted) and two weighty similarities: The case there was also welded at the corners and had "little feet". Both are, as already mentioned, absolutely unusual.
In this respect, I think it is very likely that Captain Frick's case was manufactured by BEHR.
It would be very helpful for me to know more about Edward H. Frick. Maybe a reader can help?
Capt. Edward H. Frick
0-1533783
RF 73 85-C (The 85-C are unclear and maybe painted over).
