A very corroded Japanese type 99 (Kiska) hand grenade, Explosive : Picric Acid 58 g some dodgy shite! This photograph was taken on Peleliu Island, Palau, in 2013
Japanese ordnance artifacts on Saipan. The left most item is a large booster for a large weapon like an aerial bomb. The bottom two fuses are type 89 fuses for the knee mortar and the top right one is a fuse for the 75mm artillery projectile. All of the boosters are intact meaning that the fuses are live. All of these items came from a destroyed ammo dump in an area in Saipan that was called “Death Valley” by the American troops.
These have all been freshly cleaned by soaking them in vinegar. When I found them they looked like rust balls. For cleaning stuff well....Vinegar works fairly well for removing rust and corrosion from brass but it can turn the item an odd pink color if you leave it in too long. if you use vinegar scrub them free of dirt, soak them for between 15 and thirty minutes and watch them closely. The color cannot be easily buffed out so don't overdo it.
A unfuzed Japanese 50mm knee mortar round. This weapon had never been armed it still had its transport plug in place. There were fuses there too also. Most of the fuses were still in the original packing containers that they are transported in. This photograph was taken on Alfred’s farm in Death Valley in 2012
This tank is a Japanese Type 97 Chi-Ha which was burnt out and it still contains its hull machine gun. This photograph was taken near Asilito airfield, Saipan in 2010
The Type 97 Chi-Ha was a medium tank used by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War. The Type 97's low silhouette and semicircular radio antenna on the turret distinguished the tank from its contemporaries. The 57 mm main gun was designed for infantry support. The suspension was derived from the Type 95 Ha-Go light tank, but used six road wheels instead of four. The 170 hp Mitsubishi air cooled diesel engine was a capable tank engine in 1938.
It was the most widely produced Japanese medium tank of World War II. The Chi-Ha production ended early in 1942, with a total of 1162 being delivered.
Rusting remains of a Japanese Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank positioned on a Japanese bunker on Garapan beach in Saipan. It was destroyed during the US invasion of Saipan 15 June 1944. This photograph was taken on Saipan in 2010
Japanese 75mm projectile found on Alfred’s farm. This was part of a destroyed ammo dump that Alfred built his home on top of. That sounds crazy but is more common than you might think in some of the pacific islands. This round was never armed( unfused) it still has the transport plug in place and on the whole is relative safe. This photograph was taken on Saipan in 2010
Inside Kilili cave near Hill 500 on Saipan……it is actually a tunnel built by the Japanese Navy complete with its own water source and cistern. Inside the cave was also a compressor? Used in the construction of the cave
B-29 wreck high up on the west flank of mount Tapachou. This B-29, If my information is correct, crashed just as the war ended in Late August of 1945. Bill and I had actually given up on finding this crash site and were crawling, completely spent by the humidity and heat, our way out of the jungle when Bill stumbled over this engine. Found two other engines, but the bomber was completely destroyed on impact and the jungle has swallowed up most of the wreckage over the years.
Awesome pictures, just have to ask out of curiosity, is it legal to pick through and collect these artifacts on those islands? Can you keep souvenirs you find? Or do you need to acquire permits? Thanks for sharing all these pictures, looks like a great deal of fun to explore those islands and walk among the living history
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