Hello everyone, I just found this knife im my new house, i quickly identified it as a nahkampfmesser of the Luftwaffe. On it are two markings, the " Eagle 5 " and the second, wich is the reason why i'm asking you : an RBnr number ! I'm not familiar at all with Rbnr numbers but i cannot find exemple of boot knives with such numbers.... i'm pretty sure this knife is original looking at the condition, and the place where i found it : in a box with other old knives. Is this one a rare exemple ? Is it worth something ? I hope you guys can help me . Photos : Visionneuse images - Noelshack - http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2021/19/7/1621177227-img-1785.jpg Visionneuse images - Noelshack - http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2021/19/7/1621177460-img-1783.jpg
This is a controversy which has been discussed on other forums. RBNr 0/0561/0020 was definitely used by notable manufacturer Paul Weyersberg on Luftwaffe gravity knives - this is a known fact, and these knives are highly collectable. However,, good quality Nahkampfmesser have appeared with the same number. Some collectors view these as very collectable, while others swear blind that these are undocumented and are of postwar manufacture ( some very convincing 'Luftwaffe' knives have appeared from Czechoslovakia decades ago ). I'm sorry to leave this in mid-air, but it seems that 'the jury is still out' with no definitive answer as yet - or at least, none that I can find......
Thank you a lot ! i'm not an expert in WW2 combat knives but i'm really convinced this one is original, i cannot proove anything but maybe i can help a little in the debate around those RBnr Nahkampfmesser, this knife was found in the basement of my new house and was owned by the last owner of the house, he's an old man in his late 70s and told me this knife was there with him for the longest time. I have no idea how any fake nahkampfmesser from Czechoslovakia ( or other sources ) could have find it's way in the center of the battle of the bulge zone at a time where nobody cared about those knives.. And i also know there were luftwaffe personnel in the town back in 1940-1944, there even was an airfield. Hopefully it's real ! Thank you once again for your informations !
You're very welcome, Adma. Given the provenance of your knife, I'd say it's fairly certain to be genuine. It's also a rare variant and as such is very collectable. I've attached a pic of my two - the lower ( rusty ) one is definiely from the Ardennes. Many years ago I holidayed in a farm building between Commanster and Poteau ; the farmer had found the knife in an outbuilding ( his father used to use it for cutting twine ). I managed to persuade him to sell it to me..... The upper knife is a genuine one bought at a militaria fair, it has the 'Lozenge 5' Luftwaffe marking. At least two of the photos in the famous 'Poteau sequence' of KG Hansen in the Bulge show german troops carrying Nahkampfmesser. I think that yours is a good 'find' !
Then i'm quite happy to have found it even a "regular" nahkampfmesser would have been great so this is really cool. Oh yeah i've seen these photos of the poteau ambush many times, the famous ones with the MG gunner looking at the camera... Still a great historical piece even with the rust !