Confusing Dig Find

**francis** · 11-04-2015, 11:54 PM

Thank you, back in 2 weeks with news and pics. Regards, Francis

**francis** · 11-22-2015, 01:53 PM

Hi there Glenn, success!!! Thank you for your correct i.d. on static flamethrower. All

limbs and other essential bits and pieces still intact. Busy catching up at moment but I will have more photos and details for you in next 2-3 days.
Francis.

**TrondK** · 11-22-2015, 01:57 PM

I found one exactly like it. The lid is more rare than the fw42 itself

**Larboard** · 11-22-2015, 06:00 PM

Crazy find...

**bigmacglenn** · 11-22-2015, 06:16 PM

Good Job! Happy to see that everything went well digging it out and that there were no mishaps/booby-traps to spoil the day, lol..
However, I must assume that it is still filled with Flammable Liquid...I just want you to be careful, Friend!
Thanks for the Photos!!
Glenn

**francis** · 11-26-2015, 04:22 PM

Hi TrondK. Thanks, but not entirely sure what you mean by 'lid'. Is there more to this or do you mean just the top section with the pipe etc.? Cheers. Francis

**francis** · 12-01-2015, 02:26 PM

**francis** · 12-01-2015, 03:05 PM

Hi. Just a bit of info regarding the flamethrower dig. Firstly, it weighs a ton! It was still full of the fluid, so with the aid of ropes and using a car jack in reverse to pull the rope (I forgot my winch) I managed to finally get it out of its hole. For those wondering.....I think that there may be a booby trap device that was possibly seized up. In the bottom of the hole in the side as opposed to underneath, there is a strong local signal picked up with my pointer rather than metal detector (so I don't know if its ferrous or not) As its hunting season, and close by locals were shooting the wildlife, I lost my nerve while carefully trying to investigate this. There was something unnerving having my head down this hole while the sudden and unexpected discharge of 12 bore gun is going on. Unless some soldier digging this into position left a large spanner or similar in the bottom of the pit by mistake, I'm pretty sure it was originally booby trapped as suggested. Anyway, to sum up. I'm really pleased to have exhumed this artifact. Originally it was coming back with me but as there was a terrorist atrocity in Paris, the chances of it not causing a stir seemed pretty remote. It has therefore been donated to a French museum. Its a shame that the igniter device wasn't about but you cant have everything, hey? I have a small bottle of the fluid from inside as a souvenir of my adventure. In the other pics, you can see some small gauge rail tracks, a belt of 303 rounds disappearing into the ground, a magazine of same (both left in situ) and the 2 types of fuses found in the area from the bombardment. These are from surface to about 10cms deep, and there are very many of these. Please note the black boot on the rails, could this be an original Jackboot? lol.
Going back to my original query, those shell ends that I was wondering about maybe used as anti personnel.....I now have over 100 of these. Looking at the area in general I would estimate that I have found approx. half of what is most probably there. That would leave a store of these 1st ww shells numbering 200 plus. If indeed it was an act of sabotage or they were deliberately set off, it must have been a sight (and a noise) to behold!!!! Oh to be able to travel back in time.
If anyone wants to see more pics, please let me know.
Incidentally, has one of these f-throwers come on the market before? Does anyone have a value on this just out of curiosity. I've been told its a bit of a rarity in one piece.
Kind regards
Francis