Description
There are three types of Japanese field telephones known to exist. The standard telephone was the Type 92. However, the Navy Landing Force Telephone was made toward the end of the war and reflects a shortage of materials. Like their rifles and other equipment, they deteriorated in quality during the course of the war, and these items demonstrated that. The naval blockade and the constant bombing of their factories took it’s toll on production facilities and raw materials. Due to the limited amount made, they are considered the most scarce telephone the Japanese made.
The Special Naval Landing Forces were standalone naval infantry units in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and were a part of the IJN land forces. They saw extensive service in the Second Sino-Japanese War and in the Pacific theatre of World War II. While not existing as a dedicated naval infantry branch nor classified as “marines” by the IJN, they functioned as the infantry of the Navy, and engaged in many coastal or amphibious operations, leading to them being referred to as “Imperial marines” or simply “Japanese marines” by a number of Western sources. The IJN’s marine paratroopers were designated as SNLF units, though they were operationally subordinated to the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. IJN armored units were generally subordinated to SNLF units and fielded a variety of light tanks, medium tanks and armored cars. The SNLF should not be confused with the Naval Landing Forces, which were primarily ad-hoc units of naval personnel formed into naval infantry units whom rarely performed proper amphibious operations and were primarily utilized in a defensive role ashore, particularly post-1942, though the SNLF were also employed in increasingly defensive roles as World War II came to a close.
Made of a wood, steel, and aluminum this phone is in NICE used condition! The top cover features one latch, then when depressed, opens to reveal the headset and the line connections. The telephone inside resembles a German field telephone but being short of metal, the metal frame was bent to shape and fastened to a wooden base. Unlike the other two telephones produced by the Japanese, this has a hand set similar to those found on U.S. and German telephones. There was also an “offset” wooden panel which was removable and held three tools, a screwdriver, a ground spike and a wrench. Seldom does one find all the tools, and sadly, this example is also missing them. This set is crudely made by any standards but it contains all the necessary elements of a field telephone.
