Germany, Wehrmacht. A Cased War Merit Cross, First Class With Swords, By Deschler & Sohn GTRexclude the orb bearing a cross

the orb bearing a cross in the claws on the right of the Prussian eagle insignia coming away slightly from the base

All but one of the B-25s ran out of fuel before reaching their recovery airfields in China and as a result

one is bronze

but it's known that these buckles were made by Braca Knaus

lined with dug-out niches two or three rows high

Germany, Wehrmacht. A Cased War Merit Cross, First Class With Swords, By Deschler & Sohn GTRexclude the orb bearing a cross(Kriegsverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse mit Schwertern mit Etui). Instituted 18. 10. 1939. (Issued 1939 1945). A Maltese cross in silvered tombak; the obverse with crossed swords between the arms of the cross and a circular raised border of oak leaves on the obverse with a raised mobile swastika in the center; the reverse plain, with a vertical banjo style pinback, a barrel hinge, and a flat wire catch; marked 1 on the reverse of the catch for Deschler &