Original Item: The feldfernsprecher 33 (FF33) is the standard field telephone of the German military forces of WWII. It is a general purpose field telephone designed for wired communications. It was introduced in 1933 as a modern replacement for the previous WWI legacy field telephones the last of the series being the feldfern-sprecher 26 (1926). The FF33 can also be connected to the Torn. Fu. D2 and Torn. Fu. Bl, and F series radio sets to act as a remote handset.
 
This phone is dated 1943 making it mid WWII issue, and comes complete with the winding handle. It is marked on the metal cradle with 17830 43 L, and has a waffenampt inspection mark on the bakelite near the connections as well as the handset. We believe it to be functional, but we have no way to test it. Overall condition is very good, with no cracks or chips in the bakelite case. It has both data plates still present on the top.
 
Ingeniously designed with what appears to be one traditional wartime style handset, the lid interior of one has built in electrical circuit schematics for informational purposes. Used by the German Army throughout WW2 and continued in service for another 25 years into the Cold War era.
 
Comes ready to display!

The feldfernsprecher 33 (FF33) is the standard field telephone of the German military forces of WWII. It is a general purpose field telephone designed for wired communications. It was introduced in 1933 as a modern replacement for the previous WWI legacy field telephones the last of the series being the feldfernsprecher 26 (1926). The FF33 can also be connected to the Torn. Fu. D2 and Torn. Fu. Bl, and F series radio sets to act as a remote handset. The telephone is 28 x 21 x 10 (Metric) xx (Imperial) and weighs 5.84 Kg. The complete telephone had the following components: a press to talk (PTT) handset, switchboard patch cable, generator crank, shoulder strap, 1.5 volt battery and internal framework for the telephone components. Accessories available are: headphone (kopfhörer) and throat microphone (kehlkopf). These were used with the telephone when it was used by switchboard operators.
 
The set is housed in a bakelite case which consists of two parts, is hinged and fastened with a press to release spring latch. On the top of the case are two white panels. The panel on the left is used to record temporary information such as call signs or station number
while the panel on the right is inscribed with the German phonetic alphabet. A dust cover on the front can be swung open to give access to two jacks; both jacks are common and also common to the incoming line terminations on the top of the phone. The jacks are used when patching two phones together or when connecting a field phone to an exchange line via an exchange line adaptor. The grill on the front of the case ports the sound of the ringer. On the right side of the case is another access plate which protects the port for installing the crank onto the generator. Sockets are located on each side of the lower case along the edge for installing a carrying strap. The leather carrying strap is usually missing from these telephones and is quite hard to find.
 
Looking down into the opened telephone case from the top you’ll see the following: The handset rests on top and when the phone is open it is convenient to lay the handset in the open top. Inside the top is a leaf spring that holds the handset in place when the phone is closed. The battery compartment is on the end, covered with a hinged lid. Beside the battery box is an open compartment where the patch cable and the handset cord are stowed. The handset plugs into a center jack console with a unidirectional plug. Beside the plug are two screw terminals marked Lb/E and La. La is line and Lb/E is ground or in alternative mode of connection; a single conductor local earth ground. While this mode of communication allows two separate circuits using only one cable pair, it is open to interception from local earth listening devices. It also makes the quality of communications dependent upon the local grounding quality. On the right side of the panel is the white generator test button (Prüftaste). Shorting the screw terminals and pressing the Prüftaste button while cranking the generator will sound the local ringer as a test of the generator output. The generator outputs of 84 volts AC as ringing current. Adjacent are the jacks for headphones. The generator crank is stored in a hole and notch next to the panel. In the field, when set up for use, the top cover is usually closed and the line and handset cord run out of the unit by the end of the case near the battery box. A pair of soft rubber strips built into the case cushions the cords when the lid is closed. The handset can then be laid crosswise on the closed cover. A special accessory is available that creates a resting cradle for the handset on the closed lid. This was normally used with a switchboard setup and not in the field.