Original German WWII Wehrmacht Model FF33 Field Telephone by Mix & Genest - Dated 1939 - Feldfernsprecher 33

Original Item: Only One Available. 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.

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. See the book Deutche Soldaten by Agustin Saiz, pages 170/171, for more information on the Feldfernsprecher 33 phones.

This example is offered in very good service-used condition with a brown bakelite case, handset, all four data plates, the crank handle, and is 1939 dated. The inner steel housing is maker marked and dated as follows on the right side in front of the receiver holder:

07535 MG 1939

This denotes 1939 manufacture by Mix & Genest. Mix & Genest was founded on 1 October 1879 by the businessman Wilhelm Mix and the engineer Werner Genest in Berlin-Schöneberg. The company was initially an 1879 branch of the ITT Corporation. It was very successful and became one of the pioneers in low voltage devices. Among the products were devices for telephony and telegraphy. By 1904 the company had already 2300 employees and subsidiaries in London and Amsterdam. In 1920 AEG bought the majority of the stock shares. Mix & Genest was acquired by the ITT Corporation in 1930. The name Mix & Genest was dropped in 1958.

The headset is stamped with the logo of F. Merk Telefonbau over 1939. There is also a Waffenamt stamp. The cord is mostly in fair shape but there is some heavy fraying in spots. 

We have not tested this for functionality but it appears to be complete and in working order. Offered in very good collectible, these have become increasingly difficult to find over the past decade. Ready to add to your collection and 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.