Adolf Hitler Bought Trading Cards of WW2 Battleship HMS Nelson HMS Ark Royal HMS Warspite

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I’ve just been rummaging through some intriguing collectables, some of which will be appearing in future blogs. But in this blog I couldn’t resist showing you this set of WW2 battleship and submarine cards. It looks like an average set at first glance but it hides a tantalising secret. It’s an error set. No, you won’t find any rare printing errors like those found on stamps. In fact, this is a very accurate set and that’s what the problem is.

Hitler thought it was so detailed that he secretly bought up huge quantities of it, pushing its price way above the normal market value and raising the alarm amongst British card dealers. Of course Hitler hadn’t bought them because he’d taken up card collecting, he intended to give these handy and compact cards to his u-boat personnel so that they could identify and destroy British battleships featured. As well as the pictures showing a true likeness, the backs reveal important information such as the weight, speed and even the number of guns on the ships. This would be very useful for those launching the weapons of mass destruction.

This was a huge own goal and a classic example of a cigarette card set slipping through the censorship net. As well as putting the lives of British sailors at risk it also endangered those of our allies, since it features naval craft from the USA, France and Russia.

This set won’t break any records at auction, but it is a great example of how accurate and historically important these miniature cards can be. Maybe your great grandfather or uncle served on one of the battleships or submarines that appear in this set. Please feel free to comment and share your war bedtime stories. I’ve included a list the naval craft that appear in this set.

John Player & Sons, Modern Naval Craft, 1939 (50 cards)

Includes:HMS Nelson,HMS Warspite,HMS Revenge,HMS Hood,HMS Repulse,HMS Exeter,HMS Norfolk,HMS Southampton,HMS Curlew,HMS Adventure,HMS Greenville,HMS Afridi,HMS Severn,HMS Narwhal,HMS Sunfish,HMS Ark Royal,HM Torpedo Boat 102,Dunkerque,Algerie,La Galissonniere, Mogador,Surcouf,Bearn,Admiral Graf Spee,Nurnberg,Georg Thiele,U16,Conte DI Cavour,Bolzano,Giuseppe Garibadi,Libeccio,Giuseppe Finzi,Nagato,ISE,Atago,Kumano,Samidare,I21,Akagi,California,Colorado,Quincy,Broo­klyn,Gridley,Perch,Oahu,Enterprise,Saratoga, Leningrad,Revolutioner

If you would like to find out more about the WW2 battleship and submarine cigarette cards featured in this blog please click here.