Here’s what we believe is something from WWII. It came from the estate of a WWII veteran. It’s a handmade box that was used to carry spare parts. The handwriting on the inside of the lid says “Airplane Control Accessorie Box” and “Saipan War”. There’s no “Saipan War” but in WWII (from Wikipedia) “The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June to 9 July 1944 as part of Operation Forager. It has been referred to as the "Pacific D-Day" with the invasion fleet departing Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was launched, and launching nine days after. The U.S. 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and the Army's 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith, defeated the 43rd Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu SaitU.”

We’ve attempted to have the Japanese characters on the top of the lid translated and been told that they’re old style Japanese and loosely translate to this is a box for spare parts for a motor. This is exactly as it was received by us from the veteran’s estate. So while we can’t verify exactly what this is, all indications (the old style Japanese characters, it’s handmade, it’s connection to Saipan and it comes from the estate of a WWII vet) are that this is an authentic antiquity from WWII. If anyone can provide any information about a more exact translation please let us know.

We’re pricing this as what we believe is an appropriate number for an authentic piece of history, not just a curiosity. This is a unique, one of a kind piece. It’s not just rare, it’s the only one in existence. Since your satisfaction and our reputation depends on our doing the right thing if you buy it and it’s not what we think it is we’ll take it back, pay for your return shipping and refund your money. Of course we’ll need something that defines it’s not authentic. Thanks for looking.