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The Sword of Stalingrad is a bejewelled ceremonial longsword specially forged and inscribed by command of George VI of the United Kingdom as a token of homage from the British people to the Soviet defenders of the city during the Battle of Stalingrad.〔Antony Beevor (1998), ''Stalingrad'', Viking Press, p. 405 ISBN 0-14-024985-0.〕 On 29 November 1943 it was presented to Marshal Joseph Stalin by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at an afternoon ceremony during the Tehran Conference in the presence of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and an honour guard. == Description == The sword is a double-edged, two-handed longsword, approximately four feet long, with a solid-silver crossguard. The acid-etched inscription in Russian and English reads:
The hand grip is bound in 18 carat gold wire and has a pommel of rock crystal with a gold rose of England. Each end of the 10-inch crossguard is fashioned in the likeness of the head of a leopard and finished with parcel gilt.〔Olof Janson, (The Sword of Stalingrad Page ), with original pictures & information courtesy of Robert Wilkinson Latham, son of John Wilkinson Latham of the Wilkinson Sword Co.〕 The 36-inch double-edged blade is lenticular in cross section and hand-forged out of the finest Sheffield steel. The scabbard was made from Persian lamb skin dyed crimson, although some sources suggest it was of Morocco leather.〔Ed Levin, (The Sword of Stalingrad Description ), Russianswords.com.〕 It is decorated with the Royal arms, the Crown and Cypher in silver gilt with five silver mounts and three rubies mounted on golden stars. In its time it was celebrated as one of the last masterpieces in swordmaking craftsmanship from the modern age.〔"Sword of Stalingrad...Perfection in its Field", Sklar advertisement, July 1944, in ''(The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery )'', Vol. XXVI, No. 3, Boston MA. p. 11.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sword of Stalingrad」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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