“Coconut” Canteen – HRE 43
A small diversity of canteens used by the German army during the second world war. The Wehrmacht used a lot of different materials to produce these canteens. Aluminium and steel is used to form the flasks. Steel variants have been introduced with various finishes as early as 1942.
Also a wide variation of strap material is used from diverse sorts of leather and canvas. The covers are mostly made from felt which got really course by the end of the war. Later in the war italian uniform cloth known as gaberdine was used too. Also a 4th press stud from the cover was ommitted in the final years of production further simplifying the production.
Markings: HRE 43 on the flask
Maker: HRE indicates production by Heinrich Ritter, Esslingen
Year: 1943
Strap: Stitched reinforced holes.
Flask: Pressed wood “coconut” covered aluminium
Cup: Small bakelite cup, note the strange markings!
Cover: Two different tones of webbing are used to construct the harness for this canteen. Metal eyelets are used with the buckle.
Other notes: Note the nice way how the bakelite drinking cup is marked. The producers code on the cup is 32/S. Where the 32 indicates production by H. Römmler AG, Spremberg. The S indicates the usage of Phenolharz (bakelite) mit Holzmehl all Füllstoff
Please note these articles are for reference only and not for sale!
L. Keetels collection
