M42 Canteen – MN 42 – Red Painted Cup
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.
Marking: MN 43 on the cup and SMM 45 on the flask
Maker: SMM indicates production by Süddeutsche Metallwarenfabrik, Mussbach
Year: 1945
Strap: Brown, (reddish) 2 part construction, marked B.B.
Flask: Dark green painted steel, 0,8 Liter
Cup: MN 43 with just the red primer
Cover: Felt with four painted press studs, marked B.B.
Other notes: This canteen was originally together like this, they probably used the unfinished red cup later in 1945 to construct this canteen. The cup is produced by Metallindustrie GmbH. Neunkirchen-Saar (MENESA) in 1943 and only has the red paint on it which is mostly used as a primer under the green paint. There are only two producers known who have produced these red cups, HRE and MN.
Please note these articles are for reference only and not for sale!
L. Keetels collection
