Original German WWII Hungarian Issued M31 Mess Kit Kochgeschirr Modell 1931 With Prisoner of War Artwork – Dated 1940 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. The M31 mess kit was officially introduced on March 23, 1931 and was based on the WWI M1910 mess kit but was a slightly smaller version with a reduced capacity of roughly one and a half liters. The M31 mess kit was constructed in two parts with a small removable shallow top lid which could serve as a plate or a frying pan with a larger, deep bottom compartment that could be used more as a bowl or pot.

Originally the M31 mess kits were manufactured in aluminum but later as the aluminum was required for other more critically essential items, the mess kits began to be manufactured in steel although aluminum mess kits continued to be manufactured and utilized. Regulations prescribed the assorted manners in which the mess kit was to be carried with the most common form being to secure it to the bread bag suspended from the load carrying waist belt although other methods were also utilized. When issued the mess kit came accompanied with a leather strap designed to secure it to the individual though it is no longer present with this example. Following the old adage that, an army runs on its stomach, the M31 mess kit must be considered one of the most important of all personal equipment items.

Regulations authorized each combat soldier a daily food ration which was most commonly prepared in the field by a unit’s mobile field mess and distributed to the front line troops but this wasn’t always possible in combat situations. As a result, front line combat soldiers were to be supplied with assorted canned rations and some bread to be carried individually in the event that food from the field kitchen couldn’t reach their positions. Although regulations dictated the daily quantity of rations issued to each soldier it became more and more difficult to meet the requirements as the war continued and any food became a valuable commodity.

This example of an M31 Mess Kit was issued to a Hungarian soldier, as identified with the writing and artwork etched into the aluminum. The top lip of the lower basin portion, it is marked in Hungarian which loosely translates to being a remembrance item for the years spent as being an American Prisoner of War. There are years beneath this top inscription which we believe to be the years in which this soldier was held captive; 1944, 1945 and 1946. There are various other examples of artwork, the main focal point being what may have been the soldier’s wife and daughter.

The hinged bracket on the top lid for the handle is stamped with W.A.L. 40 indicating 1940 manufacture by Westfalische Aluminium Industrie, Junger & Co. of Lüdenscheid. This marking is also found on the brackets for the handle that is attached to the main basin of the messkit itself. The overall condition is quite nice with the only paint being retained a little on the lid. It would appear that this soldier stripped the paint the best he could in order to make the artwork “pop” more.

A great example that comes more than ready for further research and display.