Original German WWI M1915 Medical Canteen With Cup And Carrier Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. The canteen, or Feldflasche in German, is as equally essential to a soldier as his weapon. If a soldier suffers dehydration, he will deteriorate rapidly and be ineffective. Water needs to be accessible at all times, so canteens were designed to be part of a soldier’s wearable kit. In World War One, canteens used by all nations were designed to be robust and to minimize the tainting of water.

This standard middle-war pattern German canteen is of the pattern introduced in mid-1915 and made from tin-plated steel rather than from aluminum, as the previous 1907 pattern had been. This new pattern also dispensed with the leather harness for the canteen body and instead used a simple neck-strap and clip buckle to attach it to the wearer’s belt. To allow the strap to be secured properly, the canteen’s neck was made longer and narrower. This new version was known as the M 1915/17 canteen. Field medics and medical personnel were issued a larger capacity canteen. These larger medical canteens came equipped with a different carrying harness and shoulder strap assembly. The shoulder harness on this example is an Ersatz paper cloth.

The overall condition is about what you would expect a 100 plus year old canteen to be in. The top leather retaining strap that secures the cup is rotted and broke, but surprisingly enough the rest of the leather appears to be solid. From what we can see, the cup is dated 1915 and the cover is dated 1918, but it is extremely difficult to read either date.

This is a wonderful field used example that comes ready to display!