Original German Pre-WWII Kochgeschirr M31 Aluminum Mess Kit dated 1936 with Utensils – RZM Marked Original Items

Original Item: Only one available. This is a very nice pre-WWII example of a German Mess Tin M31 or Kochgeschirr Modell 1931 (cooking pot Model 31). A scaled down version of the earlier M1910, it it is a kidney shaped cooking pot with a total capacity of 1.7 liters. It consists of 2 parts: the pot with the wire handle, and a cover with a handle to use as a plate. Early in the war, these were made entirely from aluminum. As the war progressed, they moved to steel handles on the lids, and eventually were made entirely of steel.

This example is all aluminum, except for the handles on the pot and lid, so it is an early Pre-WWII Version. It looks to originally have been painted field gray, but it has now lost almost all of the original finish. It also shows wear from service in the form of dents, scratches, and so forth. It is marked HRE 36 on one of the the fittings for the pot handle, for Heinrich Ritter of Esslingen, 1936 production.

The lid handle fitting is marked FA 11/34 (RZM), which we are fairly certain is a maker mark and 1934 date. The RZM was just being organized in 1934, so they only added their stamp, without the numerical codes used later during the NSDAP period and WWII.

The mess tin comes complete with a very nice early war aluminum folding combination fork and spoon, maker marked WS u. CL on the back, a maker mark we have not identified. They are in very good shape, and still work great.

A very nice WWII M31 Mess tin with utensils, ready to add to your collection!