Original German Pre-WWII Large Medic Aluminum M31 Canteen with Aluminum Cup & Brown Leather Harness Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Although the .8 liter capacity M31 Feldflasche (Field Bottle) canteens were the standard issue canteen, field medics (Sanitäter) and medical personnel were issued a larger, one and a half to two liter capacity canteen that was based on the larger canteens used by their WWI counterparts. These larger medical canteens, called Labeflasche (refreshment bottle), were of identical design to the standard M31 canteens but came equipped with a different carrying harness and shoulder strap assembly. They were also utilized by Gebirgsjäger (Mountain Troopers) during the war.

Originally the mountain troops/medical canteens were manufactured in aluminum but later as the aluminum was required for other more critically essential items the canteens began to be manufactured in steel. With potable fluids being such an essential item for an individuals well-being the mountain troops/medical canteen must be considered as a very important piece of kit.

This is an early Pre-WWII example, featuring an aluminum cup as well as an aluminum screw cap. It is held in a brown leather harness, not the black seen more often during the WWII Period. The cap and canteen are both unmarked, suggesting manufacture during the early NSDAP period, when items were often left blank to conceal origin as well as production numbers.

All straps, buckles and snaps are mostly complete with the top strap being broken but the buckle prong holes. However, the leather is definitely degraded and shrunken, so we do not recommend trying to undo some of the buckles, as the leather may crack. The leather could possibly be restored with repeated patient conditioning. The sealing washer inside the cap is still present, and the felt cover is in great shape.

A very nice example, ready to display!