Original Item. Only One Available. This cowhide-covered rucksack was known as the Tornister (Knapsack) Model 34 (developed in 1934) and comes complete with the correct shoulder straps, and looks to have all of the leather components still present. As the war progressed the design was simplified for economical and practical reasons so the cowhide cover was eliminated making these packs especially scarce on today’s collector market.
This example of a wartime rucksack comes complete with 1939 dated shoulder straps, which look to be arsenal replacements, as they show far less wear than the leather on the backpack. It retains over 90 % of the cowhide and the leather is in very good service condition on the pack. It still has an original maker marking, however the top line is too faint to read:
?????OPP
G.m.b.H.
OFFENBACH A/M.
1940
The pack definitely does show wear, and the canvas is stained and worn through in places. The leather is a bit worn and cracked, but it is still mostly solid and complete. The pack is stuffed with old newspaper and small bags of cloves, added long ago to make it part of a display. Measures approximately 13″H x 12″W x 5″D.
A really nice example of a hard to find backpack as used by German soldiers in WW2.