WW2 German Mess Kit (Messkit) Reference Thread

[Aaron]

E.F. (Emaillierwerke A.G., Fulda) marked and dated 1944, retains about 90% paint, small amounts of speckled rust on the interior, no dents, very uncommon maker code, made of steel, primed and painted.

 

[Aaron]

E.F. marked and dated 1944, retains about 95% paint, small amounts of rust in limited locations otherwise mint, no dents, stretch marks from stamping process, very uncommon maker code, made of steel, primed and painted.

 

[Aaron]

Marked FWBN and dated 1944, messkit manufactured by F.W. Brockelmann Aluminiumwerk GmbH KG, Neheim/Ruhr, retains about 85% paint except for nearly 0% bottom, has evidence of removed sticker on top, no dents, made of aluminum.

 

[Aaron]

Marked FWBN and dated 1944, unpainted messkit manufactured by F.W. Brockelmann Aluminiumwerk GmbH KG, Neheim/Ruhr, has painted hardware but body was unpainted, retains about 90% paint, no dents, made of aluminum.

 

[Aaron]

AEMA marked and dated 1944 on the bottom wire bracket, RBNr. 0/0657/0001 marked on the top lid, retains about 70% paint (which is excellent, near mint for enameled steel), a few small dents and chips, very little rust, rare maker code and year combo, and one of 3 makers to use an RBNr on their messkits.

 

[Aaron]

WJ (unknown maker) marked and dated 1944, no traces of paint but were often unpainted, retains about 90% enamel finish, some dents along edges, all steel contruction.

 

[Aaron]

AWC (August Schubert, Hammerwerk, Bitterfeld) marked, traces of original green paint, retains about 85% enamel finish, all steel contruction.

 

[Aaron]

Last model of the messkit often referred to 1945 by collectors that are typically unpainted and come without handles. The surface appears to be scoured due to scratching patterns, has small punched out dimple in the bottom of the messkit, both wire bales are pitted and unfinished and marked MN45, made of aluminum.

 

[Aaron]

Uncommon MN marked with blank circle upper, MN on bales and dated 1945, retains about 95% paint, small dents, made of aluminum.

 

[Aaron]

Marked VDNS for Vereinigte Deutsche Nickelwerke/Nickel-und Stahlwerke, Schwerte and dated 1941, retains about 80% paint, no dents, made of aluminum, has "1944" and "GK" carved into the front faces.

 

[Aaron]

ESB marked and dated 1943, retains about 99% paint, near flawless interior, no dents, made of steel, primed and painted, marked "St G" on top and bottom.

 

[Aaron]

L&SL marked for Linnepe & Schiffer, Lüdenscheid and dated 1943, retains about 95% paint, near flawless interior, no dents, made of steel, primed and painted, about .5in taller than other messkits.

 

[Aaron]

OHW marked for Otto Honsel-Werke, Aluminiumwerk, Werdohl and dated 1944, retains about 95% paint, no dents, made of aluminum.

 

[Aaron]

SWM is an unknown maker that is rare, marked and dated 1943, retains about 95% enamel finish, painted handle, all steel construction.

 

[Aaron]

Made by F.W. Brockelmann Aluminiumwerk GmbH KG, Neheim/Ruhr (commonly known for their maker mark FWBN), marked ccj (I don't like to toss around the word rare too often but this is a fairly rare code) and dated 1941, made of aluminum, note crude hand stamp marker marks opposed to the more common roll or single piece stamp, retains about 80% paint.

 

[fireman]

Thread for German Mess Kits from 1931-1945.
From 1931 to 1942 Mess kits were mostly identical and all made of aluminum, these are referred to as M31's. From 1942 onward, mess kits start to appear in steel being either primed and painted or enameled and painted, with very late samples being just enameled or some other rare examples being tinned, these are officially referred to as M42's. Aluminum is continued to be used until 1945 quite commonly unlike canteens, which is likely do to German industry unlikely willing to scrap all their old stamping tooling and assembly lines. With aluminum and steel mess kit surviving examples in identical quantities often coded to the same factory and year, it can be assumed that the tooling and assembly lines for each material ran concurrently.

Most collectors recognize these variant "models":

M31= aluminum
M42= steel
"Simplified" M31 or M31 with inserts, almost all being marked and dated MN44-45 (scarce)
Transitional M42 with ration notches (very rare)

I will continue to update this thread as I acquire more mess kits, feel free to contribute, preferably by using the same types of images and descriptions.

How did I miss this thread? Dang.

 

[fireman]

Be sure to check out my other reference threads and feel free to contribute by following the same format.

I only have a couple that are worthy but I will try to get it done this week.

 

[iron bender]

Aaron you've got an incredible gear collection! I love it. I know it's space consuming but it's a worthy cause.

 

[Scharf]

Hi Aaron, that's one heck of hood thread! Thanks for sharing all of these for reference!

 

[Hambone]

This is outstanding Aaron. Thank you. Pic stickied.