Aaron
Senior Member
Thread for German Y-Straps from 1939-1945.
Being introduced in April of 1939 alongside the Assault Frame and M39 Tornister, the first y-straps can be seen made of undyed brown leather, with all aluminum hardware. Note that the "model" numbers listed were never the designation for these straps and are a collectors invention. Y-straps were known as "Koppeltragegestell aus Leder mit Hilfstrageriemen" then changed to "Koppeltragegestell für Infanterie" shortly after. Very soon the y-straps would transition to black dyed leather with steel hardware, with this remaining the typical construction for leather versions until some time in 1942 with production of the "M39" version continuing until late in the war. Beginning in 1940, so called "lightweight" y-straps begin to be made. These are distinct in that they have no auxiliary straps or d-rings on the back initially but later versions may have these features added. They are identifiable by the back hook covers and thinner leather used in their construction. In 1941, y-straps began to be produced with webbing material. These are often thought to be exclusively issued to the Afrika Korps, but there is no special designation for these straps and there were issued on all fronts throughout the war. In 1942, leather y-straps begin to appear with the hidden stitch from the leather rivet cover now exposed sewn through the entire strap. This version would be produced until the end of the war with various late features such as wire hooks, riveted construction, rotated back d-rings, and mixed materials. There are a myriad of other versions such as ersatz material or capture converted British examples, but the typical models are represented below.
Most collectors recognize these variant "models":
M39= Hidden stitch with the earliest examples having aluminum hardware and undyed leather, and from 1940 onwards being steel and dyed leather
M40= "lightweight" y straps for cavalry, almost all examples are black dyed leather with steel hardware
M41= Webbing with steel hardware, often referred to as "tropical"
M42= black dyed leather with exposed stitching with steel hardware
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.
Being introduced in April of 1939 alongside the Assault Frame and M39 Tornister, the first y-straps can be seen made of undyed brown leather, with all aluminum hardware. Note that the "model" numbers listed were never the designation for these straps and are a collectors invention. Y-straps were known as "Koppeltragegestell aus Leder mit Hilfstrageriemen" then changed to "Koppeltragegestell für Infanterie" shortly after. Very soon the y-straps would transition to black dyed leather with steel hardware, with this remaining the typical construction for leather versions until some time in 1942 with production of the "M39" version continuing until late in the war. Beginning in 1940, so called "lightweight" y-straps begin to be made. These are distinct in that they have no auxiliary straps or d-rings on the back initially but later versions may have these features added. They are identifiable by the back hook covers and thinner leather used in their construction. In 1941, y-straps began to be produced with webbing material. These are often thought to be exclusively issued to the Afrika Korps, but there is no special designation for these straps and there were issued on all fronts throughout the war. In 1942, leather y-straps begin to appear with the hidden stitch from the leather rivet cover now exposed sewn through the entire strap. This version would be produced until the end of the war with various late features such as wire hooks, riveted construction, rotated back d-rings, and mixed materials. There are a myriad of other versions such as ersatz material or capture converted British examples, but the typical models are represented below.
Most collectors recognize these variant "models":
M39= Hidden stitch with the earliest examples having aluminum hardware and undyed leather, and from 1940 onwards being steel and dyed leather
M40= "lightweight" y straps for cavalry, almost all examples are black dyed leather with steel hardware
M41= Webbing with steel hardware, often referred to as "tropical"
M42= black dyed leather with exposed stitching with steel hardware
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.
