Canvas Carrier for Mine Markers Possibly?

[MySonsDad]

I had almost forgotten about these carriers, I'm glad to see this thread reserected, thanks guys!

Hi Russ,
General consensus these gays is that they WERE for gas but as it was never used in WW2 then the efficient Germans used them to mark cleared corridors through minefields ( with the tape that came with each kit wrapped around the poles )

The normal gas flag case is 23" long ( closed ) and the marker poles are 20". How does this measurement stack up to yours?

The other option could be German allies - lots of Bulgarian / Romanian etc.... equipment was similar in styling ( check the number of canteens, field torches and entrenching tools on EBay - most of those are Bulgarian, purporting to be German )

Cheers, Dan

Dan, after I read your post last night, I fired up the laptop and did a little web searching. Although I did not find an example of this carrier, I did come across some post war Romanian field gear that had very similar markings as well as hardware, stitching and color. I will do a bit more digging over the weekend and see what I come up with.

As for the size, depending on how you measure, the carrier is 23 to 25 inches in length, with the cover closed. When laying flat, the carrier is 5 inches wide at the closed end and 7 inches wide at the open end.

I inspected this carrier, quite a bit closer this time, and made a couple new discoveries which I have included in the photos below. First, I discovered that there is a small side section, in the inside of the carrier, that would accomodate a round object up to 1.25 inches in diameter and no more than 16 inches in length (you can see the stiching outline in the 2nd photo below). Sounds too short to be for a gun barrel to me but I know nothing about guns. Second, I discovered that the last 8 inches of so, of the closed end, is internally lined with heavy leather (you can also see the stich line where this ends on the 3rd photo below).








It is obvious that what ever this carrier was made for, it was to be well protected in the field. Also, I'm guessing that what ever was in this carrier was quite heavy, judging by its very sturdy construction, including the carrying straps, hardware and stitching.

The search goes on.....

Thanks for all the help guys,

Russ

[MySonsDad]

Well, I just spent hte better part of the day trying to ID these two bags but with no luck at all. I'm convinced that they are some type of gun bag now, have seen several examples of bags very similar however, with only a 23 - 25 inch length, I have no idea what might fit. Becasue of the short length, I think it is pretty safe to say it could not be a case for any type of sportmans gun. The closest canvas field gear stitching and construction match I have found was Romanian and Hungarian but still nothing conclusive enough to say for sure. I can't belive these things are being that hard to ID? Russ