Normandy Camo Jerrycan 1944

[blaksaussa]

Hello There

Heres is my 1944 Normandy jerrycan camo, only one side is camouflaged and you can see sign of a cross ( bracket ?) looks like it was painted straight from the vehicule..
on a side it is stenciled :
WII ? or WH ?
5 or 3
1020958 (licence plate ?)
your thoughts on the camo and the stencils , is there a way to find what kind of vehicule ? maybe a Sdkfz ? the unit ?
Thanks in advance

[CARL]

Your example is a 1944 Brose u. Co piece. Their production number can be found above the "Wehrmacht" impression, and their maker's mark is the "fhm" located in the centre of the mid-section panel. The company, Metallwerke Max Brose u. Co. were located in Coburg, took their name off the cans during the war to prevent the location being found by Allied troops who may have captured a Wehrmacht vehicle with one of their cans intact, and be able to locate the factory and target the premises in an air raid. Thus, the "fhm" logo present in later period pieces. What is interesting about your kanister, is that whilst it is a standard, regular fuel can, it appears at some stage to have been painted with the large white cross marking over the front panel of the can. This designates that the can is for use only with water, making it a Wasserkanister.

Regards,

Carl

[CARL]

Here is a nice example of a Wasserkanister, shown to illustrate the white painted cross that was used to designate water cans. Example shown is an AMBI-BUDD Presswerke, Berlin example.

Regards,

Carl

[blaksaussa]

Thank you Tiger for your precious help !!! the history of the manufacturer is very helpful and i had thought about the cross but you think they repaint it over the white cross or such ? so i thought maybe it was painted over some attachment.... but you right !! And for sure it was gaz inside that Kanister has it still smells dirty gas / ammoniac
any ideas about the stencils ?

cheers

[CARL]

You're welcome blaksaussa, glad that you found the information useful. The Wasserkanisters were always clearly painted with the large white cross, but they were usually specifically made models, as shown above. One can only assume that the unit who were using your kanister, didn't have adequate water cans at some point, hence the white cross, which was perhaps later overpainted with the camo. The serial number would likely correspond to a vehicle one would imagine, although I must say, I have not seen many cans with these markings before. Well done, it is a nice example. Please post it on the "Kanisters of the Wehrmacht" thread located within this forum, it would make a fine addition to the database that we are compiling there.

Regards,

Carl

[blaksaussa]

Done !! And this thread is just amazing !!! nice collection !! i've post my pics on this thread like you suggested to me

thanks Carl see you there