Hello,
Quite a rare bird but not a military type, the MN45 aluminium mess kit meant for the army is like the others, with handle riveted to the lid and painted green. Nice catch anyway....
Thanks
The sacrifice of life is a huge sacrifice, there is only one that is more terrible, the sacrifice of honor
In Memoriam :
Laurent Huart (1964-2008)
"Please", Thank You" and proper manners appreciated
My greatest fear is that one day I will die and my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them
"Don't tell me these are investments if you never intend to sell anything" (Quote: Wife)
Hello,
That's a good question Michael. In the A.H.M. or H.B.Vl from 1945, there is no official text indicating such a change for the army mess kit (i mean i do have all official texts from this period and could not find any for the mess kit). The lack of riveted handle and lack of paint had to be announced by an official text, this is not the kind of decision that a manufacturer could take on his own. If someone could think that for such a minor change about the mess kit, it could have been decided without a notice in official texts, that's a wrong thinking, official texts from 1945 include changes even in more minor matters.
Some think that these MN45 mess kits were produced right at the end of the war for german refugees, some think that they were produced for german or foreign workers working in German factories, a collector once wrote about these bare metal examples without paint, that his grandfather who worked in Germany at the end of the war was issued with such a messkit for his lunch at the factory. A very long time ago, i had the opportunity to handle a MN44 mess kit produced this way, so i'm inclined to think that the idea of mess kits produced for workers is perhaps the good one...
Below are both my MN45 mess kits for you to see. The one i consider as the military example, with handle, green paint and extra inner plate, and an example like the one that opened this thread.
One can think or do what he wants, but as far as i'm concerned, i use the painted MN45 mess kit for my mannequin of the Grenadier fighting in 1945, not the bare metal one.
The sacrifice of life is a huge sacrifice, there is only one that is more terrible, the sacrifice of honor
In Memoriam :
Laurent Huart (1964-2008)
Thanks! I'm ever curious hence my question.
Your supposition sounds very logical and makes perfect sense!
Actually makes the item all that much more interesting!
Again. Thanks!
"Please", Thank You" and proper manners appreciated
My greatest fear is that one day I will die and my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them
"Don't tell me these are investments if you never intend to sell anything" (Quote: Wife)
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