Wehrmacht backpack?

[Edward Lionheart]

Hello.
I might be a little late on that post, but the straps are a modified Bundeswehr yoke, and for the pack itself I still wonder it this Bundeswehr or BGS, as one day I came across a mint example dated(19)52...
As one of mine has OLC stamped buckles it cannot be denied that it comes from West Germany, and as weird as it may sound it had a complex iron and webbing frame that I haven't able to find yet.
And to be as precise as one can be let's say that the very first ones had straps reinforced with half-moon shaped aluminium ends, while the second pattern shows square-shaped brass ends hold in place by a rivet.

[Kateri]

Thanks for an interesting update to a thread I had not seen before.
It would be really interesting to see any photos of packs you have.
I don't have any West German pieces but from your comments,and the close similarity to WW2 and DDR fittings I have on packs,you make a fine argument for the origin of the item.

[Edward Lionheart]

Hello.
I can easily post a few picks this summer.
I do have two of these backpacks with me at the moment, but they are both badly worn out.
It is interesting to note that only one out of four had the original carrying straps meant to go with the frame, most of the ones you will see in army stores or on eBay are either lacking them or are fitted with modified / ruined yokes, usually Bundeswehr, US M56, and sometimes even Pattern 44, a real shame considering how rarely I see that stuff in France.
Some are unmarked buth with rubbish shoulder straps, cheap webbing and no rivets to reinforce the back, others like this one are rather harmless even to not that well informed collectors :



normani Bundeswehr Canvas-Rucksack 40 l | Kaufland.de


Addendum : It may not take that long for pictures after all : my third bag is here too, it doesn't look too thrashy, and it has the OLC markings too, eventhough they are stamped on the back of the buckles.

[Edward Lionheart]

Ok so here we are :



This one is still Bundeswehr olive green with aluminium buckles seen on the two different types of Kampftaschen, demolition satchel and other equipments.



If I remember correctly the two lower straps are used to secure the backpack more firmly to the frame.



Inside the flap there is a big pocket that can be closed by two lines of aluminium buttons.
The is also a big buttoned pocket ( meant for documents ? ) inside the main compartment itself.



A view of the back.
So far I haven't seen any reproduction showing the big aluminium rivets used to reinforce the handle, so let's just hope that things will stay that way...



One of the many ancient repairs showing that this bag had an intense and / or long service life.



One of the OLC stamp marks.
It is a pain in every potentially painful area of the body to take a good view of it without my digital camera and I doubt I will be able to do better than that without using some shoe polish or ash to darken the logo, but if you compare this blurry thing with other OLC markings I think that this will be proof enough.



That backpack as two of his brothers isn't marked, or to be precise it was before it faded, So I'll need to get access to my brand examples to show the typically west german markings.

[Edward Lionheart]

Hello again.
With a dark background, a lot of perseverance and the use of the lower buckles, which are about 1,5 times bigger I finally succeded in obtaining a decent picture :



OLC maker's mark is now clear as day...