Interesting Mess Kit

[BodhiEtheridge]

I found this example and it quickly got my interest. It has an ink stamp instead of the normal stamp we’d expect to see, and has unusual characteristics. Is this a mess kit that would be expected as a good original? I ask because it show similarities to the mess kit debated in this thread below.

German mess kit war time or not

Could someone have just stuck the ink stamp on a unmarked mess kit or is this type of marking accepted as wartime?

Thank you,
Bodhi

[BattleOfTheBulge25]

I’m not exactly experienced in mess kit paint but I’m not a fan of the quality of the paint. It seems a bit on the newer side. I don’t know. We will have to wait and see what the experts say

[BrodieBartfast]

An unissued kit that's spent the past 70+ years in its factory wrapping could easily look as brand new as this one does. The manufacture date of 1945 would support that, but I've never seen an ink stamp like that on WWII mess tins, only Imperial examples. It could have been a late war economy measure to save on manufacturing time, but who can say? If someone else could turn up an example of an issued tin with an ink-stamped maker's mark, this could very well be considered authentic.

There are also unmarked examples that turn up from time to time, but those are contentious at best.

B.B.

[Danmark]

HRE is Heinrich Ritter Aluminium .... some company history! ( I like how WW2 gets a passing mention )

Heinrich Ritter opened a wholesale business for household appliances in Cannstatt in 1911. Soon afterwards he started producing household appliances made of aluminum in Esslingen. In the 1930s he specialized in furnishing ship kitchens, and after the Second World War he also started producing windows in Köngen. In the 1970s a foundry was built in Wendlingen, and in 1981 the production of household appliances was discontinued. The company Ritter Aluminum GmbH engineering facades in Köngen (metal construction) was sold in 1997 to the company Rheinhold & Mahla, Munich. The company Ritter Aluminum GmbH light metal foundry in Wendlingen (foundry) still exists today.


My guess is that it was made later in that year as Esslingen was occupied by U.S. soldiers starting in April 1945, at the very end of World War II and I'm sure industry was encouraged to get going again.

During the war the city suffered very little damage, and it was peaceably surrendered to the approaching allied forces, thus the medieval character of its city center has been mostly preserved.

Dang there is a lot of info online! .......
Cheers, Dan

[Kateri]

Small,beautifully made aluminium clip on a 1940 Luftwaffe rucksack.
The clip still works perfectly.
From Dan's information that is the home of the Quist helmet factory
Interesting if a conpany did adapt enough to use ink stamps.
Thanks for showing another intriguing item.