Home | Contact

Stinch's Militaria Collection

Article Index

Summary

The three pocket pebbled leather K98 rifle pouch (Patronentaschen 98K) held thirty rounds of 7.92mm ammunition. Two pouches were carried by the infantry soldier making this one of the most widely produced pieces of field gear.

Quote

"We and all nations have a sense that we have come to the turning point of an age." Adolf Hitler - 22nd March 1936

WWII German M1911 K98 Rifle Ammunition Pouch - Early Pattern Gallery

These are 1936 early pattern pouches from my personal collection. This type of pattern has two belt straps that wrap under each pocket and slips over a post. Hardware is all aluminum.

1936

Pebbled brown leather dyed black.  Backside has retained the original brown leather.  Smooth leather on two vertical belt straps and equipment ring mount with the name "Luiz" hand-written on each strap.  Belt straps have been slipped under lower retainers.  All aluminum hardware that has not been painted.  All stripper clip dividers present.  Maker mark text is in an arc with the city and year in straight line.  Center inside cover is ink stamped "B 36".  Both outside pouches are stamped "9 / A.R. 32 I".

Dresden is located in eastern Germany on both banks of the Elbe River. The city suffered serious destruction from Allied bombing raids from February 13-15, 1945.  These controversial raids totally destroyed the older center section of the city, an area that was known to not have any military industry.  Details of the attack can be found on Wikipedia.  Adolph's half-sister Angela Hitler lived in Dresden but moved to Hitler's retreat in Berchtesgaden after the bombings.  Wounds from the bombing can still be found in Dresden today. (20070114)

Pebbled brown leather dyed black.  Backside has retained the original brown leather.  Smooth leather on two vertical belt straps and equipment ring.  Belt straps have been slipped under lower retainers.  All aluminum hardware that has not been painted.  All stripper clip dividers present.  Center inside cover has a paper label glued in place with the name "Matthias Hofer" and "Gend. Patrlt.", meaning possibly Gendarmerie (rural police), PatrouilleLeiter (Patrol Director)? Discussed on the WAF.

Brown pebbled leather with smooth leather on two vertical belt straps and equipment ring mount.  The straps are slipped under the lower retainers.  Original brown leather on back with black dyed elsewhere.  All dividers present and intact.  All of the hardware is aluminum and is unpainted.  Maker mark text and city is in an arch.  Underside of left pocket has no visible markings, the middle has a strong impression of a panzer unit marking, "2./Pz.Abw.15 I".  These stamps indicate the pouch was most likely assigned to the I Zug, 2th Kompanie, Panzer-Abw 15 (I platoon, 2th Company, Tank Abwehr Abteilung 15). Abwehr is a designation before the war. Jäger or tank hunter was used during the war. These pictures were taken on a Panzer I at the US Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, USA. (20070428-02)

Panzer unit marked pouch. Pebbled brown leather dyed black.  Backside has retained the original brown leather.  Smooth leather on two vertical belt straps and equipment ring mount.  Belt straps have been slipped under lower retainers.  All aluminum hardware that has not been painted.  All stripper clip dividers present.  Maker mark text in straight line.  Center inside lid is ink stamped "B 36" and a large letter "I".  Outer pocket lid is also ink stamped "Panz.Abw.Lehrkp. 3.Komp" for the 3rd Company - Tank Defense Training. This pouch was discussed on the WAF. These pictures were taken on a Panzer I at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds Museum in Maryland USA. (20070317)

Pebbled brown leather dyed black.  Backside has retained the original brown leather.  Smooth leather on two vertical belt straps and equipment ring mount.  Belt straps have been slipped under lower retainers.  All aluminum hardware that has not been painted.  All stripper clip dividers present.  Numerous cuts made to left side pocket lid but do not go through.  Maker mark text in straight line.  Center inside cover is ink stamped "B 36". (20070301-01)

Pebbled brown leather dyed black.  Smooth leather on two vertical belt straps and equipment ring mount.  Backside has trace of black dye except area under belt straps is original brown leather.  Belt straps appear to have never been slipped under lower retainers.  All aluminum hardware that has been painted black making this most likely a Russian capture.  Black paint is partial intact under D-ring indicating it has not been used with a Y-strap hook since it was painted. However it is unusual for all stripper clip dividers to be present with Russian capture pouches.  Maker mark text in straight line.

Ulm is located on the Danube River in southern Germany and was the birthplace of Albert Einstein in 1879.  Erwin Rommel was born and is buried near Ulm.  The worst bombing of the city occured on December 17, 1944 killing hundreds and making 25,000 people homeless.  By the wars end, 81% of the city was in ruins, but the Ulm Münster Cathedral with it's 530 foot steeple survived.  It is the tallest church in the world. (20061028)

Natural pebbled leather dyed black.  Smooth leather on two vertical belt straps and equipment ring mount.  Backside has trace of black dye except area under belt straps is original brown leather.  Belt straps appear to have never been slipped under lower retainers.  All aluminum hardware. Maker mark text in straight line. Two of the three pocket lids are impression stamped with the unit "8./J.R.8 I". Ink stamp of "B36" inside middle lid. Illegible handwritting inside pocket lids; possibly a soldiers name. (20080909)

Bullet ridden pouch that has six different trajectory paths.  Brown leather dyed black per regulations.  All aluminum unpainted hardware.  The inside middle lid is unit marked with a strong impression.  This pouch was discussed on the WAF in 2006.  It is presently owned by Fab (WAF/"Tora_Tora_Tora!") and the images are used by permission.

Dresden is located in eastern Germany on both banks of the Elbe River. The city suffered serious destruction from Allied bombing raids from February 13-15, 1945.  These controversial raids totally destroyed the older center section of the city, an area that was known to not have any military industry.  Details of the attack can be found on Wikipedia.  Hitler's half-sister Angela Hitler lived in Dresden but moved to Hitler's retreat in Berchtesgaden after the bombings.  Wounds from the bombing can still be found in Dresden today.  (fab_lagesa36)

Dark brown pebbled leather with smooth leather on two vertical belt straps and equipment ring mount.  The vertical belt straps show signs of having been on a belt.  They also are slipped under the lower retainers.  All dividers present, outside rivet of left pocket is pulled from leather.  All of the hardware is aluminum and most is unpainted, only the rivets for the dividers are painted black.  Maker mark text is in straight line except for top line which is in an arch.  Different markings are under each of the three pocket lids.  Left pocket has a strong pressed stamp unit marking of "9./A.R.8" (9th Kompanie, Artillerie Regiment 8).  The middle pocket has an ink inventory stamp "? 36", most likely "B 36".

There is also a handwritten "9th SS" under the inventory stamp.  The "SS" is written in the style of the Waffen SS rune.  The numbers "1576" or "1476" are below that.  The right pocket has in bold handwritten uppercase letters "JSL".  Inside of each pocket lid has impressions in the leather made from ammunition stripper clips.  When I purchased the pouch, I was not aware of the SS runes in the lid.  Note: I've since discovered another owner of a K98 pouch with the same markings. These handwritten marks have been determined to be postwar.  It has also been suggested that it would have been written "9SS", not the english version "9thSS". (20060906)

Brown pebbled leather with smooth leather on two vertical belt straps and equipment ring mount.  The straps are slipped under the lower retainers.  Original brown leather on back with black dyed elsewhere.  All dividers present and intact.  All of the hardware is aluminum and is unpainted.  Maker mark text is in straight line except for top line which is in an arch.  Underside of left pocket has no visible markings, the middle has a strong and crisp ink stamp unit marking of "4./Pz.R.5".  The right pocket has a large Roman numeral "II" in ink. These stamps indicate the pouch was most likely assigned to the II Zug, 4th Kompanie, Panzer-Regiment 5 (II platoon, 4th Company, Tank Regiment 5).

The town of Freiberg, Saxony is located in the eastern central area of Germany. These pictures were taken on a Panzer I at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds Museum in Maryland USA. (20070117)

[ stinch home ] | [ contact ] | © 2006-2010 Rich Stinchcomb | Design by www.mitchinson.net |