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Howdy all,
Many, many years ago when I was just learning about guns, I found a neat pouch in a store. It was green with little veritcal brown lines on it, and I paid $3 for it, not knowing what it was. Well, many years later I now have a decent collection of East German field gear. although I claim to be no expert, I thought I would share a little of what I know.
I hope to continue expanding this thread as time goes on so we can increase our knowledge base on East German gear. Please feel free to ask questions, add comments, and ogle everything here!
[ETA] I am afraid I do not know the source of the illustraion, so I cannot credit it. If you know what book it came from, please let me know! I would love to get a copy of the book.
A few pics to start:
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Basic Description of gear:
Rifle: MPikM-72 - This is the East German designation for their version of the AKM. It is 7.62x39 caliber, has a stamped reciever, a slant brake (from what I know) and uses E.G. stamped steel magazines. This series of rifle has a blued finish in the early versions (before mid seventies from what I know) and dark gray parkerized later. Furniture is a unique brown plastic pistol grip with checkering on the edges of the grip instead of on the centers of the faces, a glossy brown plastic upper handguard, a pebbled fixed brown plastic stock with a metal buttplate with no trapdoor, and a wood handguard pre-1980's and a mottled red and brown phenolic (very hard resin) lower handguard in the early 1980's onward. I have found the plastic stock to be somwhat fragile, and actually broke off part of the receiver tang when installing it. I would recommend against buttstroking with it. The front and rear sling points are 1" wide and the rifle has a 1" wide gray canvas sling that lacks the clip on the more common 1 1/4" AK slings. Being that my donor rifle was a Romanian one and lacked the 1" front sling point I had to use a HK snap hook to attach the sling (Oh well, at least it is German!). Note that in the illustration there is no slant brake and that the rifle might actually be the earlier milled receiver version. To be honest it looks like the illustraor wasn't clear what an AK looked like exactly.
Trousers and Shirt - These are made of a cotton(?) that is green with small brown vertical stripes. The trousers have elastic around the was a small metal D-rings inside for the use of suspenders (not shown) and also have buttons and tabs to adjust the size down at the ankle. Mine are cinched down as the pants are a bit long and completely cover the boots otherwise. trousers also have a button fly, and all buttons are a dark OD green. The shirt is of similar material (although mine is a bit lighter green than the trousers) and has grey plastic buttons covereed in dimples to prevent reflection of light. Note that my shirt does not have collar epualets while the one in the illustraion does. I have no idea why, but from what others have said there seem to be at least a half dozen or more varations on the shirts with different small loops, button types, pockets, etc. One interesting note is my shirt has a hidden slash pocket in the left breast which looks suspicously like it was designed to fit a Makarov pistol, although it could not be used for such with the suspenders worn.
Helmet - The helmet is steel with a painted gray finish inside and out. The suspension is a light tan leather assembly with foam pads and a clear plastic sizing ring. Note that in the illustraion the helmet is shown far too small, and in the picture my head is probably a bit too big for the helmet. From what I know there were three minor variations on the helmet over time, and supposedly it was available in two different sizes (maybe mine is a small one). I had a hard time adjusting the sizing ring large enough, and the chinstrap is poorly positioned, at least for me. On the upside, when looking striaght down from above, your head and most of your shoulders would be completely protected, and it is easy to see and hear with the helmet on.
Boots boots are of black pigskin(?) leather and have a rubber sole. The upper inner shaft is lined. Mine in the photo are "officers boots" although I have no idea how these differ from any other type. There appear to be dozens of variations on the boots, just like the trousers and shirt. I personally have two pairs of "officers boots" both of which different sole patterns, and I have seen several more with other sole patterns. The boots have an ink stamp near the innner top with "NVA" and the european size. They also have a pressed felt insert that is disgusting and I quickly removed. The boots are actually quite comfortable when a little big and worn with good thick socks.
Suspenders and Belt - Both are made form a gray canvas. The belt is very heavy canvas, but the buckle is just a stamped piece of sheetmetal with the East German Logo on it. the buckle is painted gray, and is a brass color (unpainted) on the reverse. The attachment method is nothing more than a small metal hook and tab which works OK when worn, but is useless when removed (unhooks and dumps bayonet every time). The suspenders are "Y" style with two additonal straps on the front that loop underneath to work as pack straps for the combat pack. The three main straps come together at a circular fake leather circle between the shoulder blades, and the two front/shoulder straps have a pair of D-rings on each on at the top of the shoulders. The end of each strap has a maetal hook and ring that is used to adjust length and hooked through each other to provide the belt loop. Unlike American web gear, there is no positive retention of pouches/straps on the belt, and all the equipment simply uses a loop that the belt is threaded through. Despite this method, the suspenders are actually fairly comfortable.
Combat Pack - In the illustration the soldier has a sleeping bag/bedrool, but I am wearing a combat pack. The pack is the same green raindrop pattern material, but has a dark green rubberized interior with a fold out flaps with buckles to completely encase the contents in the rubberized material. Several fabric loops and metal hooks are on the exterior, and allow the use of gray canvas straps to secure various items. If you look at the lower left side of the illustraion you can see a shelter half attached to the pack in this method. The pack has a nametag window on the flap (white spot on pack in picture) that fits a business card sized piece of paper.
Ammunition Pouch -It is made of the raindrop pattern material, and has a rubberized interior. The pouch is curved to fit AKM magazines, the latern versions of the pouch (there were at least two other version I have seen) are rectangular without the curve, and although AKM mags will fit, they need to be "convinced" they will work. The pouch has a cross type divider and holds four magazines, and uses raindrop material straps with metal end points to thread through metal loops to secure the top. It has two belt loops on the back. Note that I have NEVER seen a "left hand" curved pouch, only the "righ hand" curved pouch shown.
Bayonet My particular bayonet has a black phenolic handle and black plastic sheath with a rubber boot. It is hung to the belt by a gray leather loop with a clip on the end, and this part also has a strap with a stud to secure the bayonet handle. The bayonet itself is the "typical" AK bayonet design with sawback, wire cutter, leather hand strap, etc. Mine came original in the packaging which was a clear plastic bag within which was a thin brown paper (possibly anti-corrision paper) wrapped around the bayonet and scabbard, and a small brown piece of paper with some German writing identifying the item. (This seems to be standard for all E. German items I have purchased new-in-wrap). The bayonet and scabbard were covered in a yellowish dusty powder and there was a clear crystallized substance on the leather parts. I assume this was an anti mildew or anti moisture powder of some sort.
Entrenching Tool The "proper" entrenching tool has a gray leather/fake leather carrier that is kind of "U" shaped with an angled bottom that only wraps around the perimeter edge of the shovel, has two loops to connect to the belt and two straps with studs to secure the shovel. I have also seen raindrop carriers that completely cover the shovel, but I assume those are mid eighties or so when they started going raindrop-everything in lieu of the gray fake leather. The shovel itself is very similar to your typical U.S. folding shovel with a screw mechanism and hinge to allow the shovel head to fold over. The shaft of the shovel is wooden, with the far end terminating in a swell and the other end being jammed into a split tube with a rivet to secure it. A very early postwar version is a fixed handle with a brown or gray carrier, with the main difference being the shovel has a fixed shaft and no hinge/screwlock mechanism. Note that in the photos I am wearing an incorrect (from what I know) shovel that is similar but has a green leather carrier with buckles to secure the shovel and a spring loaded cross-button that allows the shovel and pick head to be folded into various positions- I believe it might actually be a West German shovel, but did not know it when I purchased it.
Canteen The canteen is a squishable plastic lozenge shaped thing with a raindrop pattern cover with snaps to secure it over the bottle. a gray metal cup with folding handles is secured over the top with a black fake leather strap that is comparativly very thin in both width and thickness. The canteen is secured to the belt by a loop made of the same black strapping.
Many, many years ago when I was just learning about guns, I found a neat pouch in a store. It was green with little veritcal brown lines on it, and I paid $3 for it, not knowing what it was. Well, many years later I now have a decent collection of East German field gear. although I claim to be no expert, I thought I would share a little of what I know.
I hope to continue expanding this thread as time goes on so we can increase our knowledge base on East German gear. Please feel free to ask questions, add comments, and ogle everything here!
[ETA] I am afraid I do not know the source of the illustraion, so I cannot credit it. If you know what book it came from, please let me know! I would love to get a copy of the book.
A few pics to start:
Basic Description of gear:
Rifle: MPikM-72 - This is the East German designation for their version of the AKM. It is 7.62x39 caliber, has a stamped reciever, a slant brake (from what I know) and uses E.G. stamped steel magazines. This series of rifle has a blued finish in the early versions (before mid seventies from what I know) and dark gray parkerized later. Furniture is a unique brown plastic pistol grip with checkering on the edges of the grip instead of on the centers of the faces, a glossy brown plastic upper handguard, a pebbled fixed brown plastic stock with a metal buttplate with no trapdoor, and a wood handguard pre-1980's and a mottled red and brown phenolic (very hard resin) lower handguard in the early 1980's onward. I have found the plastic stock to be somwhat fragile, and actually broke off part of the receiver tang when installing it. I would recommend against buttstroking with it. The front and rear sling points are 1" wide and the rifle has a 1" wide gray canvas sling that lacks the clip on the more common 1 1/4" AK slings. Being that my donor rifle was a Romanian one and lacked the 1" front sling point I had to use a HK snap hook to attach the sling (Oh well, at least it is German!). Note that in the illustration there is no slant brake and that the rifle might actually be the earlier milled receiver version. To be honest it looks like the illustraor wasn't clear what an AK looked like exactly.
Trousers and Shirt - These are made of a cotton(?) that is green with small brown vertical stripes. The trousers have elastic around the was a small metal D-rings inside for the use of suspenders (not shown) and also have buttons and tabs to adjust the size down at the ankle. Mine are cinched down as the pants are a bit long and completely cover the boots otherwise. trousers also have a button fly, and all buttons are a dark OD green. The shirt is of similar material (although mine is a bit lighter green than the trousers) and has grey plastic buttons covereed in dimples to prevent reflection of light. Note that my shirt does not have collar epualets while the one in the illustraion does. I have no idea why, but from what others have said there seem to be at least a half dozen or more varations on the shirts with different small loops, button types, pockets, etc. One interesting note is my shirt has a hidden slash pocket in the left breast which looks suspicously like it was designed to fit a Makarov pistol, although it could not be used for such with the suspenders worn.
Helmet - The helmet is steel with a painted gray finish inside and out. The suspension is a light tan leather assembly with foam pads and a clear plastic sizing ring. Note that in the illustraion the helmet is shown far too small, and in the picture my head is probably a bit too big for the helmet. From what I know there were three minor variations on the helmet over time, and supposedly it was available in two different sizes (maybe mine is a small one). I had a hard time adjusting the sizing ring large enough, and the chinstrap is poorly positioned, at least for me. On the upside, when looking striaght down from above, your head and most of your shoulders would be completely protected, and it is easy to see and hear with the helmet on.
Boots boots are of black pigskin(?) leather and have a rubber sole. The upper inner shaft is lined. Mine in the photo are "officers boots" although I have no idea how these differ from any other type. There appear to be dozens of variations on the boots, just like the trousers and shirt. I personally have two pairs of "officers boots" both of which different sole patterns, and I have seen several more with other sole patterns. The boots have an ink stamp near the innner top with "NVA" and the european size. They also have a pressed felt insert that is disgusting and I quickly removed. The boots are actually quite comfortable when a little big and worn with good thick socks.
Suspenders and Belt - Both are made form a gray canvas. The belt is very heavy canvas, but the buckle is just a stamped piece of sheetmetal with the East German Logo on it. the buckle is painted gray, and is a brass color (unpainted) on the reverse. The attachment method is nothing more than a small metal hook and tab which works OK when worn, but is useless when removed (unhooks and dumps bayonet every time). The suspenders are "Y" style with two additonal straps on the front that loop underneath to work as pack straps for the combat pack. The three main straps come together at a circular fake leather circle between the shoulder blades, and the two front/shoulder straps have a pair of D-rings on each on at the top of the shoulders. The end of each strap has a maetal hook and ring that is used to adjust length and hooked through each other to provide the belt loop. Unlike American web gear, there is no positive retention of pouches/straps on the belt, and all the equipment simply uses a loop that the belt is threaded through. Despite this method, the suspenders are actually fairly comfortable.
Combat Pack - In the illustration the soldier has a sleeping bag/bedrool, but I am wearing a combat pack. The pack is the same green raindrop pattern material, but has a dark green rubberized interior with a fold out flaps with buckles to completely encase the contents in the rubberized material. Several fabric loops and metal hooks are on the exterior, and allow the use of gray canvas straps to secure various items. If you look at the lower left side of the illustraion you can see a shelter half attached to the pack in this method. The pack has a nametag window on the flap (white spot on pack in picture) that fits a business card sized piece of paper.
Ammunition Pouch -It is made of the raindrop pattern material, and has a rubberized interior. The pouch is curved to fit AKM magazines, the latern versions of the pouch (there were at least two other version I have seen) are rectangular without the curve, and although AKM mags will fit, they need to be "convinced" they will work. The pouch has a cross type divider and holds four magazines, and uses raindrop material straps with metal end points to thread through metal loops to secure the top. It has two belt loops on the back. Note that I have NEVER seen a "left hand" curved pouch, only the "righ hand" curved pouch shown.
Bayonet My particular bayonet has a black phenolic handle and black plastic sheath with a rubber boot. It is hung to the belt by a gray leather loop with a clip on the end, and this part also has a strap with a stud to secure the bayonet handle. The bayonet itself is the "typical" AK bayonet design with sawback, wire cutter, leather hand strap, etc. Mine came original in the packaging which was a clear plastic bag within which was a thin brown paper (possibly anti-corrision paper) wrapped around the bayonet and scabbard, and a small brown piece of paper with some German writing identifying the item. (This seems to be standard for all E. German items I have purchased new-in-wrap). The bayonet and scabbard were covered in a yellowish dusty powder and there was a clear crystallized substance on the leather parts. I assume this was an anti mildew or anti moisture powder of some sort.
Entrenching Tool The "proper" entrenching tool has a gray leather/fake leather carrier that is kind of "U" shaped with an angled bottom that only wraps around the perimeter edge of the shovel, has two loops to connect to the belt and two straps with studs to secure the shovel. I have also seen raindrop carriers that completely cover the shovel, but I assume those are mid eighties or so when they started going raindrop-everything in lieu of the gray fake leather. The shovel itself is very similar to your typical U.S. folding shovel with a screw mechanism and hinge to allow the shovel head to fold over. The shaft of the shovel is wooden, with the far end terminating in a swell and the other end being jammed into a split tube with a rivet to secure it. A very early postwar version is a fixed handle with a brown or gray carrier, with the main difference being the shovel has a fixed shaft and no hinge/screwlock mechanism. Note that in the photos I am wearing an incorrect (from what I know) shovel that is similar but has a green leather carrier with buckles to secure the shovel and a spring loaded cross-button that allows the shovel and pick head to be folded into various positions- I believe it might actually be a West German shovel, but did not know it when I purchased it.
Canteen The canteen is a squishable plastic lozenge shaped thing with a raindrop pattern cover with snaps to secure it over the bottle. a gray metal cup with folding handles is secured over the top with a black fake leather strap that is comparativly very thin in both width and thickness. The canteen is secured to the belt by a loop made of the same black strapping.
