Bundeswehr Pouches

[willie777]

OK, I got this pair of pouches and I dont know what theyre for. They are grey and marked Bund ZB inside. What does bund zb mean?

[Klaus1989]

ZB = Zivilbevölkerungsschutz (West German civil defense). "Bund" is Federal government issue and standard marking for all West German civil and paramilitary equipment (but not Bundeswehr).

ZB was responsible for "Katastrophenschutz" and worked closely with DRK, Feuerwehr and THW (Technische Hilfswerke) during emergenices. Currently Katastrophenschutz/ Zivilschutz. Without image or at least description I cannot tell what pouches are for. Possibly for first aid/ medical supplies.

Klaus




Photos from malteser.de

[willie777]

Ahh, Danke Klaus... I thought they were grenade pouches! Kind of the opposite of what I was expecting.My camera is broken so Let me describe. It is a rectangular gray pouch with a dished button in the front. The closing flap buttons on to it. On the bottom there is an identical button. THe belt loop behind the pouch only has one side sewn to the rear of the pouch the other end had two buttonholes. YOu can button either to the button on the bottom. (I dont know why as i do not see the need to adjust a belt loop) They are made of a webbed cotton material.

[Gene T]

What kind of helmets are those MHD workers wearing in those thumbnails, Klaus? They look strangely DDR-ish.

I like the older ZB uniforms. They were as well made as anything issued to the Bundeswehr or BGS at the time.

Here is a '62 dated ZB jacket issued by the MHD (the round ZB shoulder patch was removed and replaced by an MHD one). It looks like a cross between a Sahariana and a BGS tunic. Note the (needlessly) complex button fly. I find it surprising that they would put this much expense and effort into making a work jacket!



cheers,
Gene T

[Klaus1989]

Willie: Sounds like medical pouches or something similar. Interesting find, as older ZB items are not that common. Only ZB item I have is 1962-dated canteen marked for both ZB and THW (they carry alot of the same equipment).

Gene: I sometimes see wool ZB uniforms for sale, wish I had bought one. The helmets are very common though.

MHD was only thing I found photos of that was similar to ZB. The helmets are type of plastic gallet-style helmet used by Brandschutz, MHD and THW. Found auction of one on ebay:



Klaus

[willie777]

The only reason I asked was because I wanted to sell em... Not that interested in ZB... I was going to list them as grenade pouches Well now, I guess I will list them as first aid pouches. I got these in a lot of DDR stuff. Well actually, only one pouch is marked Bund ZB. The other isnt, but apart from that they are almost identical. (The buttons are a little different, but barely) I assume the marked one would be worth more.