Israeli Shovel and Cover IDF 1950's, French? Need Identification Help

[Marksharky]

I recently gambled on an interesting shovel and cover that I bought from a seller in Israel. The price was right. The cover looked like it was possibly British, for the 1939 entrenching tools, and the shovel was possibly a WW2 German type spade.........I only had a poor photo of the shovel in the cover to go on. I gambled, and a month later it arrived. Now I am not certain what exactly I have!
I do know that it is most likely, Israeli Defense Force issued in the late 1940's to 1950's. The seller said it was 1950's IDF, and he acquired it from the IDF (English was not his first or second language, so that is a rough translation).

The cover itself has the faint remnants of Hebrew writings on one side (large markings). The cover is well made, using what appears to be British style, heavy web cloth. The buckle is British style, but is much heavier. There is a leather blade protector that was sewn inside the cover. The leather is intact, but the stitching has worn away. Itr looks very similar to the 1939 web cover for the British flat spade, but is definitely not British (strap is reversed, no corner rivets, belt loops, leather liner, etc.).
I ran this cover by a couple of fellow collectors in France, and they thought it may be an early post-war French made cover. I know the IDF used donated French web gear and some uniform items, so this guess may be correct. Another option would be that it was possibly Israeli made.

The shovel has no markings. It is somewhat crude, and has an odd handle. The handle may have been replaced at one point, as the wood does not insert completely into the socket, and the rivets are roughly pounded over. The two sides of the blade are pinch welded together. The ball on the end of the handle is also not like any other I have seen. I have no idea on this one! I know the Israelis hobbled together, and repaired all kinds of acquired surplus gear in the early days, so this could be just about anything.

Anyway, I am hoping that there is someone out there who recognizes this cover or shovel. Fingers crossed!

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[HAF]

interesting item i have to say ,will be happy to know what it was am start and for wich army

[Marksharky]

Determining the origins of early Israeli items can be interesting, to say the least. There are obvious items that were aquired from the USA, the British, and France, and then there are copies made domestically in Israel, and items that have been rebuilt, mixed and matched with various parts (like the Israeli M1 US style helmets).
In the case of this shovel and cover, another posibility is the that it was aquired from one of Israel's Arab neighbors. With all the wars Israel fought with former British controlled, Arab countries, this could even be a captured piece.
The fact that it is made with British cloth and hardware, and is so close to the British 1939 shovel carrier, would certainly make it a good canidate for a former British-Arab army's piece.

I have seen a number of shovel covers that were made by France in the 1945 through 1960's era, for these flat, square shovels. None of them match the fabric or patern of this cover though. I did find one that used the same British strap buckle though. Apparently it was common for France in the early post war years to use aquired surplus fabric. This could also account for the construction using "British" web material. France was also one of the countries that continued to use the square flat shovels post-war. France also donated a lot of equipment to Israel in the 1950's.

No matter what exactly I have, I am confident it was used by the IDF in Israel in the 1950's.

[Marksharky]

Here is a copy from a French military technical manual from 1950, that designates two styles of covers that were available to the French Forces. If I understand the translation correctly, it is
"a document from the Central Engineering Department entitled "Catalog of portable tools made available to the All Arms Corps" from 1950." The illustration shows a very similar cover, and a British style buckle.

Here is a link to the original French forum page where it appears: http://www.passionmilitaria.com/t155...3%89tuis+pelle

French 1950 Cover Doccument.jpg