MG Leather Mag Pouches MP 28

[robert]

This is for Police I believe. How rare are these? Did they come in pairs? What is the value of a single one like this? The condition is excellent. For MP 28 and also for MP 18? Schambach Berlin 1943 and police style eagle.

[robert]

Thanks in Advance

Here's a closeup of the markings. It is Black for urban police as opposed to brown for rural.

[Alan Smith]

These 3-cell leather pouches for 20 round mags were police issue for various SMG's used in the 1920's up through the 1940's. Yes - they came in pairs and were carried via the "Y-Strap" type equipment suspension straps.

I believe these type pouches first came into use in the late 1920's in connection with the police useage of MP18's that were converted by C.G. Haenel from being configured for the 32 round "Artillery Luger" drum mags to the 20 round "stick" type magazines. Later, as the police began to also use the Erma EMP in the late 1930's, these pouches were also used to carry the 20 round EMP mags.

I'm not aware of a 20 round mag made specifically for the MP28; I think all of the MP28 purpose made mags are 32 shot. The MP18 20 shot box mags, will, however, fit and function in the MP18 (but the MP28 32 shot mags will not fit in the MP18).

So, all that said, I'm not really 100% sure what to call these pouches. Again, they came into German police service specifically for the Weimar-era MP18 20-shot "stick" mag conversion guns, but also worked just fine in later years' (Nazi-era) service for use with the EMP 20-shot mags. I would not call them "MP28 pouches" because, again, to my knowledge there were no 20 round mags designed specifically for the MP28.

Here are some of these type pouches that I've collected over the past couple of years. The black leather pouches are a matched set (in color, maker's mark, and date of manufacture) and came filled with EMP mags. By the interior wear markings, you can tell that the EMP mags have been in the pouches for a very long time and have been carried about a significant amount.

The brown leather pouch came filled with Haenel MP18 20 shot mags, all Weimar-era police unit marked. Again, with the wear patterns, it looks like the MP18 mags have been in the brown pouch for a very long time.

I hope this information is useful.

[Alan Smith]

Here is a photo of one of the earlier-marked MP18 pouches. This pouch is not mine; the photo came from a fellow collector.

[Alan Smith]

For comparison purposes, here is an Mp18 mag on the left, with an EMP mag on the right. Also, a couple of photos showing the 20 shot box mag conversion to the MP18.

In the case of the MP18 shown (#26469), the gun was converted to 20-shot box mag configuration at the behest of the Saxon state police in the 1920's/1930's and bears police unit markings that reflect the Saxon police as being headquartered in Dresden.

Just for fun (if you are a history buff like me): Also attached is a modern day photo of the former Saxon police headquarters building in the heart of downtown Dresden; the building managed to survive the 1945 bombings relatively intact. The pre-war photos show the same area, with one of the more prominent features being the Commerz Bank building (with the police headquarters nearby). The post-bombing photo of the Commerz Bank is very interesting . . . you can see a Soviet military convoy passing by using what appears to be U.S. supplied vehicles and equipment.

[Alan Smith]

BTW: I need to thank Forum member Joe Wotka for sharing his expertise on German police markings: he is the person who identified the "S.P.D." unit marking as being Saxon police. Joe also provided me with a Weimar-era Saxon police manual re: MP18's that contains valuable information. Per the manual, it appears that the little "shield" over "W" mark on the mag well housing of MP18 #26469 is likely a Saxon police armory acceptance marking, signifying police approval/acceptance of the conversion work done by Haenel. The "shield" in the marking is the Saxon state crest; the "W" likely refers to the police "Werkstatten" (as identified in the manual).

In case anyone is interested in the Weimar-era conversion of MP18's by C.G. Hanel (at the behest of various German state police agencies) from drum to stick mags, attached is a comparison photo of the original and as-modified mag well housings.

I hope that the foregoing photos, information and thoughts are not "overkill" in response to a mag pouch ID question but, as you can likely tell, I enjoy these items and researching the history related to same. Hopefully these posts will prompt further contributions and discussion of the subject matter.

[Alan Smith]

Here are some photos of the leather 20 shot mag pouches in use, along with another photo of an early issue pouch (dated 1932 and w/ Weimar police markings).

[robert]

Thanks very much! Any idea on value of these and what another side might cost? mine is dated 1943.

[Willi Z.]

Great presentation and information Alan!

[wandering38]

Thanks very much! Any idea on value of these and what another side might cost? mine is dated 1943.

From what I’ve seen, these are not very easy to find, but not highly sought either. The mags are what everyone wants, but much less interest in the pouches from my observations. I would expect to see it bring between $250 and $300 if you were to sell it.

[me6_130]

Just my little addition, an item I had some time ago. Provenance Spanish Army, from Civil War stocks:

Carles