Italian WW2 Food Carrier?

[BCraig]

I picked this aluminum food carrier up in Belgium 5 or 6 years ago. I think it is a WW2 Italian Backpack Food Carrier, but I'm not 100% for sure.

Can anyone confirm this?

I've seen some that were post-war Italian for sure that had more or less had a fluted body. This one has an entirely smooth body unlike those.

This particular one was incredibly dirty and slightly corroded when I got it. I've cleaned it up quite a bit. I can't find any markings on it.

Regards,

Ben

[BCraig]

It's been a few years since my original post. With that being said, I did find a close-up photo of one of these particular food carriers in use by Waffen SS troops on the Eastern Front. The one in the photo is not the standard German essenbehalter with the large lid nor the one with the smaller circular lid.

The photo can be found on page 112 of the book "Images of War - SS Grenadiers on the Russian Front" by Bob Carruthers.

The food carrier appears to be identical to the one that I have. It has a distinctive lid with the metal strap with the 3 rivets across it and is also smooth bodied (i.e. no flutes). Additionally the one in the wartime photo does not appear to have be painted nor does it have a fabric cover on it. It appears to be bare aluminum.

Interestingly the one in the original photo does not have any carrying straps attached either.

My suspicion is that it is still Italian in origin.

Regards Ben