MG 34/42 ammo box markings

[Infanteer]

Today I purchased a nice ammo box with almost all of it's original dark green paint, but was surprised that the only markings under the carrying handle is "gew" in a circle. Has anyone seen this before? Does the absense of a waffenamt indicate post war manufacture?

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-...ammobox101.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-...ammobox102.jpg

[reidmuller]

Today I purchased a nice ammo box with almost all of it's original dark green paint, but was surprised that the only markings under the carrying handle is "gew" in a circle. Has anyone seen this before? Does the absense of a waffenamt indicate post war manufacture?

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-...ammobox101.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-...ammobox102.jpg

i have 2 types of ammo boxes i have 2 like yours and they are both WaA stamped where yours is but i have seen them with just a wartime date like the other type i have it has a 3 letter code and a date 43 but i have never seen it with gew. but i wouldent pass it off as post war yet

[us1945]

Hmmm

seems Norwayian postwar to me..the leather etc..ones I had 50 orig. German ammo cans..there were also some like that one..

they recieved a lot of German ww2 material after the war,,they also produced copy`s,,like boxes, slings etcetc.

regards tom



http://claus.espeholt.dk/Toms%20sling%20sale.html

i have 2 types of ammo boxes i have 2 like yours and they are both WaA stamped where yours is but i have seen them with just a wartime date like the other type i have it has a 3 letter code and a date 43 but i have never seen it with gew. but i wouldent pass it off as post war yet

[Infanteer]

Looks like it's not original WW2 issue then... close enough for display though.Thanks for the replies.

Steve

[derspiess63]

It's original imo;sometimes the Waa is stamped on the side of the lid..sometimes it's hidden under the paint (post-war applied and as thick as a plank!)...sometimes it's missing altogether!
FWIW
Manny

[us1945]

He`s right they sometimes overpained there stuff!!

But this model can is really Norwayian made...

yeah..looks nice for display..allthrough an original can cost only $60 or so..

regards Tom

It's original imo;sometimes the Waa is stamped on the side of the lid..sometimes it's hidden under the paint (post-war applied and as thick as a plank!)...sometimes it's missing altogether!
FWIW
Manny

[Bergflak]

Looks 100% to me! I wouldn't worry too much about the WaA. Haven't got the code book here, but I guess gew is the makers code (It is certainly not short for Gewehr!!). Norwegian Army never made their own ammo-boxes. They rebuilt the German ones to fit .3006, but those are easily spottet with a welded on section.

They did however repaint all of the German ones. Yours is not repainted by the Norwegian army. The color looks more like the Portuguese export boxes.

Box might have the WaA on the outside of the cover "skirt". Has it got any markings under the end-handles?

[us1945]

Of is this a tool-box example?? anyway..collor looks pritty different from German

regards Tom


Raidar..have you got any ruberniced g43 magazine pouches FS?

Looks 100% to me! I wouldn't worry too much about the WaA. Haven't got the code book here, but I guess gew is the makers code (It is certainly not short for Gewehr!!). Norwegian Army never made their own ammo-boxes. They rebuilt the German ones to fit .3006, but those are easily spottet with a welded on section.

They did however repaint all of the German ones. Yours is not repainted by the Norwegian army. The color looks more like the Portuguese export boxes.

Box might have the WaA on the outside of the cover "skirt". Has it got any markings under the end-handles?

[derspiess63]

Of is this a tool-box example?? anyway..collor looks pritty different from German

regards Tom


Raidar..have you got any ruberniced g43 magazine pouches FS?

Toolk boxes were 3234% identical to ammo boxes!Further...the color is different in that the can has obviously been over-painted,most likely by the Portuguese(see the typical numbers which ARE NOT the MG serial # as many people think!),as our friend Reidar rightly pointed out!Portuguese also used stocks of Original Panzergrau paste,diluted with paint thinner and heavily brush painted on;If the paint it's been thinned with water then is a cinch to restore the original color,with patience and gallons of white spirits...I've done that myself with a dozen of Gurtrommeltragern (complete with drums!) coming from Portugal ;this paint protected the original finish and the Ink Waa...and the white arrow inside the drums which indicated the sense of rotation of the belt !I've got several ammo can painted with the paste diluted in thinner and they're a bitch to clean!In my opinion this can is 100%genuine and I would suggest our Canadian friend not to dismiss it as post-war!Be very careful though,for what looks like maker codes inside a ring/oval/triangle are present on post-war items.....although they're somewhat different from this one
FWIW
Manny

[Infanteer]

Hmmm, interesting points. There is only one coat of paint on the can except for the handles which show a grey/green colour under the dark green. If this can has been repainted it must have been stripped first. I have searched the entire can for signs of stamped markings and have only found the "gew" stamp. Why do I always seem to find the "non-standard" stuff?

[derspiess63]

Hmmm, interesting points. There is only one coat of paint on the can except for the handles which show a grey/green colour under the dark green. If this can has been repainted it must have been stripped first. I have searched the entire can for signs of stamped markings and have only found the "gew" stamp. Why do I always seem to find the "non-standard" stuff?

This can is standard imo!What's the color inside anyway?In my opinion you're doing a bit of brain f##ting here bud (no offense intended !)....this can is very,very likely a genuine one.....as long as you won't find a 1947 date stamped somewhere!
Relax and complete your set up for us to look at!
Manny

[Infanteer]

Manny, the colour on the inside is the same as the outside and again, there is only the one coat of paint.

If the "gew" stamp is a maker code, would someone be able to tell me who this code is for? This code does not appear in my reference material.

Steve

[derspiess63]

Manny, the colour on the inside is the same as the outside and again, there is only the one coat of paint.

If the "gew" stamp is a maker code, would someone be able to tell me who this code is for? This code does not appear in my reference material.

Steve

Steve,
looks like you're striving to find someone who tells you "this box is post-war"!If that's all it's needed to make you happy I'll tell you that this can doesn't exist, in fact, it will be made in 2034 !The fact that this code doesn't appear in your references it doesn't necessarily mean it didn't exist!Enjoy this can and start looking for the Waa(if there are any!) on the side of the lid!Look under the upper part of he lid as well, you could see a slight dimple from the stamping on the outside!
Manny

[Infanteer]

Manny, I think you misunderstood me... I am not saying that the maker didn't exist, I am saying that it is not listed in any of the references that I have and I am hoping that someone might know who this maker is. But, I don't know for sure if the "gew" stamp on my box is a maker mark or not and it seems that no one else knows either. My gut feeling is that my box is original German, but I am not certain about the age. Bottom line is that it looks good and I am happy with it, but thought that someone on the forum would have known for sure one way or the other. No big deal. Thanks for all the replies.

Steve

[Frosch]

The three letters shown in the image in the second link are almost certainly not a coded manufacturer designation.

The oval surround suggests that this is the manufacturer's brand name or company logo, which just happens to have three letters like the typical two and three-letter codes used to conceal who made Wehrmacht equipment.

The can shown below also features a logo with three letters, but in this case it is obviously a trade mark.



Even though ammunition tins were made for export to Portugal and for the BGS and the early Bundeswehr, I wouldn't worry too much about non-standard marks on minor items of field equipment such as this. So many of them were made that not every piece was marked to satisfy collector whims 60 years after the event.

You should also bear in mind that most lists of manufacturer codes are incomplete and do contain some errors.

I think your can is a keeper.

/David