Brown 98K pouch, Luftwaffe or Heer ?

[Ir 143]

Hello, a friend of me has this 98K pouch. For me it's a Heer one, with no blackening. No LBA stamp for Luftwaffe property, i am good ?
Thank you for your help.

[Sonnenwende]

I would say wartime black dyed/painted prewar Heer (1937?)?, often only the front was done.

Luftwaffe tend to be more dark chokolade brown, Polizei more reddish (and not blackened).

Regards
Sonnenwende

[OSS]

Luftwaffe for me, aluminum fittings.

[anmarlodz]

Luftwaffe for me, aluminum fittings.

All pre war had aluminium fittings ( Heer, Luftwaffe, Police, Kriegsmarine ). This one is definately Heer pouch. As mentioned LW pre war/early war had chocolate brown color.

[OSS]

It has been dyed black, the reverse is chocolate brown.

[Svenpanzer]

It has been dyed black, the reverse is chocolate brown.

So?
Almost all prewar heer pouches where brown and died black, a lot are still brown on the backside.

You can see it was black at the front so a heer pouch for sure.

[anmarlodz]

It has been dyed black, the reverse is chocolate brown.

It is not. It is darker brown ( from use ), but not chocolate brown. Completely diffrent shades.

[Willi Z.]

Here is a pair of Luftwaffe pouches with matching date (1936), maker, and Flak unit on the left. And a 1938 dated matching pair on the right with aluminum fittings as well, but not Luftwaffe issue.

[Willi Z.]

And, in a small collection I just picked up, here is another Luftwaffe marked pouch, with a blackened Heer pouch (dated 1935), with a "B 35" stamp inside.

[IanC]

And, in a small collection I just picked up, here is another Luftwaffe marked pouch, with a blackened Heer pouch (dated 1935), with a "B 35" stamp inside.

Thanks for posting these three sets Willi. I haven't seen many pre war matching sets so they are a rare treat for me.

[OSS]

To make things more confusing one finds Luftwaffe pouches in a variety of browns. Is this pouch LW? KM? Polizei? Heer? :

[OSS]

If you guessed Luftwaffe, you are correct.

[anmarlodz]

To make things more confusing one finds Luftwaffe pouches in a variety of browns. Is this pouch LW? KM? Polizei? Heer? :

Question ; what is the date on the pouch. from LW stamp looks like pouch is made in 1940 . If so than
1940 is the year when LW start to use natural brown color pouches instead of chocolate brown which is very typical for pre war period and not used further in the war.

In other word typical for LW :
pre 1939/40 - chocolate brown pouches ( and equipment ) - see the Willis pouches
post 1939/40 - natuarl brown color ( and equipment ) - see your pouch

The one which started the thread is 1937 dated and is Heer pouch ( and most probably is marked inside with unit markings ).

[Willi Z.]

I agree Marcin. 1940 is also when we see the the introduction of natural brown P08 holsters.

[OSS]

Question ; what is the date on the pouch. from LW stamp looks like pouch is made in 1940 . If so than
1940 is the year when LW start to use natural brown color pouches instead of chocolate brown which is very typical for pre war period and not used further in the war.

In other word typical for LW :
pre 1939/40 - chocolate brown pouches ( and equipment ) - see the Willis pouches
post 1939/40 - natuarl brown color ( and equipment ) - see your pouch

While the acceptance stamp is '40, the manufacturers date is 1939. I agree that with the the outbreak of the war LW equipment started to appear in natural leather.