I love the Zeltbahn 31.......

Good point. It's very frustrating when these snapshots reveal just not-quite-enough......

 

I'm sure you will like my latest buy from Germany. This is a kaki brownish M-31 with two wooden pegs still with it. It's a bit dirty (paint stains) but it has all the buttons and good marking on both the pegs and the bahn .


Makers seems to be Shierman & Comp. or Sherman & Comp. Kassel and the date is hard to decypher (1938?) .

 

A great dutch site confirms I have an early model !


MP44.nl - German Uniforms and Equipment -  Zeltbahn

 

Great find, Skipper ! Tom's site (MP44.nl) is a resource which I regularly use to check authenticity of German field gear.....

 

Good to see you also came accross this great site. I found it by coincidence and loved it ever since

By the way the marking is SATZMAN not Sherman So the whole thing is SATZMAN & COMP. KASSEL ..38.

I could read it better when I washed when it was wet. I managed to remove quite a few paint stains too .

 

No zeltbahn could be complete without one of these attached..............hmmm.......just seemed to leave out the scorpion and tarantulas that walk across the ground here where I live and may frequently penetrate the confines of the zeltbahn a bit......I just liked this "all in one" instruction of S & R as a good match for the Zeltbahn....what dost we thinketh next? It is my opinion that the Paiute Dead Fall mentioned may have been the first Zeltbahn invented....just needed some technological improvements in time to become so popular...United States Search and Rescue Task Force

 

I have seen on other Forums that collectors absolutely will not wash a Zeltbahn, fearing damage or fading of a now-rare item. Alkthough I can understand this, I have in the past bought some really filthy examples ( probably not washed in 60 years ). I have soaked these very in warm water with 'gentle' commercial detergent before hand-rinsing them and leaving to dry in the open. Results have been excellent. I have also minimised paint damage by very carefully scraping the affected areas with a small modelling knife.

It's great fun to bring a very tired-looking Zelt back to 'life'.

 

I perfectly agree Martin, washing will not deteriorate a Zeltbahn ,they were made to be water resistant for a start and markings ink will not fade in warm water. Of course If one is silly enough to put these in a machine, he'll be sorry. But I, just like you , am talking about soaking it in a bath tub and clean it by hand with soap. Results are excellent . When it's dry I will take more pictures so you can compare. I collect WW2 relics not 70 year old filth.

 

So far only photos but one day....

 

That fist picture was taken in my garden and the helmets are mine too, right? great pictures , Ilike the left one with the large amount of Bahns lined up and the helmet son top of them . It reminds me of one with a little swastika flag on top of the tent .if I find it back I'll post it for you .

 

Well - I said prices were creeping up

I'd spotted that prices on e-bay Germany were moving upwards steadily, and at the Ciney militaria fair I couldn't see any priced below 75 Euros, with most around the 90 mark and several as high as E150.......

Glad I bought my little collection when I did................... :i_surrender:

 

Still 50-75 euros here.

 

Ostfront, possibly 1941/42......

 

Looks like the man is sitting on a school bench from the local school

 

Zur Latrine !

 

A rather rough photo, I'm afraid - 'Russia 1941' is the only ID...

 

And here's how to do it by the book - obviously a training exercise..............

 

I used to to that when I was a boyscout

 

Skipper, would you consider reposting those images of your zeltbahn? They seem to have disappeared...

 

I will try to find the pictures and repost them. I have them somewhere, I just hope I open the right virtual drawer. The trouble is that it would be hard to take new pictures because I rolled the Bahn up and put it on a Tornister in my collection.