I bought this bag at a surplus market in Norway awhile ago, i've always wondered what the "strap?" Is for. Could anyone tell me what it is?
It looks like the main carrying strap, and the brass buckle would allow you to lengthen or shorten it so that you can carry it in various ways to suit your needs, i.e across the shoulder, from the shoulder, by hand Is it possible that the 2 parts are an amalgam ?? I would have assumed the strap material would be the same as the bag itself Good hunting TD
Haversack strap from the 1939 patter equipment I think Pattern 1939 Leather Infantry Equipment Alistair
TD, I tend to agree that it is a Haversack strap used in the absence of the webbing strap. Perhaps the original webbing strap was damaged or lost and the leather haversack strap was used as a substitute. Regards Tom
The straps are from leather. it's definitely the: Straps, haversack, left and right in Pattern 1939 Leather Infantry Equipment Thanks for the help.
It is a rare item in British use as it was produced as an emergency item before industry had been put on a war footing and Lend Lease kicked in. Most were supplied to either reserve troops (including the Home Guard), Colonial (a lot went to India or were produced there) or Allied forces. This continued after the war as Britain contributed to the Marshal Plan. This is not palming off second rate stuff, simply rationalising supply focusing on standardisation. 1000 sets in a depot would not be practical to put in the British supply chain however go a long way to a smaller nation or regional force. There are lots of examples of all sorts of pseudo British kit now coming back from the continent which are 'not quite right'. You just need to find a right one now! The Small pack is a standard Webbing '37 Pattern, '39 Pat. should have leather tabs and billets.