One more Medical Canteen, Sanitäter Feldflasche of Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (DRK) der DDR, the German Red Cross of the German Democratic Republic, or Communist East Germany

I just acquired another red-cupped KVP Medical Canteen and it is in such great condition that I felt I should share it with you.  So, shall we have another?  Of course.  "Fräulein, noch eine, bitte!"

In my previous post I showed you some KVP Sanitäter Feldflaschen.  I mentioned that the red-cupped versions may have been used by the German Red Cross (DRK) based upon a blog post that I ran across.  This single mention sent me down the research rabbit hole to discover the use of Feldflashen by the DRK.  I was successful in my research and I will share that data at the bottom of this post.  Suffice it to say that the DRK in DDR used the same canteens as the KVP and NVA, with and without red cups.  

This feldflasche is an earlier version, from what I can tell, and seems to have been in use between 1949 and the 1960s.  The felt cover is a lighter grey color.  My other canteens of this period have grey/brown and dark feldgrau/green covers.  The cover has four black-painted snaps, like my other canteens, but these snaps appear to be brass and the others appear to be steel.  

 

Here you can see the brass or brass washed snaps as well as the herringbone twill reinforcing material.

The body and cap of the canteen are painted with dark green paint.  The canteen body has no maker marks or dates.  The brown leather straps are riveted to the cover.  The straps have an embossed edge as well, unlike my other Sanitäter Feldflaschen.

The shoulder strap is a khaki canvas material and has a brass buckle with an embossed texture.  This buckle is unlike any of my other DDR canteens.

The cup on this canteen is clearly marked and painted a rich bownish/red color.  As with the other early style cups, the strap loop is riveted to the cup and there are no folding handles like the newer cups. 

As promised, I will include some info about the DRK in DDR's use of KVP & NVA Feldflaschen.  I found this information on a German website about the DRK in DDR (drk-ddr.de)   It is highly detailed and documents much of the history from the 1950s through to the reunification.  It helps to speak/read German, of course.

This display is that of the equipment carried by German Red Cross members in the DDR.  You will see the Feldflasche does not have a red cup or a shoulder strap.  This equipment was carried by non-medical Red Cross employees.  The description of the equipment states that the bread bag, Brotbeutel, is either worn on the belt or carried over the shoulder with its strap.  The mess kit, Essgeschirr, is strapped to the outside, right, of the bread bag with the strap seen between the canteen and mess kit.  The Feldflasche is strapped to the left.  The eating utensils nest together and are carried in the Brotbeutel. The flashlight is designed to hang from a pocket button, just like the WW2 Wehrmacht flashlight.

This is the Sanitäter Feldflasche shown on the DRK-DDR webpage.  It has many similarities to my latest addition, including the embossed edge on the brown leather strap.  The webpage says this canteen was used during the '50s and '60s.

The DRK-DDR website says this model of Sanitäter Feldflasche was used from the 1960s to 1989.  I have seen these canteens for sale before but never knew if they were real or put-together for the surplus market.  Now I guess I have to get one!

By far, the most interesting thing I learned on the that website was the existence of the following canteen, which I have never seen before.  This is the model 1990 medic canteen.  The Hunt Continues!  Tell the Fräulein to keep them coming.