WW2 UNISSUED Rucksack Mountain Ski “1942” Complete Snow Camouflage Cover.
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:167710 |
WW2 UNISSUED Rucksack Mountain Ski “1942” Complete! Snow Camouflage Cover.10th Mountain Division. First Special Service Force. Camp Hale. Ski Troops. Rangers.Well-marked with “U.S.” cypher and the maker, “SIEGMUND WERNER INC. 1942.”Little is known of SIEGMUND WERNER INC., other than that which was learned from a notice which appeared in the November 8, 1940 edition of the BUTTE MONTANA STANDARD stating a Contract for 2, 300 Ski Poles had been awarded to SIEGMUND WERNER IN...C.!SIEGMUND WERNER was one of 14 Contractors who produced Rucksacks between 1941-1943, with only a very few made in 1941. No known Contracts are known to have been awarded for Rucksacks after 1943 (and nor have Rucksacks been found dated after 1943). No more Contracts were awarded until the Korean War (1951). But not surprisingly, photo evidence shows use of one of these in Vietnam in the late 50’s!The examples of this Model 88B found today are generally in bad shape, having been used up by outdoorsmen and Boy Scouts (such as myself!) in the early 1950’s.This particular model is what was referred to by the War Department as “The Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot (J.Q.D) Tentative Specification 88B, August 26, 1942 RUCKSACK." This was based upon the teardrop shaped “Bergen rucksack” commonly used by European Alpinists and the British Army before WW2, named for its Norwegian creator Ole F. Bergan.This one is ABSOLUTELY stone-cold-MINT CONDITION!Spotless! Loose factory threads still stuck in the seams! Glistening hardware!ZERO stains, snags, tears, frays, graffiti, corrosion, or damage!Even the OD paint on the “hips” of the External Frame is near PERFECT!Complete with the ORIGINAL BELLY BAND (which is often missing), RIFLE STRAP (which is also often missing), and the issued SNOW CAMOUFLAGE COVER (which is RARELY found AT ALL, let alone with MATCHING Manufacturer’s markings!!!!).This example is in crisp, untouched, “museum-grade, time-capsule-perfect” Condition!This is the vastly improved 2nd model (88B) that has: - Canvas Web Straps (replacing the Ribbed Web, Felt-padded Straps).- Three Equipment Tabs, all on the L side (instead of 4).- Three external Pockets that fastened with Elk hide Straps (instead of tiny brass Snap Hooks).- A large Top Flap that was secured by two 1” Web Straps and Adjustable Sliding Buckles (instead of a small brass Snap Hook).- An Inner Flap Pocket that closes with a Steel-toothed “TALON” Zipper, so marked on the Tongue of the brass Slider.- An Elkhide Frame Pocket and Reinforcement with Grommet (that replaced the Ribbed Web Pocket) for attaching the Rucksack to the New Tubular Steel Frame.- Rifle Strap (41” in length) that secured the Weapon along with the Wire Snap Hook in the Frame that was attached to the Trigger Guard of the M1 Garand. This Strap threaded through a Grommet on the Elkhide Frame Pocket and anchored by a Ring on a Hook sewn to the R Shoulder Strap.- Back Band and Belly Band.- Woven Drawstring threaded through the Grommets at the throat of the Rucksack.- White Cotton SNOW CAMOUFLAGE COVER with separate Drawstrings is ALSO manufacturer-marked “SIEGMUND WERNER 1942” in an identical font as on the Rucksack!! These pieced, seamed Cotton Covers are ALMOST impossible to find, let alone with matching markings! (NOTE: Above tree line at even Southerly latitudes SNOW is found year-round.)- And lastly, this model had a NEW, bomb-proof, “sled-chassis-grade” Welded Tubular Frame, which was, “...made of ½-inch tubular steel, (which) replaced the wire or rattan frame used with the 1941 rucksack. The frame had a more pronounced “U” shape with “horns” that came around the soldier’s hip. Three steel tubing pieces welded to the center of the frame formed a triangle for reinforcement. Being much sturdier than was necessary to support even the soldier’s heaviest loads, the tubular frame was specifically designed to form the body of an emergency sled by joining two rucksack fames and two pair of skis using ski adaptors and contraction bands.” (Drawn from Michael Meyers’s exceptionally well-researched website, THE RUCKSACK.)During the 1942 production year the Tubular Frame was simplifed with a stamped metal connector instead of the Triangular Center Pieces. The Frame on this example is the EARLIER of the two that appeared in 1942!Bottom line: It would be hard to upgrade this 77 year-old “model 88B Rucksack” and matching Snow Camouflage Cover.
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