GERMAN MG42 SS GUNNERS POUCH MAKER MARKED FUQ

This is an original black leather gunner's pouch which machine gunners wore that contained tools and cleaning gear for the M34/42 machine gun.  This also comes with the gunner mitt, used to touch the hot barrel.  The mitt was already inside the pouch when we purchased it at the museum, not sure if they belonged together or if this mitt was original. 

Dated 1945 and has the maker mark:  “Fuq” (Cottbusser Lederwarenwerk Curt Vogel K.G., Cottbus).

The pouch has a fold over top flap with a stitched horizontal leather hinge to the reverse and a stitched on, vertical leather closure strap with a single cut-out stud eyelet to the bottom. The closure strap affixes to a steel stud situated on the bottom of the pouch. The pouch has eight small puncture rivets in a circular pattern to the front body designed to secure the internal frame panel. This pouch contains no tools, is empty, case only. The reverse of the pouch has two, stitched on, vertical leather belt loops and a central, leather reinforced steel “D” ring. 

The vertical strap looks like it has a repair to the hole were it hooks on to the stud .

Received from the Royal Winnipeg Rifles Museum, Canada, this was from a set of German field gear with 8 pieces hanging from the belt and y-strap . We have now separated everything from the German field gear grouping to sell it separately.  This Gunner pouch is one piece of the group of 8.   

The museum was selling off some of there museum’s items, to make room for more.  The museum called it deaccessioning surplus museum artifacts.

The SS soldier who owned these pieces during WWII was SS Gunner, Waske. 

The museum numbers their items for inventory purposes and you will see that there is a very small white numbered sticker on this item put there by the museum.  They are very easy to remove.