Bag, Large, Combat (Kampftasche Groß)
General Information
Name: Bag, Large, Combat (Kampftasche Groß).
Country of Origin: West Germany (Bundeswehr).
Manufacturer: RAKA.
Date of manufacture: 1962.
NATO Stock Number (NSN): 8465-12-127-5601.
Colour: Field Grey.
Equipment Family: German Army Feldausrüstung (Field Equipment) 1960.
Number Of Compartments: Four.
Volume Capacity: 16L.
Weight: 750gms.
Waterproof: No.
Similar Objects
History
The Bag, Large, Combat was issued to West German soldiers in the late 1950’s as part of the West German web set and was attached to the web suspenders. This bag was essentially a larger version of the Bag, Combat, Small and was used when soldiers were expected to operate in the field for 24 to 48 hours without resupply.
Like all other items carried by West German soldiers, the Bag had a prescribed set of contents. The main compartment stored a pair of socks, a woolen scarf, two handkerchiefs, a sewing kit, a washing and cleaning kit, a terry cloth towel, an olive shirt, an undershirt, a pair of underwear, a butter can, a canteen (attached to the outside), cooking utensils, and shelter poles and strings, which were stored in the front pouch. The sleeping bag was strapped to the top of the lid, the field parka was secured under the bag’s lid, and the tent/half shelter was stored in the lid’s sleeve.
Over its lifespan, the design of the Bag changed very little. The only significant early modification was the addition of vinyl belt loops to the back, similar to those on early versions of the Bag, Combat, Small, but these were removed quite early on. Another version of the Bag featured a second rectangular pouch on the underside of the lid. This pouch, along with the lid’s sleeve pocket and front pocket, closed with metal domes. It is believed that this version was issued to German paratroopers for a short period but was eventually discontinued due to insufficient carrying capacity.
The Bag continued to be issued until it was replaced by a much larger field pack in the early 1990s.
Description
The Bag is fabricated with woven cotton canvas and features a webbing carrying handle at the top center. Behind the ends of this handle are aluminum D-rings attached with webbing loops, secured to the back with large aluminum rivets. These rivets are reinforced with a 50mm strip of woven cotton and polyester webbing that stretches across the back.
The middle of the Bag includes a central webbing loop that secures the back strap of the web suspenders to the pack.
Inside the mouth of the bag, there are short webbing tabs with cotton tape on each side that can be drawn over the contents and tied together, securing the items inside. Internally, the bag is divided into three sections to organize and hold the prescribed items.
The rectangular lid of the Bag, somewhat disproportionate to the main compartment, has vertical aluminum D-rings on each side. Below these D-rings are additional webbing loops and a second set of aluminum D-rings. The lid closes with webbing straps sewn to its ends, secured by small aluminum rivets.
On the underside of the lid, there’s a large, flat cotton pouch that opens on the right side. The front face of the Bag has a heavyweight bellows rectangular canvas pouch at the bottom, which closes with three aluminum buttons. The base of the Bag features aluminum buckles on each side that the lid’s closure straps are threaded through.
The sides of the Bag have a series of webbing loops and aluminum D-rings, enabling items of equipment to be secured to it. Additionally, the sides have short, heavyweight canvas storm covers secured over the contents with tape-ties. Inside, the back wall of the main compartment has a full-length, open-top cotton cloth pocket resting against it.
Examples
Example One
Object Number: 3124-2761-36101.
