WWII USMC Rare, Earliest P1941 Knapsack(PDQ Depot-made) EM 'Musette' Bag EXC++

Description: This is the EARLIEST and RAREST of the U.S. Marine Corps P1941 Pack System pieces with the 'dog ear' side flaps, with the coveted SEWN THIN WEB-TAPE Buckes that PRE-DATED the use of RIVETED Buckles!!EXCELLENT+++ condition. "Combat Serviceable"! + This component of the P1941 Pack System (Haversack, Knapsack, Suspenders) was approved as the 'final iteration' of the Marine's pack by the Marine Corps Equipment Board on September 15, 1941 with production begun in February of 1942 by both the Marine Corps' Philadeplphia Quartermaster Depot and the Boyt Harness Company Partnership of Des Moines, Iowa (who was awarded Contract NOm- 33657 for 50,000 units in the amount of $262,000 (Research, courtesy of Alec S. Tulkoff. "GRUNT GEAR: USMC Combat Infantry Equipment of WWII, R. James Bender, 2006, pp. 131-133.) + Before or simultaneous with the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot's (DQP) use of the "RIVETED" Ladder Buckles, the Buckles on both the Upper (Haversack) and Lower (Knapsack) packs were attached during the first months of the war (February 1942) with narrow, lightweight golden-khaki, box-stitched Web Tape of WWI vintage. It is suspected that there were simply not enough 'riveting machines' at the Depot to handle the volume, so some workers were tasked with stitching the Flap Buckles with Web Tape. "Riveted" Buckle pack components today are Rare, but RARER still are these Depot-made pieces with the thin Web Tape attached Buckles!! + Being a time-consuming laborious process the use of "Rivets" replaced the use of the short, lightweight Web Tape by the Depot. + When a Web TROUSER BELT was attached to the Knapsack's short "Coupling Strap / Carrying Handle", the Knapsack served as the EM's version of the Officer's M1936 Field ('Musette') Bag. For personnel (such as Signalmen / Radio Operators with the man-pack TBY models 1-8 and the SCR 300 and Flamethrower Operators) whose equipment precluded wearing the P1941 Haversack, this was ideal for carrying the Marine's personal items, mess equipment, ammunition and/or grenades. It could also serve as a USN/USMC Corpsman's 'ersatz' First-Aid Satchel. + Harlan Glenn has helpfully summarized the several ways this P1941 Knapsack could be carried or configured in his exceptional reference work "782 Gear" UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS FIELD GEAR & EQUIPMENT OF WWII, Schiffer, 2009, pp. 59-62 (1) As a Knapsack Pack (KP) with a Pistol or Cartridge Belt and Suspenders.(2) As a Knapsack Musette Pack (KMP) as shoulder-bag when a web Trouser Belt was attached. . (See the photo of the Marine flamethrower operator on Roi-Namur, February 1944, with his Knapsack slung over his shoulder, p. 60, Glenn, "782 Gear...").(3) As a Knapsack Pack, Hand-Carried (KPHC) as a piece of luggage, using the Coupling Strap as a 'handle'. (See the photo of the column of Marines on Okinawa, 1945, outside the prefect capital of Naha, carrying their Knapsacks in their left hand, p. 61, Glenn, "782 Gear...").(4) As a Baggage Pack (BP) with the blanket roll (Shelter Half, Blanket, Pole, Pins) lashed to the perimeter with a web Trouser Belt, for stowage in a ship's hold, the baggage compartment of a train, or in a company "dump" for later retrieval. ***** PARTICULARS OF CONDITION:+ ZERO cuts, fraying, loose stitching, major stains, sun-fading, disfiguring post-war stenciling, surplus-store-price markings to the Depot's proprieatary Golden-Khaki Canvas and Light Shade OD#3 Edge Binding. Clean, inside and out, but 'dusty' and with superficial soiling from very slight, careful use. Emminently "combat serviceable"!!+ ZERO corrosion to the brass Flap Buckles, blackened steel "flat" tips to the 1/2" Flap Straps, and Coupling Strap Buckle. *****RELATIVE SCARCITY OF USMC GEAR: Only 4% of all who served during WWII were MARINES! During World War II about 16,000,000 personnel served in the U.S. military. Approximately 11,200,000 or 70% served in the U.S. Army; 4,200,000 served in the Navy; but ONLY 660,000 served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Six-hundred THOUSAND out of sixteen MILLION...but only a fraction of a fraction of a per cent of those Few Marines were issued this early P1941 Knapsack with the "THIN WEB STRAP" attached Buckles. Very few of these survived the harsh rigors of the Pacific Theater, e.g. Coral, Salt Water, Intense Sunlight -- photo radiation!). Those FEW that did survive the Pacific Campaigns were removed from service well before the Korean War when the Marine Corps abandoned this design for the "roll top" Pack System that remained in use through the Vietnam war. Solid undamaged examples of USMC P1941 Knapsacks with "THIN WEB STRAP" attached Buckles in NEAR MINT condition are now SCARCE!!!

Price: 155 USD

Location: Little Rock, Arkansas

End Time: 2024-10-05T18:08:53.000Z

Shipping Cost: 8.45 USD