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1945 Field Pack with 1944! date? How is that possible?


TrenchRat
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Good day all,

 

I came across a 1945 Field Pack that is actually dated 1944. How could that be possible?

And it certainly seems to be a '45 pack as it has the buckles and rings at the front bottom that the '44 packs lack.

 

Thanks for any info you can provide

 

TR

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I have also seen this before.

 

C.A.,

 

Really? I guess this means that the '45s were being produced in '44...

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Look closely at the attachment points. many model 1944 packs were retrofitted into model 1945 packed. Look where the model 44 attachments should be and you may find shadows of where hardware has been removed.

 

Bob

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Look closely at the attachment points. many model 1944 packs were retrofitted into model 1945 packed. Look where the model 44 attachments should be and you may find shadows of where hardware has been removed.

 

Bob

 

Hello Bob,

 

Nuts...didn't think of that. Probably no other reason for this than that one...

 

Thanks!

TR

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Yup, what Bheskett said...this was done to a lot of M1944 Packs (sadly for us collectors :wacko: ).

The M1945 Pack I have is one of these retrofits.

But unmolested '44s can be found (below); just takes a little lookin'.

post-3226-0-50246000-1453918198.jpg

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There is a very interesting write up on the history of all the packs issued during WW2 by the Quartermaster after the war. If I remember correctly the Army Ground Forces wanted the M1944 pack, which they copied off of the Marine Corps M1941 pack, issued immediately without testing and the QMG wanted to test it first as they had tested the jungle pack and the Field pack (what we collectors call the M1943 pack). The AGF won out over the QMG. The pack was simultaneously adopted and tested and finally "improved" and adopted as the M1945 set in April of 1945. As stated earlier, many of the original M1944's were retrofitted to the M1945 standard.

Tim

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I have a unissued M1945 upper pack dated 1945 and some of the webbing on it is OD#3 transitional.

 

The M1944 Pack system was very short live.

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Well, thanks you all, for your input and explanations.

 

Too bad I did not know that it may not be easy to find a virgin 1944 pack or else I would never have sold the one I had...

 

TR

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