Mint Medic Bag with a Strange Stencil on Front

[rambob]

Sorry if this topic has been covered in the past. I bought a mint pair of medics bags locally from the same guy awhile ago. The laces had not even been untied yet on them. The only bummer is this big black stencil on one of the bags which detracts somewhat from it. Any ideas why it was so marked??

 

Thanks,

 

Bob

[QED4]

I am pretty sure the markings are French. Most of the US equipment that was in France at the end of the war was given to France and a lot of it they liked so much they manufactured their own version of it. I can't really tell from the picture but this may be a French made pouch, the only difference is the French used a coarser material where the US made ones that had a tighter smoother weave. You will see both American made and French made pouches marked like this.

[DocRick]

I have a pair of french produced bags which, like stated above, are of a coarser weave, and mine do not have the provisions for the insert lace-ins nor the strap on the back. They are a darker OD material also.

[rambob]

Thanks for the responses. I thought the markings were French, but just needed clarification. Any idea what they mean?? I have a second, mint medic bag that is not marked, but is identical to this bag. BTW. Both bags have the provisions for lacing in of the inserts and the cloth loops on the back, so I would suppose this to be an original US medic bag, but marked by the French.

[J_Andrews]

The French bags are coarser because they are made of cotton plus LINEN (flax), not 100% cotton. This may have been because there were lots of flax growers getting government agricultural subsidies in France and some/most cotton would be imported from outside the French Union/sphere..

[Mr-X]

The markings are definitely French.

 

One of our French members may be able to let us know what they mean.