1945 Canteens

On the original site, I listed each canteen individually and each one had its own page. I've decided a better idea is 1 page with all of the canteens, this way its easier to compare side by side.

1945 dated canteens are fairly rare, with the 3 listed types here the only ones I know that exist. The HRE45 wood canteens, smm45 enameled steel, and sku 41945 enameled steel. Below are images of each type.

HRE 45

Here is an HRE45 marked wood resin covered canteen. This canteen has web straps, the holes for the buckle have no grommets.

Another HRE45 canteen, this one with HRE45 marked aluminum cup and web strapping. This is another of the common variants found, although still difficult to locate.

 

sku 1945

This is an example of the late war M31 style canteen, know by collectors as the M45 style. These typically have enameled steel bottles, enameled steel screw lids, late style 2 piece strap set up, and the late style canteen cover. The canteen cover is made of an ersatz wool lined rayon shell with brown rayon edging. The quality is fairly good, but wears out easily with use. This particular canteen is unissued, and the steel hook on the back is painted green and is unmarked. The unusual thing about this canteen is the maker mark- sku 1945. No refrence books make mention of this code- perhaps it is a late war name change from a previous manufacturer, or simply a contractor. The straps are made from an unusual type of leather, which looks like pigskin on the back, but may be ersatz leather. The enameled steel cup has no handles, and is totally unmarked.

smm 45

This is an example of the most often encountered 1945 dated canteen. This particular canteen bottle is unissued, as is the cover. It's possible this setup is put together, due to the fact the straps do not match the condition of the rest of the piece. SMM45 dated canteens are painted green, as this one is. The cover on this canteen is interesting- it is made from reconstituted wool, and is an olive shade like the late war M44 uniforms. It is made from 4 separate pieces of wool, with a splice down the middle of both sides. The edging on the inside is done in yellow hbt rayon, and is RB numbered illegibly. This has no cup, but I have seen smm45 dated canteen cups.