Bundesgrenzschutz Feldflasche, BGS Canteen

I have recently picked up several new items for the Bundesgrenzschutz collection, so get ready for a run of BGS items on the blog!  The first item up for review is a mint condition, Bundesgrenzschutz Feldflasche, better known in English as a Field Canteen.  The canteen bottle and cup are both matched and are dated 1974.

This style of canteen was adopted in the 1960's, replacing the earlier German WW2 styled canteen and cup.  These new style canteens were used extensively through the 1970's and on into the 1990's.  A number of German Police departments also issued this style of canteen as well as the THW (Technisches Hilfswerk).  The canteen was designed to clip on to the outside of bread bag, next to the mess kit.

The design of this canteen is quite unique and has not been duplicated by any other country.  This is a bit surprising as this is a great design with some well thought out design details.  The complete canteen assembly consists of an aluminum bottle with double-cap, an aluminum cup and a heavy leatherette cover with clip hanger.  The cap consists of a large screw top with a built in small cap opening.  You can imagine how this really makes this canteen bottle much more versatile, not to mention easier to clean!  The cup has folding wire handles and an insulating plastic plate on each side of the cup lip.  This protects the user from getting burned lips when drinking hot liquids!  A very cool design feature!  The cup can be removed without removing the bottle, by simply unsnapping the cover and pulling the cup down.... another nice feature.  

I think I'll let the photos of this canteen speak for themselves, so without further delay, here is the album: