Today I'll be showcasing the latest addition to the collection. This shovel is an Imperial Russian, Finland re-issue "trench shovel", dated 1915.
This shovel would have been originally issued to the Russian troops that were in Finland during the WW1 years. When Finland broke away from Russia in 1917, these shovels were taken as "captured" equipment and re-issued to the Finish Army. This shovel would have been carried during the Winter War of 1939, and during the Continuation War for the remainder of WW2, and probably into the post-WW2 years as well.
The shovels were repainted in "Finland Green" and a hole was punched through the blade so that the shovel could be carried on a belt hook.
This particular shovel is stamped with the date 1915, It also is stamped with the SA stamp which stand for: Suomen Armeija Taisteluvälinehallinto, or in English, "Finish Army Ordinance Department". There is a P stamped next to the SA stamp that represents Pioneerin, the Finland Engineers - Sappers.
The original Russian green paint is visible, as well as the Finish green paint that is a slightly more "olive drab" color.
To the left side of the SA stamp, you can see the very faint Imperial "Double Eagle" stamp from it's original Russian issue. Under the SA stamp, there are the remains of some original Russian, Cyrillic letters.
There is even some "graffiti" carved into the handle by a prior owner!
UPDATE: I have since added two more Finnish shovels to the collection. You can see them here:
http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2018/04/finish-army-engineer-sapper-shovel.html
http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2017/03/finish-army-engineer-sapper-shovel.html
Now let's finish things up with a few extra detail photos:
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