These very unique shovels are not commonly encountered these days, however, if you keep your eyes open, you may run across one! If you do, I highly recommend picking it up.
These shovels were officially made for the Polish Paratroops, and for issue to special assault units. They were adopted in 1971 and are still seen in use by the Polish military today.
At some point along the way, some of these shovels found their way into the Hungarian military. The Hungarians issued these to their paratroops as well. In Hungary, there seem to be two versions of this shovel. The first is the Polish version that I am showing today, and the second is a flat, smooth blade version that may have been made domestically in Hungary. Another possibility is that there are two versions made in Poland...........
The most interesting thing about these shovels is the fact that the shovel blade and hinge mechanism, were copied directly from the WW2 German Feldspaten! The handle is shaped to mimic the old German shovels as well. It almost makes me wonder if there was a Polish factory that had been making German shovels during WW2, that still had some of the old tooling set up after the war. More research is needed on this point.
The handle on this shovel is made of heavy metal tubing, with a screw joint in the center. The handle is also marked indicating which direction is "ON" and which direction is "OFF".
The handle parts are kept together with a cable that runs inside, so that the parts are not lost when disassembled.
When I received the shovel, it was broken down into two pieces (the handle). At first I thought that the threads must be damaged, because, try as I might, I could not get it to thread together. After quite a bit of fiddling with it, I realized that the threads are reversed! I am guessing that the handle threads are reversed so that the handle does not loosen when the blade nut is turned. They both turn opposite.
The blade is marked with a KT and 22 inside a circle. This is the Polish military acceptance marking that means "Kontrola Techniczna". The 22 must be an individual inspector number.
The canvas cover is made with classic Polish canvas from the 1960's to 1980's era and appears to have originally been issued with the straight handled spade. Since the cover has the handle hole in the bottom, it enables the shovel to be carried folded with the handle disassembled, or folded with the handle assembled.
One thing I love about these Polish covers is the rolled leather button tab. Very nice!
I find it quite fascinating that the WW2 German folding shovel blade, and complete shovel style, continued to find its way into service with various countries after the war.
Here is a link to one of the other "German Clones" that I have showcased. I will be showing off a Norwegian issued shovel from the Cold War that also has the classic German blade soon, so stay tuned.
http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2017/03/dutch-army-shovel-entrenching-tool.html
Now let's take a closer look at this very unique Polish / Hungarian shovel.
4 comments:
Nice one! Do you think it is as robust as the German ones? I think atthefront.com still has German ones for sale.
These Polish Folders are built TOUGH! The blade and folding mechanism is every bit as heavy duty as the original WW2 German folders, and the the handle is HEAVY steel. With the ability to break down the handle, you get the classic WW2 styling, with a more modern, post-war "tri-fold" option. If you are looking for tough, with classic style, and are not set on "authentic WW2" wood, then I would say, grab one of these Polish shovels. You won't be disappointed!
Very nice shovel, I was wondering if you could tell me if the black plastic cap on end of handle is removable? One last thing if it's not a problem did all polish shovels have same color covers ? Thank you for your time and help with these questions.best regards Ken
Hello Ken!
To answer your question, "No", the ball cap on the end of the handle is not removable. The canvas cover is the "standard" shade of Polish green, seen from the early post-WW2 era, into at least the 1980's. I would assume that there may be other colors for covers, but I can't say for certain. I believe Poland may have been issuing some camo gear that came into use in the late 1990's and up until now, so you may find something made it that fabric. Hope that helps.
Post a Comment