Yugoslavian JNA Model 1959 Shovel Cover, Yugo M59 Entrenching Tool, US Model 1943 Folding Shovel, Leather Post War Style, Yugoslavia M-43 / M-59

 I have been on a quest lately, to match all of my shovels with a corresponding cover.  I did an inventory, and realized I had a US Model 1943 shovel that needed a cover.  I also noticed that I did not have a Yugoslavian, post-war cover in the collection.  Well, I found a solution for both open spots.

  

I located a great deal on a post-war, Yugoslavian, leather shovel cover, and picked it up.

 

What makes this a perfect solution, is that Yugoslavia used the old, M-1943, US folding shovels, from 1951, until their break up in 1992.  I just happened to have a 1945 dated US shovel without a cover, and now I had a Yugoslavian cover without a shovel.   To solve the dilemma, I paired the US shovel with the Yugo cover, and gave the US shovel a new "identity", as a post-war Yugoslavian shovel.  Problem solved!

 

After the end of WW2 in Germany, the US military ended up with a number of warehouses filled with old German Wehrmacht, and US military surplus gear that needed a good home.  In 1950, the Mutual Defense Assistance Program (MDAP) was signed into existence.  This allowed the US to supply various countries with surplus gear and equipment from these left over surplus piles.  All of the gear in the warehouses was deemed to be of negligible value to the new NATO forces.  In 1951, Yugoslavia made a request for equipment and were approved under the MDAP.  Nearly all of the field gear they received was a used mix of German and US items.  Yugoslavia was given a very large quantity of US M-1943 folding shovels, as well as German helmets and various other leather gear items.  Along with the field gear, the US transferred Sherman Tanks and other light armored vehicles, some artillery, and various small arms to the new Yugoslavian military.  It is interesting to note, that in the early post-war years, most of the Yugoslavian army were wearing WW2 vintage German helmets, carrying K98 rifles, and carrying US M-1943 shovels, all while maneuvering with US Sherman tanks!  It is interesting to note that Yugoslavia was the first, and only, Com-Bloc country to receive equipment through this program.  

Yugoslavia used this mash up of German and US surplus equipment until 1959, when they standardized, and modernized, their field equipment with their own designs.

In 1959, Yugoslavia kept the US M-1943 shovels, but designed their own leather carrier, based on the old German style folding shovel carriers.  They also came out with their own style helmet, ammo pouches, and other items as well.  Yugoslavia continued to use the US shovels in the M-59 leather covers until 1992, when Yugoslavia broke up.  After that date the US style, tri-fold shovels came into regular use in Serbia, Bosnia, etc. (the post-Yugoslavia countries).

NOTE:  According to one of my blog readers, Miloš Reža, Yugoslavia received the M-1943 US shovels without covers.  The Yugoslavian army first constructed their own version of the US canvas covers, and then later, issued the leather covers.  When the Serbian (post-Yugoslavian era) Army started issuing tri-fold shovels, the old US shovels and covers were placed in reserve storage.

From what I can tell, in 1959, there was a complete redesigning of the basic soldier's field gear.  Natural leather Y-straps, ammo pouches, rifle slings, and shovel covers were added (you can see one of the SKS ammo pouches and an oil bottle carrier in the opening group photo).  These leather items had embossed edging lines and "chrome" plated steel rivets.  I would assume that Yugoslavia used the older, canvas, M-43, US shovel covers, until the M-59 leather covers were issued out.

My shovel cover is in very good condition for it's age.  When I received it, it was missing one of the upper corner rivets.  I made a "shop replacement" rivet out of copper and aged it to blend in.  The new rivet is now "part of its history". 

 

The original rivets are a tube-type rivet that is very long.  The mushroomed over, tube side, is machine pressed into a wide, flat backing.  I have been unable to locate tube rivets that are long enough, and I lack the means to mushroom the back into the wide, flat backing.  So, I did the  next best thing, and that is to traditionally rivet the corner with a long copper rivet, peened with a brass washer.  I finished the repair with a bit of patina on the new rivet to blend it in.

The cover is a very snug fit, but it was obviously made for the US M-43 shovels.

This project was an interesting solution to the "US-Yugoslavia entrenching tool", hole in the collection.  The US M-43 shovels are easy to come by, and the Yugo covers are seldom found with a shovel, so the answer was easy, "reconstruct" a Yugoslavian "issue set", by combining my orphan US shovel with an original Yugo leather cover.  All in all, it is a great addition to the collection!

Let's take a closer look.

Israeli Army, IDF Zahal, Shovel and Cover, 1948 - 1950's Entrenching Tool, French Shovel Cover, French Foreign Legion, Israel צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל

I am always on the lookout for interesting, and rare shovels and covers to add to the collection. While doing a little "online exploring", I spotted a flat shovel with a canvas cover up for sale, by a seller in Ramat Yishay, Israel.

The price was high, and it was grouped with another civilian type of folding shovel.  I made a number of offers, and kept in contact with the seller over several months.  We eventually came to an agreeable price, for the flat spade and cover only, and a deal was struck.  There was more than a bit of a language barrier to deal with, but I persevered.  After over a month of shipping in-transit time, it arrived.  I was not disappointed, but I also wasn't sure exactly what I bought!

I exchanged a few messages back and forth with the seller, and it sounds like this shovel, and carrier, were used by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF, Zahal) back in the 1950's, and they were obtained by the seller after IDF service.

The subject of IDF entrenching tools (or any IDF equipment and uniform items for that matter), is a tough area to find any documentation on.  I do most of my research by combing through old photos, looking for items being worn in the field by IDF soldiers.  It is by no means the most efficient way to research, but when an item is spotted in a documented photo, there is no disputing its use!

The IDF was founded in 1948, after the Israeli War for Independence.  From the moment Israel came into existence, they have been in one war after another with their Arab neighbors, and in a constant state of war alert at all times since.  In fact, the IDF is considered one of the all time, most war hardened, and experienced, military forces in the world!  You can read more about the IDF here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Defense_Forces

The early Israeli Army was equipped with a mix of foreign surplus, donated items, and domestically made items.  The British, French and Americans, donated large quantities of surplus items in the early days of the IDF.  It is not uncommon to see photos of IDF soldiers wearing French Lizard camo, wearing French hats, and wearing British web gear, wearing US M1 helmets or British Brodie Helmets, carrying US M1943 folding shovels, and carrying surplus WW2 vintage K98k Mausers, or US M16 rifles!  Tying all of that together, is a mix of hybrid Israeli designed and made gear.  Collecting IDF equipment and uniforms is never dull!  As the years went by, these foreign items were modified, repaired, and mixed together, until they became uniquely Israeli.  That is exactly the case with the shovel and cover I acquired.

With that bit of background history behind us now, let's move on to the star of today's blog posting, my IDF shovel and cover.

Let's start with the cover, since that is by far, (in my opinion), the most interesting part of the pair.  The cover is constructed out of heavy "British Web Fabric", with a British style buckle fastener, but it is definitely NOT British.  

The style of the cover is distinctly "German" in design, but is NOT German.  It has the classic belt loops at the top, and a wrap-around strap, in the old German style.  The cover is also very reminiscent of the old British 1939 shovel cover, but when placed beside the British cover, it is easy to see the differences.

Here is a link to my British 1939 shovel and cover blog posting if you would like to see the comparison:

https://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2020/02/british-patern-1939-entrenching-tool.html

The British covers do not have belt loops, the corners are riveted, and there is no interior reinforcements.

What this shovel cover appears to be, is in fact, a French Engineer Corps, Pioneer, shovel cover.  After consulting with fellow collectors and researchers, the consensus is that the cover is French made.

France was one of only a couple of western countries that continued to use the flat shovel after WW2.  It appears that these flat shovels were used with the French Engineers, or Pioneer units.  In the early post-WW2 years, France used various surplus fabrics and hardware to construct their early web gear.  This would explain the use of British Web Fabric for this carrier.  I have seen a French Engineer Department specification drawing from the 1950's that shows two covers specified for the flat shovels.  One of the covers is remarkably similar to mine, and even has the same style of belt loops and British styled buckle.

You can read more about the photo above, and the early French covers on this French Forum (be warned, it is in French):

http://www.passionmilitaria.com/t155176-identification-porte-pelle?highlight=Étuis+pelle

The later French covers of the 1960's and 1970's, are constructed in much the same way as my IDF cover, with a few differences.  The rear hanger is the US wire type, for attaching to a web belt (the French used nearly identical belts as the US during the 1960's -1980's).  The fasteners are usually cinch tighteners, similar to the US style, and the fabrics are standard French fabrics.  You can see a good example on this French forum posting:

http://www.passionmilitaria.com/t164225-porte-pelle-armee-francaise

On one side of this IDF cover, there are faint, large, Hebrew letters written or stamped on it.  Unfortunately they are too faded to read clearly.  This is another clue to this cover actually being IDF issued.

Inside the cover, there is a leather "blade protector".  The stitching has worn away, so now the leather insert is loose, but originally it was sewn in place.  I have not seen a cloth cover with the internal leather protector like this before.

The cover is very heavy duty, and very well made.  With the leather protector inside, I believe it was made for heavy, long-term field use.  This would make sense if it is an early, post-WW2 French Engineer's cover.

Since France donated uniforms and equipment to Israel in the 1950's-1970's, and the cover matches the French Engineer shovel cover style, and construction, I am pretty sure that this is where the cover originally came from, before IDF use.  The research continues!

The shovel is a mystery.  There are no markings on it.  The blade is crude and the two sides are "pinch welded" together.  The handle has an odd, ball design, on the end, that I have not seen on any other flat shovel.  The wood handle does not insert fully, to the end of the handle socket, and it is crudely riveted on.

Israel rebuilt and repaired old surplus gear that they obtained for service, so a replaced handle would make perfect sense.  The handle appears to have been on the shovel for a very long time, and was was used for quite some time after installation.

I have not found any shovels that match the construction of the blade exactly, and the handle style is unique, so I have no definitive clues as to the origin at this point.  The seller did say the shovel came with the cover, so I'm confident it was in IDF service, along with the cover.

So until I uncover more information, find a photo, or get additional information from fellow collectors and historians, we will have to leave this research as it stands today.  Let's take a closer look at this unique cover and shovel.