The "Fahrtendecke" - are there any known still existing?

Forums New posts
A

AHR

.
.
Joined
Apr 21, 2021
Messages
21
Thanks Received
8
I just took delivery of a reprint of the 1939 RZM pricelist and found this interesting entry:
You don't have permission to view attachments.


Assuming I read the fraktur right, that's "Fahrtendecke" - which google translate gives as "travel blanket."
Is that a reasonable translation? If so, are extant pictures of one of these blankets? Or even what the "grauoliv" (grey-olive?) color looked like?

(for context, 10 RM looks about three times the cost of an hj knife or a messkit, a bit more than half the cost of a zeltbahn)
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Hi, your translation “travel blanket” is correct. I don't understand why it was so expensive either. This blanket was used when hiking and was folded and stretched over the knapsack.
I don't have any blankets in my collection and I think they are quite rare as they continued to be used after the war. Maybe there is a collector here who can show an example.
 
The green/olive blanket was designated as the official RZM-compliant item in December 1937. The kids were using different civilian versions when hiking, attending tented camps etc but the 1937 order and two subsequent orders from 1938 aimed to promote the use of the RZM blanket. It was stipulated that official procurement (units ordering in bulk for tented camps for example) should only be for the RZM version. For private purchase, individuals were to be encouraged to buy the official version. I don't see any pictures of the blanket (laying flat) in the official documents/books that I have here but as has already been mentioned it can be seen rolled up and attached to the rucksack. The green/olive blanket had an RZM label but as P says, such items will surely have been used after the war and will therefore not have survived in any meaningful numbers.
 
Thank you!

I have come across these pictures - the top from I think a hostel, the bottom from a camp. Both look like institutional blankets, but I don't get the feeling they're the olivegrau one mentioned in the regulations:

You don't have permission to view attachments.


Kriegsende still has a couple listings of now sold blankets which look similar to the top one. "Non standard" and "WSS" respectively, both I think from civilian (non regulation?) sources.

You don't have permission to view attachments.

Non-standard German Blanket

Original, non-standard, German blanket. This style of blanket was sold to the civilian market but also made their way into use with the military and red cross. Although this is not a strictly military pattern it is 100% correct and would not be out of place in your impression. If you want to use...
www.warsendshop.com www.warsendshop.com

Original SS Wool Blanket

Original SS blanket. Like the Wehrmacht, the SS used a variety of blankets, this is one of the variations that can be well documented based on period photos like the original photo pictured. Like many blankets, this one has no markings and probably never did. The blanket is quite soft, almost...
www.warsendshop.com www.warsendshop.com

I'm curious if the stripe patterns mean anything, or if they were just whatever pattern the manufacturer happened to think looked good for that run?
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Just a little more info on the official blanket: by June 1934, RJF Department I (Organisation) had completed the standardisation of youth uniforms and equipment and had promulgated manufacturing instructions. The result of this standardisation is reflected in the 1934 publication "Die Bekleidung und Ausrüstung der HJ" which describes uniforms, insignia, equipment etc in detail. On p126 of the pamphlet the official Fahrtendecke is described as being grey/brown (mixture of 50% white wool and 50 % natural brown). The blanket weight was 1300g +/-40g with the dimensions being 190cm +/-3cm x 140cm +/-3cm. No patterns/stripes are mentioned so this would appear to be a plain greyish-brown item. The 1936 RZM manufacturing instructions don't mention the blanket so I would assume that the 1934 version was simply superceded by the green/olive blanket in 1937.

Any blankets that have stripes or patterns would be civilian I would have thought.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AHR
Hi
I never found an official cover and never really looked for one.. but one day an old man in Germany gave me one on a Tornister and told me that it belonged to a BDM. It was, I think, a French brown military blanket with stripes, there was also the famous GOFFEL (Gabel-Loeffel used by the Whermacht),this does not help for the direct subject but shows that the re-use of stored items was practiced
 
  • Like
Reactions: AHR
I may have found a solid lead on the color at least. While most of the regulations I've found refer to an "IG Farben color card" there are still extant RAL color codes, and they appear to predate WWII. Better yet, they have a value for "grauoliv." It actually reminds me of the Italian surplus blankets -

You don't have permission to view attachments.

RAL 6006 Grey olive (RAL Classic) | RALcolorchart.com

This page shows RAL color 6006 with the color name Grey olive. This RAL color is in the Green hues category, part of the RAL Classic color system.
www.ralcolorchart.com www.ralcolorchart.com
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top