Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 168:
Description
WWII-Era US M-1910/M-1924 Pattern Olive Drab Canvas Compass and First Aid Pouches, Matched Pair with Lift-the-Dot Closures and Wire Belt Hangers Offered here is a matched pair of World War II-period canvas utility pouches of the M-1910/M-1924 equipment pattern, each designed to carry either a standard-issue lensatic or marching compass, or a folded first field dressing packet. No named soldier, unit marking, or contractor stamp is visible in the photographs, so this lot is catalogued as representative examples of standard American web gear rather than an attributed grouping; the story here rests in the objects themselves. Developed from the original M-1910 infantry equipment system and carried forward with only minor modification through the interwar years and into World War II, this small belt pouch became a near-universal fixture of the American soldier’s individual load-bearing equipment. Clipped to a pistol belt or cartridge belt by its rear wire double-hook hanger, a pouch of this pattern rode at the hip of infantrymen, medics, and officers alike across every theater of the war, from North Africa and Normandy to the jungles of the Pacific. Quartermaster specifications called for numerous subcontracted textile manufacturers to produce this exact form in bulk, and surviving period photographs confirm it remained in continuous front-line issue throughout the conflict – practical, unglamorous, and essential to the soldier who wore it. Each pouch is constructed of Olive Drab cotton duck canvas with web-bound edges and a two-stud
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