Original Item: Only One Available. These cowhide-covered rucksacks were known as the Tornister (Knapsack) Model 39 (developed in 1939), which was developed from the earlier Model 34. Unlike the M34, the M39 does not have attached shoulder straps, and is instead intended to attach to the infantry Y-straps using the quick release clip rings that are fitted at the four corners of the knapsack, much like an A-Frame. These are often described as being covered with "pony fur", however research shows that this was just a nickname, and was never used on these. The German nickname for these packs was Affe, or ape. 

This example is in very good shape, and looks to have all of the leather and metal components still present. As the war progressed the design was simplified for economical and practical reasons so the cowhide cover was eliminated making these packs especially scarce on today's collector market. It retains virtually all of the fur on the cowhide cover and the leather is in very good service used condition on the pack. There are no holes we can see, and the leather trim has just a bit of splitting and tearing.

It still has an original RBNr. National Business Number marking on the leather top fitting on the rear in the center:

RBNr. 0/0576/0002

There is also the name Pohl scratched into the leather, and below this on the fabric is the name Pohl Willi written with a marker or pen. The leather is still mostly supple, with just a bit of wear to the finish. The metal hardware shows some loss of the gray paint and oxidation. Measures approximately 12 1/2"H x 11 1/4"W x 4"D. 

A really nice M39 Tornister back back as used by German soldiers in WW2. Ready to display!

Reichsbetriebsnummer or RB number (also represented as RB Nr or Rbnr). Before the war, the Germans set up a system for registering and recording the factory information, the Reichsbetriebskartei. This was to help enable machine tabulation of facts and figures. It was from this that the Reichsbetriebsnummer came into being. The Reichsministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion (Ministry for Armaments and War Production) files survive today in the Bundesarchiv, however, these are only fragmentary. There is a holding file from the working group created by the Office of Machine Reporting in the Armament Office of the Reich Ministry for Armaments and War Production - their main focus was the operations of the industry group for which an economic interest was Armour production. This index provides information on the most important data of the companies covered by it, production profile, operating area, number of employees and the responsible operator.

As a prerequisite for the intended use of the punch-card method in the armaments industry, it was this system which gave rise to the Rbnr. The operating numbers were assigned by the competent local district offices of Machine reporting. (Bezirksstellen des Maschinellen Berichtswesens.) The index is in the form of index cards that are accessible numerically (approximately 14 meters of index cards!). Access to this register is only possible through the naming of this company, stating the place of production. The Reichsministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion files have multiple entries on the introduction of the factory and also the lot no.

The Rbnr code was used from 1943 onwards and replaced the makers name and address (or company logo) on government contract uniforms, caps and field equipment and knives. It is either rubber ink stamped on cloth or die stamped onto leather & metal items. It has been written countless times that this numeric code system was introduced as a security measure to help mask production locations. This was not the case but it was perhaps, a helpful by- product of the system. It is not unknown to find the Rbnr together with the maker’s info. Had it been a security measure, clearly this practise would have been banned.

So what was the Rbnr? It was a nine digit number and was normally represented thus: RB Nr: 0/000/0000.

The first prefix number could range from 0 through to 9. This number determined the membership of the various groups in the realm of Trade and Industry (Reichsgruppenleitzahl)

• 0 Industry
• 1 Crafts
• 2 Commercial wholesale trading companies
• 3 Banking
• 4 Insurance Companies
• 5 Energy (Electrical companies and such)
• 6 Tourism (Including Hotels, Wine and Mineral Water companies)
• 7 Traffic
• 8 Food Industry
• 9 Not otherwise mentioned groups