This is a US Army mountain rucksack from World War II. These rucksacks were designed for soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division, 1st Special Service Force and other specialized units that were involved in mountain warfare. The mountain soldier could not fit all of his common and specialized gear in the standard Model 1928 haversack, the standard issue backpack of World War II. The design of the M1928 rode high on the soldiers back, and tended to shift from side to side when walking or running. This was detrimental to the mountain soldier, causing him to loose his balance while skiing or climbing. Development of a specialized backpack for mountain operations began in 1941. In 1942 the Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot developed what became known as the J.Q.D. 88 rucksack, and it became standard issue for any unit conducting mountain operations. The pack was known under three different configurations, the J.Q.D. 88, the 88B and 88F. This particular pack is the 88B and was produced by the Avery Company in 1943. The 88B used regular canvas webbing to replace the ribbed webbing shoulder straps. The felt lined shoulder pads were eliminated. The number of equipment attachment tabs were dropped from four to three, with all three being located on the upper left side of the pouch. One of the biggest improvements of the 88B was the addition of the wire rifle snap hook and rifle securing strap on the right side. A small hook was also added on the left shoulder strap. The 88B was the primary rucksack used during WWII, and was produced in large numbers. The 88B mountain rucksack is in very good, unissued condition. All the straps are present, all buckles and strap ends are present and still subdued black. The wire rifle snap hook is still attached to the right horn of the metal ruck frame. The zipper on the inner map case works perfectly. The inside of the flap is ink stamped AVERY 1943. It still has the white camouflage cover with it, stamped U.S. AVERY 1942. There are tons of pictures of soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division wearing these mountain rucks both in training and combat. They can also be seen in the WWII movie, "The Devil's Brigade". That movie made the American - Canadian 1st Special Service Force, with it's special made V-42 combat knife, famous! If you collect US World War II field gear you're gonna need this!

Item # AA1332

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