British WW2 *RARE* Pattern 1939 Entrenching Tool, Shovel Spade, 1940 Implement

Description: British Pattern 1939 Entrenching Tool, Shovel Spade, 1940 Implement, Entrenching, 1939 Pattern, Dutch Reddingsploeg This spade, is officially known as the "Implement, Entrenching, 1939 Pattern". This was the British issue spade at the very beginning of 1939 The British had no entrenching tool. In 1923, the British made all entrenching tools obsolete, and there were no standard issue tools issued out to the soldiers serving the Crown. Perhaps, they felt that trench warfare was a thing of the past, and shovels would not be needed. In 1937, the British web gear was redesigned and the Pattern 1937 web gear came into general issue. The only piece of web gear that was missing from this new '37 pat. gear, was a shovel carrier. There was no entrenching tool, so no need for a carrier! In 1939 Britain found themselves at war. The British Expeditionary Forces were deployed to France, without an entrenching tool. The War Ministry did some fast back peddling, and selected an "off the shelf" design to put into service as the new issue entrenching tool. Their choice was the classic spade, or Linneman Tool variant. This new entrenching tool - spade was officially adopted at the end 1939, but was not issued until the beginning of 1940. These Pattern 1939 spades were found to be inadequate for digging in anything other than soft soil, and they were very unpopular with the troops. In July of 1941, the Pattern 1939 spade was made obsolete and was pulled out of field service. The spade was replaced with the spade pickaxe When the Pattern 1939 spades were pulled out of general service, they were relegated to training stores, and for use with Cadet Training Units. In 1947, after the war, these spades were completely removed from all British service. The spade is dated 1940, with the manufacturer's mark John Perks, as well as the British Broad Arrow acceptance stamp. see magnified photo There is an additional stamped mark on the wood handle. It readsRP 32. This is a post-war marking that was added by the Dutch. After WW2, many of these shovels were sold to the Dutch for use in their Civil Defense and Rescue Forces. The RP mark signifies "Reddingsploeg", or Rescue Service. The 32 is found on all of the shovels in their service. Each type of tool was given a "Dutch Stock Number" when they were reissued. Shovels are found with RP 32, flashlights RP 23, and Rescue Axes RP 4, etc. The shovel blade has very distinctive "folded ears" as reenforcements on the shoulder. The socket of the blade is formed with two pieces and reenforced with "wrap-around wings" from the main blade stamping. And heavily riveted to hold all the parts Entrenching tool includes a Correct British WW2 REPRODUCTION M1939 khaki web carrier WE SHIP WITHIN 48 HOURS OF RECEIPT OF PAYMENT.CHECK OUR FEEDBACK AND BUY WITH CONFIDENCE. Please take a minute and check out my other listings.I will be listing many unique and unusual items from my over 25 years of collecting...you never know what youll find! If I feel that there is a lack of interest or low activity, I will end the auction early.Do not miss out on this item by waiting until the last minute to bid...it may no longer be available. Now the business part: PAYMENT Via ebay SHIPPING The price that you pay for shipping includes the actual shipping cost (calculated by the USPS) plus cost of handling/supplies.I will combine shipping whenever possible. INSURANCE not included CHECKOUT I would like to hear from you within 3 days of the close of the auction.Use the ebay checkout or send an e-mail and let me know how you plan to close this deal. Good luck and thanks f

Price: 599.99 USD

Location: Mantua, New Jersey

End Time: 2024-08-23T12:44:42.000Z

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