Original Items: Only One Lot of 3 Available. The Viet Cong was an armed communist revolutionary organization in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It fought under the direction of North Vietnam, against the South Vietnamese and United States governments during the Vietnam War, eventually emerging on the winning side. It had both guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of cadres who organized peasants in the territory the Viet Cong controlled. During the war, communist fighters and anti-war activists claimed that the Viet Cong was an insurgency indigenous to the South, while the U.S. and South Vietnamese governments portrayed the group as a tool of North Vietnam. According to Trần Văn Trà, the Viet Cong's top commander, and the post-war Vietnamese government's official history, the Viet Cong followed orders from Hanoi and were part of the People's Army of Vietnam, or North Vietnamese army.

All 3 canteens are the same style with the only difference being the pouches and carriers they are in. The canteens are of aluminum construction and appear without damage and ChiCom made.

During the Korean War, prior to leaving China, the CPV primarily were issued three types of canteens: surrendered Japanese WWII canteens; captured Chinese Nationalist Canteens and their own newly made copy of the Japanese WWII canteen. All of these canteens had plug top caps, an aluminum body and a web harness with integral shoulder strap.

The ChiComs eventually abandoned the plug top stopper canteen in favor of a threaded top canteen with a bakelite screw cap. These early screw top canteens continued to use the first type harness that wrapped around the top of the canteen and buckled in the front. Variations exist in the 2nd type with regard to whether the hardware was aluminum or steel; the color of the cap, the type of hardware etc.

As time passed, the ChiComs continued to make screw top canteens but changed the web harness. This second type harness had a webbing which passed along each side of the cap and buckled in the front. Like the first and second type canteens, there are variations in these canteens such as a harness with a belt loop on the back or no belt loop; whether the cap has any markings molded into it; the color of the aluminum body and the color of the canteen cap.

All 3 examples are in lovely condition. This is a wonderful opportunity to add (2) type 2 canteens and (1) type 3 canteen to your collections. Comes more than ready for further research and display!