Wehrmacht mess plates were heavy-duty white porcelain, sometimes described as ironstone-type. They were made for barracks dining halls, canteens and other military catering in Germany from the mid-1930s through the war. The Wehrmacht's three services (Army, Navy and Air Force) were supplied with crockery in large quantities. Plates came in several sizes, including a full-size dinner plate of roughly 23 cm, as well as soup plates, bowls, platters, tureens, cups and coffee pots. Many established German porcelain firms produced them, among them Bauscher Weiden, Hutschenreuther, Rosenthal, KPM, Schönwald and manufacturers in the Bohemian region. Pieces are normally stamped or printed under the glaze on the underside. The mark usually combines a maker's logo, a year of manufacture and a property mark. Army pieces usually carry the Wehrmacht eagle with swastika. Navy pieces carry the naval eagle above the letter M. Luftwaffe tableware may carry the eagle with the initials Fl.U.V., for the Luftwaffe barracks administration. Collectors tell variants apart by the service mark, the maker, the dating and any coloured rim line. Related tableware for the Labour Front and the Reich Labour Service has its own emblems and should not be confused with Wehrmacht issue. Production runs were very large.
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