Patronenkasten 15, MG34 Ammunition Box : Corporal J H Edmondson, 2/17 Battalion

Rectangular ammunition box of welded and pressed steel construction. The box is finished in original wartime dark green paint, with red oxide primer showing through in some areas. The lid is impressed with a small eagle and swastika symbol. Each end of the box has impressed recesses to accommodate the square steel rod carry handles. Fitted above one of these handles is a rivetted curved plate which forms the lower part of the securing mechanism for the lid. The tapering rectangular lid is hinged at one end and has impressed recesses in the centre and at one end to protect the carry handle and securing latch respectively. The main carrying handle is made from flattened 8mm steel rod which is rivetted to the centre of the lid and offset to one side. The securing latch is 'bottle opener' shaped and sits flush in the pressed recess when the lid is secured. The three steel carry handles all have stitched leather coverings.

This box was captured on 14 April 1941 by Australian troops of 2/17 Infantry Battalion, during a dawn attack on post R33, in the Tobruk Perimeter. An MG34 machine gun, tripod and the ammunition box were found in close proximity to the point where Corporal John Hurst Edmondson won his Victoria Cross (the first awarded to an Australian during the Second World War) during the attack. The German gun crew were found dead around the weapon. The machine gun and accessories were salvaged and were subsequently used in the defence of Tobruk against Afrika Korps forces by members of 2/17 Battalion. The items were brought to Australia as war relics when the unit left North Africa at the end of 1942. This type of ammunition box, known as a 'Patronenkasten', was based on the Type 15 case which was introduced into service with the Imperial German Army during the First World War. Designed to hold a 250 round steel belt of 7.92mm x 57mm ammunition, production continued into and beyond the Second World War. The main carry handle is deliberately offset to one side, so that two like boxes can be carried in one hand at the same time. Each loaded box weighed a little over 10 kilograms and the expectation of the German Army was that four boxes, totalling 1,000 rounds, could be carried by one man. The same style of ammunition box supplied the MG08, MG34 and MG42 type machine guns.