top of page

8 Man Zelts

The Zeltbahn was a very flexible use device. Each soldier was issued one Zelt pannel, 1 zelt rope, two zelt stakes, and one section of the pole. The Zelt could be worn as a poncho, made into a stretcher, used as a flotation device, and many other things. One soldier's Zelt could be combined with one or more other soldiers to create tents and other shelters.  

One common configuration was the 8-man elongated zelt. It provided no more headroom but the footprint had much more usable space than the 4-man pyramid. It would still be tight and cozy for 8 men but a little better than the 4-pannel configuration.  These were often built over holes in the ground to provide additional space or sometimes they were even made with log or board walls. Those structures will be in additional posts.

These photographs were taken from a number of books,  online sources, and auction sites.  They are presented here for educational purposes.  

bottom of page