Military equipment of the 20th century: Swedish linjestång M/1918 (+ Inkopplingskrok M/1926 & Trådgaffel M.1918)


Linjestång M.1918 is heavy - but compact. The leather is heavy duty and all parts are made to last.

From time to time an item turns up that you have never seen before - but when you see it you need to own it. The above is such an item.

The field telephone revolutionised army communications in the early 20th century. Not in the same way as the telegraph had in the 19th century - but almost. It was faster but not necessarily more reliable. Phone cables were often cut by both friendly and enemy shells, tapped, and otherwise ruined or compromised. It was not uncommon during World War One that the phones only worked in the beginning of an attack. However, it was impossible to live without and cables were strung up all over the front line.

The above tool was used when making an 'air line' - i.e. when the cable was drawn between poles, trees, or buildings in the open air. In the British army during World War One the goal was to erect 1 mile per hour according to the Instruction in army telegraphy and telephone (The War Office 1914, p. 19) - and a air line detachment should be able to do no less than 5 miles of air line per day and "do an average day's march" (p. 19).

In the Swedish army the line men had an array of different tools at their disposal when erecting air lines. One of them was the above 'linjestång' - introduced in 1918. The idea was the line men could assemble the different sections into a long pole - and with the appropriate tool fixed at the end, either an 'inkopplingskrok' (hook) or a trådgaffel (cable fork), it was possible to guide and lift the cable into place. No need for a ladder!

Contents of the kit:

The kit comes in a leather "quiver" (linjestångskoger) that holds four sections of pole, two cable forks, two hooks, and two pieces of cable.

The two cable forks are 1918 models but the two hooks are model M.1926.