Adler69
Master sergeant 
Legio Patria Nostra
Posts: 2,859
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Post by Adler69 on Dec 17, 2008 3:28:44 GMT -5
Ok , time for the webgear thread Packs M1910 haversack Used in WWI and sometimes used during WWII  M1928 haversack   M1936 musette bag Used by Airborne troopers , officers and any GI that could get their hands on one This one is the latter version  Mountain pack Used by the 10th Mountain Division and the FSSF   M43 Tropical Pack The M43 was issued in time to see some use during the closing stages of the Battle of the Bulge   M45 pack System The M45 pack system consisted of the upper haversack , lower cargo pack and the M45 suspenders. The system came into service during the last few weks of the war  Upper haversack   Lower cargo pack   Basic Rifleman webgear This is the complete set up for a rifleman for most of the war M1923 Cartridge Belt, M36 suspenders , M1910 canteen cover and canteen , First Aid pouch , bayonet and wire cutters  M1945 riflemans webgear Same as the M36 webgear but in OD  Webgear for an infantryman armed with either an M3 grease gun or Thompson submachinegun (the repro 3 cell mag pouch is wrong for the ETO , should be a 5 cell mag pouch)  All of the wegbear sets together  Miscellaneous gear 1911a1 with modified shoulder holster , 1911a1 mag pouch , M1 Carbine mag pouch ,Tropical First Aid pouch  Bandoleers Bandoleers where used to carry spare ammo for the M1 Garand , some riflemen would carry between 2 and 3 bandoleers of extra ammo .  Leggings Leggings from early in the war in khaki and one set of 1943 dated OD leggings , some leggings are Navy/ USMC .           |
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Dec 17, 2008 18:07:11 GMT -5
Awesome post! Thanks ED. If anyone has additional Web gear to submit with pictures of and background on the gear, that will keep this as a living thread and add to the resource.
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Seff
Private
.30-06 - Turning Cover into Concealment since 1906
Posts: 344
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Post by Seff on Dec 17, 2008 19:10:36 GMT -5
I'll see if I can snap a pic of my M1943 suspenders at some point.
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Young Blood
Corporal
Dog Co. 504 PIR, 82nd Airborne (SoCal)
Posts: 876
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Post by Young Blood on Dec 19, 2008 12:39:50 GMT -5
very helpful thread, thanks for posting, I saw a couple things I didn't know, so thanks  -Eddie |
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Sgt_Tom
Technical Sgt.
Combat!
Posts: 3,580
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Post by Sgt_Tom on Dec 19, 2008 13:24:53 GMT -5
Great thread guys. Thanks for taking your time to take and post all the pictures. It will help when new recruits are in town.  |
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Post by raiderusmc on Feb 3, 2009 22:06:33 GMT -5
Where would be a good site to pick up some of this stuff. As I am building a USMC Raider impression for use in WWII airsoft.
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deacon
Private 1st Class
Posts: 748
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Post by deacon on Feb 3, 2009 23:11:56 GMT -5
Where would be a good site to pick up some of this stuff. As I am building a USMC Raider impression for use in WWII airsoft. At the front buddy |
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godo
Private
Are you careful what you say or write?
Posts: 70
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Post by godo on Jun 30, 2009 13:09:10 GMT -5
Somebody told me that combat suspenders were wrong for GIs and that they were only worn by paratroopers. GIs wore the haversack w/suspenders built in.
Is that true?
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Adler69
Master sergeant
Legio Patria Nostra
Posts: 2,859
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Post by Adler69 on Jun 30, 2009 13:33:15 GMT -5
M36 suspenders where not just issued to Airborne troops , anyone could get them , legs liked using them just as much as AB troopers.
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Sgt_Tom
Technical Sgt.
Combat!
Posts: 3,580
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Post by Sgt_Tom on Jun 30, 2009 13:34:09 GMT -5
Somebody told me that combat suspenders were wrong for GIs and that they were only worn by paratroopers. GIs wore the haversack w/suspenders built in. Is that true? I've never heard of suspenders being built into a Haversack. I mean it just doesn't make much sense as Haversacks already have straps on them. I don't know who told you GI's(Infantry) didn't wear suspenders because they did. |
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Post by waldo on Jun 30, 2009 13:44:00 GMT -5
That's what he meant. Those straps built into the haversack act as suspenders.
Nick
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Adler69
Master sergeant
Legio Patria Nostra
Posts: 2,859
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Post by Adler69 on Oct 16, 2009 22:26:50 GMT -5
Medic bags , Khaki and OD  M1 / GP bags , used to carry anything from Rifle Grenades , En-blocks , K-rats , Hand Grenades..... '44 dated Khaki   '45 dated O.D.   |
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Post by volkssturm on Nov 21, 2009 16:28:37 GMT -5
A dumb question on the Musette bag, now that I have one. When hooked ontp the M1936 suspenders, how does the bottom of the bag fasten? Do you need something else to hook the D rings at the bottom of the bag to the belt, or does it just hang?
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Adler69
Master sergeant
Legio Patria Nostra
Posts: 2,859
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Post by Adler69 on Nov 21, 2009 17:49:20 GMT -5
A dumb question on the Musette bag, now that I have one. When hooked ontp the M1936 suspenders, how does the bottom of the bag fasten? Do you need something else to hook the D rings at the bottom of the bag to the belt, or does it just hang? To secure the bottom of the bag , you need to attach the second strap from the M36 suspenders to the D rings on the bottom of the bag. |
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Nov 21, 2009 18:18:59 GMT -5
The suspenders had two Y shaped straps and instead of hooking the rear strap to your belt you could route them to the D rings at the base of the mussette bag.
You can also hook the straps to the D ring and just let the bag hang in the back. It is not an ideal arrangement in my opinion but it was done. It works if you like the bag higher on your back and if you want to be able to flop it over your head to the front in order to access the bag without removing your whole set up.
Flop it over your head and back into position when done. While it works, it flops around too much when going prone or racing around for my taste. Ultimately when it come to these things do what works for you. I guarantee you that's what the troops did.
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stuka
Sergeant
The one and only
Posts: 1,205
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Post by stuka on Aug 27, 2012 13:09:28 GMT -5
question about the smg unit webgear, i have the ics m3 and the m3 mags are a good size too big to fit in the thompson mag pouches, so my question is where can i find m3/m3a1 mag pouches(three cell preferably since i only have three spares)
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Post by brownien on Aug 27, 2012 21:15:14 GMT -5
I do not believe the m3 mags were ever issued in a 3 cell mag pouch like the thompson mags were. I believe (correct me if im wrong) that the m3 mags were carried in a GP bag.
Also Adler69, (or anyone else) would you mind posting how the m45 haversack setup was worn? I have the m45 upper haversack and thats it. I am currently using it in place of a m1936 musette bag with what looks like the shoulder straps tied onto some metal clips (as the ends of the straps no longer have the metal ends on them) and have been clipping them onto the D-rings of my m1936 suspenders. Im not sure if this is correct but i also have a set of the m45 suspenders if you could show how they attach to that. thanks!
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stuka
Sergeant
The one and only
Posts: 1,205
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Post by stuka on Aug 27, 2012 22:28:49 GMT -5
Well I know they exist it's just a matter of finding them, weather or not they were issued I have no clue
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Post by bloodandguts5150 on Aug 28, 2012 0:23:40 GMT -5
I always wondered what the OD bag my dad was given when he was on the state police ERT. They actually got a lot of surplus gear with WWII dates, and he got a lower cargo pack from the '45 system, e-tools and a carrier, .45 mag pouch, and a few others that I'm forgetting. I never knew what that bag was until I looked at this.
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Post by brownien on Aug 28, 2012 15:21:15 GMT -5
stuka: If the M3 mags are only slightly large for the Thompson mag pouches, I would consider soaking them in warm/hot water and slipping the mags in and let it dry that way so they streach out. this seems like the best answer as I cannot find a place where specialized m3 pouches besides the GP bag is sold. this could also be viable as imitating an in field solution back in the day.
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Post by aj czarkowski on Aug 28, 2012 19:15:27 GMT -5
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Post by shiftsup on Aug 28, 2012 20:12:02 GMT -5
For grease gun and 30rd Thompson or magazines you can always fo the M1928 Meat Can pouch field mod. Just attach the meat can pouch to the web pistol belt with (among other things) those airborne leg ties.   The magazines are stored horizontally. The pouch fits snug to the body and doesn't flop around like GP Bag. There are enough photos of this for it to be considered legitimate for a genuine field modification. Not 100% positive about this but IIRC SMG rigger pouches were 82nd AB only and most if not all rigger pouches were "re-called" before Market-Garden. |
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Post by Atomic Racoon on Sept 5, 2012 17:07:04 GMT -5
Figured I would ask here:
I just bought an M43 E-tool (the folding one), and It's basically a P.O.S.
It works fine, but all the metal is rusted and there's no paint left anywhere (traces of O.D. on the head, but very, very little.). What's the correct WWII coloring for this shovel? Google was no help; I turned up at least four color variations.
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Post by brownien on Sept 5, 2012 17:46:21 GMT -5
Thats just it, there were many different color variations of olive drab that were applied to USGI gear. I would find something close to a general olive drab color and just use the shovel a bit to scuff up the eeven paint to make it look used.
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Post by Atomic Racoon on Sept 5, 2012 19:55:43 GMT -5
No, I mean what do I paint? I've seen head painted, shaft unpainted; whole thing painted; shaft painted, head unpainted; nothing painted. Not sure which to pick.
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Post by brownien on Sept 5, 2012 20:46:45 GMT -5
I would paint the entire thing and just let the paint wear off naturally IMO
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 14, 2012 12:20:31 GMT -5
There was an official M3 Grease bag pouch with 3 cells produced in olive drab. i have several with 44 but mostly 45 dates. I suspect like a lot of late war web gear they primarily served in Korea and that few got in the hands of GIs especially in the european theater. I know these WW2 dated bags were used in Vietnam as well. The ICs mags fit beautifully in them. The M3 Grease gun mag pouches have been showing up on ebay quite a bit but like so many items of field gear bring stupid, stupid money.
At one time I had about 35 of these 3 cell M3 pouches in mint unissued condition that I bought all at one time from a surplus store in Idaho. i hesititate to say how cheaply I got them for but obviously they were cheap enough that i bought every one he had and wished he had more. In that particular instance Ebay was for me a great outlet.
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-Eddie
