2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Jan 22, 2006 1:19:37 GMT -5
I went to a militaria show and found some treasures and also got some great advice. I was looking for some "X" type US web gear suspenders (WW2) which had been quite rare and hard to come by (subsequently quite expensive ($30 to $35.00 or more!) I was told that a bunch were discovered recently (Khaki and in great condition) and bought up by sportsmansguide where they are for sale for $15.00! plus shipping (less if you're a member) While online I also found some Thompson Khaki 3 pocket mag pouches for $20.00 These are replicas but look pretty nice. Given what the real ones run (Often over $100.00 in nice shape) This seemed like a good deal.
Incidently at the militaria flea market I found some WW2 US Army combat shoes in mint condition that actually fit me along with some other items I wanted (airborne trouser suspenders and M43 field pants.) and a rubber gas mask assault bag with decent markings and worn but functional straps.
In addition I found a very nice REAL M41 with a 40" chest (barely worn sleaves) and great color for $85.00 which is only slightly more then you can now get replica M41s for and no doubt well below what it would have brought on Ebay It's getting very hard to find nice ones in decent sizes.
All in all a very good day. You can look up militaria swap meets online and will probably discover that some are probably held near you every other month or so.
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Post by Gordak on Jan 22, 2006 11:52:24 GMT -5
wow thanks for heads up. -Gordak
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Jan 22, 2006 15:42:47 GMT -5
I also saw a couple WW2 era Haversacks which seemed to be a lighter fabric then the usual heavy canvas. (not in color but in weight) They were WW2 in that the meat can had the straps rather then the buttons and lacked the extra center backside strap of the WW1 bag and they appeared suffciently aged not to be replicas and had 1941 and 1942 date on them.
I went ahead and bought one.
I also saw some that had been dyed OD (apparently during the war) which I had only heard about anecdotally (none had matching meat cans) Anyone know anything about this? I used to have several of them which I had always thought were dyed after the war but maybe not. OD is definitely better camoflage then Khaki.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Jan 26, 2006 2:57:26 GMT -5
I've since learned that on occassion the heavy canvas used for packs and pouches occassionally just "ran out" In an effort to keep the production lines going alternative lighter fabricks were sometimes used. It's most commonly seen in early 43 production. In late 43 and early 44 you often see a combination of Khaki and OD fabric in the same piece of equipment. Khaki pouches with OD trim or Visa Versa. By late 44 and 45 it was virtually all OD.
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Post by 101st all the way! on Jan 26, 2006 10:24:11 GMT -5
Be careful sportsmansguide paints stuff green because I bought some WW2 pistol belts from them, and I saw that they were once Kahki but they had painted them green. That really burnt my hide. Oh where do go online to find these WW2 swaps?
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Jan 26, 2006 22:58:04 GMT -5
I strongly doubt they painted anything green. Why would they add an expense to the process of a sale. I recently came to discover that late in the war the army re-dyed some Khaki gear OD as the army discovered that OD was a far more effective camouflage in Northern Europe than Khaki. In fact by 1944 and early 1945 the troops on the line aggressively sought out the new gear which was highly desireable but relatively unavailable to them as the rear eschelon troops (as was common) gobbled up all the hot stuff before it got to the troops on the line.
I'm sure the same thing is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan today
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Post by Guinness on Jan 26, 2006 23:28:35 GMT -5
In Iraq??? Afganistan? I work at TRICARE (All you ex-Mil's know exactly what that is ) and you wouldn't believe how many sets of the new Digital ACU's are walking around the building daily....... -G
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Post by Rainer Schmidt on Jan 27, 2006 0:08:23 GMT -5
The Canadians did a similiar process to their web'd gear. It was called Blanco, a form of cleanser that came in cake and powder form which also coloured the webbing, an' applied in various colours for the area they were in. Very popular late in the war
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Post by 5thrangerinfantry on Jan 29, 2006 20:11:53 GMT -5
Sportsmans guide did get stuff that was the wrong color so they painted it the lighter shade of green - a guy in my unit has one of the cartridge belts.
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