Question on Bundeswehr personal gear
- Thread starter STURM
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Are you referring to the 'Norwegian shirt'?
Was it manufactured in Malaysia?
Before the arrival of ALICE what were troops issued with, the 58 pattern?
Dodger,
There was a flap on the nurtia brown helmet cover to be used a protection against the sun. Does the current camo helmet cover still have the flap?
Also, was the M83 and the nuria brown bergen ever issued to the SAP units like Koveat?
Yes the current camo helmet cover has a small peak "sun shade" - in fact it looks like it is made on exactlty the same pattern as the old nutria one.
I'm not up to speed on SA Police equipment but I do know that the Koevoet people had a lot of freedom to choose equipment - they could use practically anything they wanted.
I'm not up to speed on SA Police equipment but I do know that the Koevoet people had a lot of freedom to choose equipment - they could use practically anything they wanted.
Sturm,
As Old F hasn't answered I'll stick my nose in - no idea about where the hammock was made - we just ordered one from 'Papa San' or his son 'spider' at Butterworth - a few Ringgit and hey presto you had your hammock. They shouldn't have been too difficult tp make. A competent seamstress with a heavy duty sewing maching could probably knock one up in half an hour.
As to the pack - up to 1988 -1989 we were issued the same type of pack worn in Vietnam much like this picture -
Aust Pack Jungle Green Part Worn - MILITARIA - MILITARY PACKS - The Best - Camping Gear | Tactical Equipment | Police Gear Security | Military | Survival | Combat Clothing | Backpacks | Navigation | Army Surplus | Boots | Knives | Australian | Wellin
Bottom half was where the sleeping bag went secured by the three straps. Top section was tiny - space mainly taken by a jumper (Howard Green), section and platoon stores (spare radio batteries or signalling panels etc), the usable parts of a few stripped down ration packs and spare ammo. On either side of the top section was a small pocket sufficient to store your hygiene kit (face washer wrapped around a comb, razor, toothpaste, brush and shaving creme), boot polishing gear, maybe a book or small Am/FM radio for those long waits before and after exercises and your hutchie(tent sheet). the straps on the lid and smaller strap in the centre of the rear face of the backpack was where you secured your Entrenching Tool. I used to hang a water bottle on each side of the backpack on the sides - unless I was going into a jungle environment as hanging the bottles on the sides of your pack would usually mean getting hung up all the time on vines etc.
The packs had a fairly solid straight backboard with two hopeless thin bands of padding. It was small, uncomfortable and seriously limited in what could be taken. At least it was difficult to overload. It was from a time before ergonomics - all weight was taken by the shoulder straps. Mongrel thing.
It was superseded by an Austcam version that basically had an enlarged top section - - also awful to use. It was improved no end by the addition of an Alice pack frame bought by the member. Better still ditch the pack altogether and use a full Alice pack - but as covered previously, some commanders prohibited the practice. When I was in the green machine, the only unit officially issued Alice packs was 3RAR - being birdshit opps, I meant airborne those poor buggers needed a large Alice to carry a stack more stuff than you'd load onto an elephant. Each man for instance jumped with a couple of mortar rounds FFS! = on top of having enough kit to be autonomous for 3 or 5 days etc. No wonder they were short little buggers - if it wasn't from all the compressions of being driven into the ground like a tent peg at regular intervals (5+ jumps per year? - feel free to correct me Old F) it was because these poor buggers used to stagger around with 50+kgs of kit.
Speaking of strange orders on kit, at RMC our Commandant, Majgen Murray Blake had once been caught in a mortar attack when he was a company commander in Vietnam. His formation was in patrol order (webbing and weapon, no pack) wandering through the jungle when they came under sustained mortar fire. As Entrenching Tools (ET's) were usually carried on the backpack - as he and his troops did not have their packs they had to try and dig in with helmets and bayonets. This understandably had a bit of an affect on the guy (or maybe he just wanted to make life more difficult for cadets and staff), but by order of the boss, our webbing had to have the ET attached to the belt on the right had side. Our ET's have a rigid hardwood handle around 50 cm long even with the blade folded, if you forgot to pull the handle forward when you sat down wearing webbing, the handle would dig into the ground and you'd end up with one side of your webbing shoved up under your right hand armpit. It was not a popular order - but then again he had been to the real two way rifle range... Experience is priceless.
Rifle Company Butterworth, B Coy 6 RAR.
5 jumps per year?!
We used to get $8.50 per jump before para pay kîcked in around 1987/8.
When we did continuation training, we some times did 5 jumps a day!
Start off clean fatigue, the combat equipment, then clean night, the CE night. jack marities made us do as many as we could.
I racked up 50+ in my first 3 years.
Reason we got alice packs was because of the cespep, that's the harness you wrap the pack in and attach to the parachute harness. prior to this, I took a good half hour to wrap your old auspack in the WW2 cespep. With the alice system you could rig your pack in a few minutes, and unwrap the system and chuck it into your pack on DZ in a minute. it took up practicly no room. wW2 rig was as big as a canvas tent......useless.
Biggest prob with the alice was what you could carry, yes, up to 50kg was standard on some jumps. Double front line ammo, mortor rounds, link 3 days rats, 8_10 LT of water, geez I miss those 30-50km advance to combat....on foot.
We used to get $8.50 per jump before para pay kîcked in around 1987/8.
When we did continuation training, we some times did 5 jumps a day!
Start off clean fatigue, the combat equipment, then clean night, the CE night. jack marities made us do as many as we could.
I racked up 50+ in my first 3 years.
Reason we got alice packs was because of the cespep, that's the harness you wrap the pack in and attach to the parachute harness. prior to this, I took a good half hour to wrap your old auspack in the WW2 cespep. With the alice system you could rig your pack in a few minutes, and unwrap the system and chuck it into your pack on DZ in a minute. it took up practicly no room. wW2 rig was as big as a canvas tent......useless.
Biggest prob with the alice was what you could carry, yes, up to 50kg was standard on some jumps. Double front line ammo, mortor rounds, link 3 days rats, 8_10 LT of water, geez I miss those 30-50km advance to combat....on foot.
Thought I'd get a bite...
LOL, well played sir!Thought I'd get a bite...
Well I have to correct my previous - I've had a good look at the current helmet cover and it does not have a "peak" - the helmet itself apears to have a slight brim at the front.