Show me your Vietnam displays

[DaveJ]

Yes,
The black splotches are on the back of the pants and jacket as well,
Dave

[Patrick Dempsey]

Hello all,

here i am again.

As mentioned before, many people view the wars of S.E.Asia through the prism of the American experience.

One of the many fascinating aspects for me involve the allied contingents that fought alongside both Vietnamese and American soldiers alike.

The first Australian troops arrived in 1962, and like their American brothers in arms were originally engaged in Advisory tasks. By 1965, combat troops had begun to arrive and Australia commited to the struggle until 1972 when in December of that year the last troops flew home.

This display shows an Australian infantryman circa 1965.

Collecting items from this contingent is quite fascinating.

Australians troops initially were equipped with a variety of items from Australian,British and US sources.

Here we have a set of Australian Jungle Greens (JG's) a cotton twill set of garments, with a mix of British 44 pattern webbing,US WW2 and Australian M56 equipment.

[Patrick Dempsey]

The Australian ammo bandoleer.

Note the typical period finish on the snaps.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Early on, the British jungle hat was used alongside the the Australian "giggle hat".

Note here the large mesh on the ventilation holes.

This hat is 1960's vintage and are quite hard to find here in the UK.

Strange but true...

[Patrick Dempsey]

In the above shot you can see two examples of Australian produced M56 webbing.

The "H" harness and the first aid pouch. Note the snap colour matches the fittings on the bandoleer.

Basic construction is identical to the US version, but it is larger overall.

This mint example has a WW2 era Australian made shell dressing inside.

[Patrick Dempsey]

The rear.

Simply mirrors the US system.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Here we have a detail of the "JG" trousers.

Patterned after the WW2 British Jungle greens, this model of trouser has a large map pocket on the left leg.

Note too the 1962 dated SLR. The standard rifle carried.

This is a British made rifle. The Australians eventually made their own rifles as the war progressed.

[Patrick Dempsey]

In the above shot you can see worn on the hip a British 44 pattern ammo pouch.

Worn in pairs,these were favoured by ANZAC troops as they had a greater carrying capacity than US pouches, plus they gave the look of a seasoned veteran ( British and Commonwealth forces had not long concluded the Indonesian campaign).

ANZAC units also used obsolete 37 pattern webbing, the Australian military never produced 44 pattern webbing, so emergency batches were procured and issued from British sources. These pouches are 1966 dated.


Shown here is a WW2 US water bottle and an Australian M56 one.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Detail one..

[Patrick Dempsey]

Detail two.

This time showing the early style Australian M56 water bottle carrier.

The Australian system had "alice" clips to attach to the belt and hanger as seen here.

Unlike the US system which was designed to be worn high and tight to the body, Aussie units preferred to wear items low and loose.

[Patrick Dempsey]

The bottle was a direct copy of the US original.

[Patrick Dempsey]

To close,

a nice shot showing all 3 nations webbing.

if you wish to see more, by all means let me know.




I have the second and final uniform type worn by Australian forces to show also.

Patrick.

[Spanish Freiwillige]

Thas is an awsom display you got there

[Spanish Freiwillige]

Does any anybody have any captured NVA/VC souvaniers they want to share!!!

[Simon F]

Bravo Patrick!

A great deal of good information there. Not to mention the quality of your pictures.

I for one would like to see some more of the Australian field gear