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Denison Sleeping Bag.


Scotch Harry

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I heard these were supplied, to personell who were being transported long range. In Bombers to keep them warm during the flight. At high altitude, there was no heating back in the day!.....

 

Why they used dension material for these. I can only assume, that there was a huge surplus of this material left over. From Wartime production?

 

Weather any of the above is true, I cannot state for certain? Just what I had heard & also my own take on them. :angel:

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I heard these were supplied, to personell who were being transported long range. In Bombers to keep them warm during the flight. At high altitude, there was no heating back in the day!.....

 

Why they used dension material for these. I can only assume, that there was a huge surplus of this material left over. From Wartime production?

 

Weather any of the above is true, I cannot state for certain? Just what I had heard & also my own take on them. :angel:

 

Whitley Bags... so called as you say to keep troops warm in cold bombers... not a sleeping bag - hence the design is most practical when seated in the bag.

 

Why made in the material they were... given many are 1942 production, unlikely from a huge surplus of material left over... also, these are not the same colour as Smocks (based on those originals in my collection).

 

Tim

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From a ww2 report on the effectiveness of sleeping bags, these sleeping bags are referred to, in the report, as Airborne sleeping bags.

 

Jon

 

Jon

 

Would love to see the whole of that report as it appears to contradict what I have been told before. Looking to update my knowledge if incorrect.

 

Thanks

 

Tim

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Isn't this one, strapped to the front of a jeep, Arnham 1944 and there's another pic that I can't find at the moment, of a para carrying one, again in Arnham.

 

Jon

 

Yeah,that's one of a series of pictures done by the Germans war correspondents after the battle.

If I remember it's three Germans in a jeep with two British Airborne prisoners.

I'm away at the moment so no references.

Yes, the bags were also dropped / flown in with the troops. Also used for wrapping the patients in at the field hospitals as we did this year in Oosterbeek at the 16th PFA display.

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I haven't got the whole report but it is mentioned in several books. Attached is, apparently, a 1943 picture of a display of Airborne equipment. In the centre, slightly obstructed by the fold in the page, is another sleeping bag.

 

Personally as they were produced in Denison material it would follow that they were used by Airborne troops.

 

Jon

scan0003.jpg

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i was out buying one day at frarys in suffolk bought some really nice desert and artic camo nets one desert net was as big as a mini and full of sand many boxes of like chrome and red training rounds 9mm 7.62 etc and then i saw the pile of denison patterned sleeping bags never seen them before "how much are they" fivers ill take the lot about 20 i think went from there to littlebury to pick some stuff up from peter wing when peter saw them in the back of my van "how much are they"tenners ill take the lot , i only had them a hour but i did get a quick 100 quid;)

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