wdbikemad

I think you are absolutely right......the para smocks seems to now be relegated to UK exercises and general guard duties...! Possibly far more are now worn outside the airborne forces than within....:-\ Even the lightweight para helmet appears no longer worn on operations due to the ballistic properties apparently being less than the new GS MK7 (and Mark 6 & 6A) helmets........mind you, even the ballistic para helmet actually dates back to the 1970's with development commencing in the early part of the decade........ And perhaps more poignantly, when was the last mass operational airborne deployment involving UK parachutists...?? Am I thinking Suez...?

It's difficult to see the purpose of the para smock in recent years........and with most modern combat clothing being worn over "UBACS" undergarments and covered on top by body armour and modern load carrying systems it really does beg the question "why bother?" with an item of clothing different to the rest and with no real function anymore.....:undecided: I wonder if we will see the Arctic windproof clothing produced in MTP ? Just about perfect for Norwegian forests.....

I doubt it.....although I bet some fantasy commercial copies will appear in due course ! The DPM para smock was always intended for replacement by CS 95, the smock itself being a temperate combat garment similar to the old infantry smocks....and realistically, was hardly ever used post-95 for its intended purpose other than in training and field exercises....... As with the old Denison, it appears to have remained in production, on issue and in use until today, no doubt due to grumblings by airborne troops..... But I reckon Afghanistan and the new range of combat clothing, body armour and load carrying equipment has probably now rendered the DPM para smock as essentially obsolete....... We could still see the sniper smock in MTP however, plus the (MK2) windproof smock.....

Good old Sabre Sales in Southsea have a fair quantity of old style tropical DPM jackets and trousers in NOS.....but the biggest I've seen there are up to Size 4 (plus metric sizes too)........best to go there though to rummage for yourself....there's tons of stuff ! (no bargains though, 'cos I've been there before you ! )

Hmmm.....the latter sounds like my boss at work....... It's rather ironic that "her at home" is only 4'11 tall and I'm 6'4".....I wouldn't cross her though..!! :-D

The August 1986 QMs CG (combat clothing) catalogue lists the DPM tropical jacket in Metric Sizing but the trousers under the older numbering system !!??? Size 1 (8415-99-132-3770) through to Size 23 (3792).....size "Special" is NSN 3793...

I never had a housewife either in the early 80s.....if you discount the one since divorced and the current "domestic manager" (now THAT'S politically correct !!:-).....mind you, I still had to do the dinner and put the washing out yesterday....)....... The bloody frustrating thing nowadays is trying to seek out the various military ACI's, NSN's, QM catalogues, etc......I'm trying to write a decent book on combat clothing and the lack of official references...or access to, is damn frustrating !!! Locating Lord Lucan AND Shergar is quite possibly a far easier task........:-\

The issue cadet DPM smock has lower pockets but no chest pockets.....I can quite imagine some local mods going on to add the upper pockets at the time so as not to look different to a "regular" ! :-D

The issue sniper smock in DPM has no matching DPM sniper trousers........... A few years ago now, I acquired a pair of 68 pattern DPM combats with some very professional looking padded DPM knee pads fitted......I thought they were a local modification so ditched them...... Only recently, I was browsing the 1986 edition of the Combat Clothing lists (section CG) to note that the DPM padded knee pads were a NSN stocked and supplied item for sewing on to the 68 pants for sniper use !!!! Dohhhhhh !!!! The items are in DPM fabric, mildy rectangular in profile, sponge-padded and presumably for sewing onto the combat strides by the sniper himself or the unit tailor...?

The cadet DPM trousers seem to have appeared during the late 1970s to wear with a pullover and the green windproof cadet smock (quite a good item actually and sometimes seen in use by Marines !).....this ensemble replaced battledress... The green windproof was still listed in 1986 in QM's catalogues but was noted as obsolete...the same list also contains the cadet DPM smock as current issue, therefore I assume that issue of this item commenced during the early 1980s....?

Mark, it is very much a case of trial and experience with DPM garments.........heavyweight pure cotton sateen was officially replaced for new production circa-1977-78 although many manufacturers continued to use up stocks of the older material in some cases right up to 1982-83 (the stuff was made in quantity !!).......always go by the material feel and weight...rather than the actual cammo pattern....

I have some, thanks ! Two pairs of trousers and a smock. If the labels were missing from these I should imagine that they would confuse the hell out of some collectors, especially the trousers that look like a cross between 60, 68 and the 1984-issued patterns.....they're not often seen today, although they do seem to occasionally turn-up on the surplus market. Both items are listed (with sizes and NSNs) in the 86 edition of the CG (combat clothing) QM catalogue......

There's an article in an old copy of "The Armourer" magazine that covers British body armour, etc, by Jon Bodsworth. A bloody good series, covering litterally every pattern of body armour ever worn by British troops, including experimental stuff....try their website for back-issues...I have the actual issue somewhere but need to find it :embarrassed: Anyhow, it covers the NI riot helmet (the motorcycle-style item) or, officially, "Helmet, ART" (for "Anti-Riot Topper") plus illustrations....... Try Sabre Sales in Southsea, Hants.... they may have one or two original examples kicking around in the basement ? (best place for them)......:-\

To my knowledge, the last Denisons were made circa 1978-ish as contracts ran out...........primary Denison manufacturers during the 1960's and 1970's were BMC, James Smith & Co and H E Textiles......though I think Cookson & Clegg may also have had a go...! "Dotted" DPM does NOT signify an early DPM garment !!!! Some very early DPM '60 pattern stuff misses out the "dots" completely, and I have some early 1980's cotton/modal combat clothing still featuring some very distinctive dots !!! DPM fabric was mainly manufactured by Strines Ltd in Stockport, although mass production saw this farmed out to subsidiary companies, hence the variation in printing rollers, patterns, dye colours, etc. All DPM was supposed to comply with a standard MoD pattern but in reality this didn't actually occur such is the effect of mass production..... Metric sizing for para smocks was in place by 1982-83 although the garment had commenced production much earlier, during 1977-78 I believe..... H E Textiles did seem to have a monopoly on specialist DPM clothing production during the late 1970s, including the SAS & arctic smocks & trousers, para & sniper smocks, etc.....plus a few DPM hoods....!

Anyone come across these ? The trousers seem to have preceeded the smock by a few years therefore fell under the 1968 pattern manufacturing style. The Cadet trousers are similar to the standard '68 pattern trousers but have only one leg map pocket (on the left), no field-dressing pocket, 3 buttons either side for waist adjustment, plus a plastic fly zip...... As for the smock, this replaced the pullover-style green hooded windproof........made in various patterns of DPM, the smock is partially lined, and has only two lower pockets and no top pockets.......all labels carry the designation "Army Cadet"........also used by CCF, RM cadets, etc.......both items seem to have fallen out of use in the late 1990's when CS 95 took over......?

I'll see if I can identify that badge, Mark.... I was looking at that smock myself ! A nice example, and don't you just love those old '68 pattern blackened-brass zips on the blue-green base !!! They give the earlier smocks a real "edge" over later items in my humble opinion.....can't have been cheap to manufacture either....the smock itself seems to be in one of the variant '68 pattern cotton-sateen DPM patterns......

I wonder how they trialed "ripstop"...? "Jenkins, run through 50 metres of razor wire, and come back and let us know how you got on !" Or "Brown...sit on the sanding belt for 30 minutes and report the findings...and that's an order !!!" Nuff said....:shocked:

Prym took over Newey during the 1980's/90's and the use of the Newey name was dropped....."NZ" found on some zippers refers to "Newey Zips"..... Rather interestingly, Newey fasteners were used on wartime British para smocks and Prym on German ones...!!!

I'm wondering if there were two styles of trousers initially issued....ripstop, for wear with the matching field jacket and the lightweight non-ripstop variety to match the shirt.......?

As mentioned, the hood attachment rear button disappeared from infantry combat smocks around 1984 but continued to be fitted to para and sniper smocks until the present day.....odd really, when the hood disappeared from the inventory by the late 1980's ! The para smock was much sought after by non-airborne troops.......I had one myself...until some bugger nicked it from the drying room...

The ripstop DPM Soldier 95 smock is a fairly common, well-known item.......but as for matching trousers....well, they seem rather rare..... Do they exist ? I have seen the modern ripstop version of the arctic windproof trousers, and copies of the Soldier 95 combat trousers in ripstop, but as for any issue versions....very little.... Anyone know any more on this topic ?

The DPM "Soldier 95" combat outfit of smock, trousers, goretex smock liner and trousers, lightweight shirt and fleece entered development and trial in the early 1990's.....Soldier Magazine of April 19th 1993 carried the stuff on the front cover plus an article inside....... I have examples of the lightweight jacket/shirt, trousers, plus a "working pattern" smock and hood.......all items are labelled "CS 95 User Trial" and also carry a red colour SCRDE label......... These trial items vary in detail from the production garments made from 1995-96 onwards......in particular, the lightweight shirt has sewn-on buttons whereas the production type used the tape-affixed variety, and the field jacket has an exposed front zip and concealed hood not seen on production versions..... Anybody got examples of this red-labelled gear in their collections ?

No padding....these are essentially CS 95 garments and in no way sealed or insulated as per a normal immersion suit...we are looking here at combat-type trousers in two weights, lightweight shirt/jacket plus a heavyweight field jacket, but with differences....... I think there was a post recently about aircrew clothing dress regs for the RAF, & mentioning that the DPM jacket was listed as the CS 95 item rather than the usual DPM Aircrew MK2A jacket.....I wonder if these Beaufort items are in some way connected to the ensemble....(they are dated 2002)

Main producers of smocks and trousers in '68 and later patterns were:- James Smith & Co Ltd Cookson & Clegg Ltd Compton Webb Ltd Supercraft Garments Ltd H Lotery & Co Ltd H E Textiles Ltd But others can be found. These include:- Dashmore Clothing Ltd Clayton St Mill Wm Brownlee Ltd Beaver of Bolton E Walters Ltd F Fryer & Co Ltd Jeltek Weatherguard Bernard Uniforms Ltd Etc. There a a fair few others too !

Indeed, although rarely if ever seen with one fitted......same was the case with the sniper smock...... The DPM '68 pattern hood, actually introduced in 1972, was listed as obsolete in the August 1986 edition of the QM's (section CG) catalogue and had disappeared from the inventory by 1990. Yet para and sniper smocks still being made up to the present time still carry fittings for the attachment of the hood....