Enfield1940

I've put together a complete belt order set of green PLCE, although it's all in varying levels of used condition. Some of it came from Sabre Sales who said they have "all" the green PLCE bits. (I have a spare pair of grade 1 ammo pouches if anyone is interested in doing a trade) I also had a bit of a result on Sunday at the Chelmsford militaria fair and got two green PLCE sidepack and yoke sets for £10. I also now have all the belt order DPM PLCE bits except for a pair of ammo pouches. (One of the more expensive bits for some reason) All the DPM bits are either unissued or only very lightly used - bargains can be had on eBay with a bit of patience.

Hi, I understand how the Size 1-9 system works with the smocks, but how does it work for the trousers and smock liners? E.g. If I take 34x34in trousers, what size of P68 trousers would fit me? If I have a size 7 smock, what size liner would go with it? Cheers, Mark

Postwar West German Bundesgrenschutz (Federal Border Guard) helmet. It uses the old M35/M40 helmet shell design, but with a new liner design also used in their copy of the US M1 helmet.

I paid a fiver for a mint one at Detling in August. I was on a bit of a P58 webbing and associated items buying mission. Now working on olive drab and DPM PLCE.

I saw a load of DPM Barbour jackets in their factory outlet shop at Braintree about 5-6 years ago. They looked like very nice bits of kit, but even reduced they were still £125-ish each and I couldn't justify it. I haven't seen any since.

I have a green 1971 dated size 8. It's labelled as "Overalls, Flying" rather than "Suit, Aircrew". It also has the silver Newey zips. £3 from a charity shop.:-)

If anyone knows, they'll know here: http://www.milsurps.com/forumdisplay.php?f=136

Hi, I've just acquired one of the above which I believe were for MP use. I was wondering what type of belts and / or straps it would have been officially used with? Thanks, Mark

Very nice indeed. A DPM P1960 smock is definitely near the top of my 'Would Like to Find (Cheap)' list. I regularly attend my local car boot, but I've never come across any interesting postwar clothing. However, I did once pick up a fairly tidy 1941 dated leather jerkin for £3.

An interesting item on eBay: BRITISH ARMY 1967 PROTOTYPE SMOCK FOR THE 1968 PATTERN http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170683170989#ht_506wt_932

Bonkers. I paid £15 for a size 5 in May. It gets used fairly regularly - commodious and plentiful pockets make combat jackets great for commuting in. I was excited to spot a pair of DPM P1960 combat trousers at my local car boot yesterday. Unfortunately some b*gg*r was already wearing them.:embarrassed:

I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but it certainly isn't saying real to me. The shape of the shell looks slightly wrong and the liner suspension rivets are far too 'domed'. Also obviously new paint.

P1937 belts it is then. I recall seeing the blue and white P1958 holsters fairly regularly on eBay a few years back, but they seem to have gotten scarce. Whilst on the subject of holsters, I've read elsewhere that the MoD acquired a large quantity Canadian P1951 holsters for use with the FN pistol prior to the introduction of the P1958 holster. Is there any truth in this? Thanks, Mark

They're on page 58 of 'British Post-War Jungle Webbing' by Simon Howlett. But it doesn't mention what belts were used with the blue and white versions. I suppose blue and white P37 belts would be the most likely.

Idle curiosity: what belts (or straps, etc.) were the RAF blue and MP white versions of the P1958 webbing holster intended to be used with? I've yet to see or hear of blue or white P1958 belts. Thanks, Mark

Not a vintage Beltring this year as I was only there for one day and in a bit of rush. As well as the Sniper Smock I picked up the following: Unissued P1944 right hand pouch: £10 Unissued P1958 left and right pouches + grade 1 belt: £15 Israeli copy Mills No.36 grenade: £15 Rusty Stokes mortar bomb: £25 (restoration project) Desert DPM Boonie hat: £7 Pair of unissued size long P1937 cross-straps: £5 Unissued 1940 dated P1937 Bren supplementary pouches and strap set: £6 Just in case anyone has them for sale; I’m after the following P1958 webbing bits in unissued condition: Pair of kidney pouches Waterbottle pouch Pistol holster Binocular case Compass pouch Large pack

Yes; it was in the DS Solutions tent. Here's some pictures. Cheers, Mark

Hi, Today's find at Beltring; what I think is a fairly early Sniper Smock made by H.E. Textiles Ltd. Other than the constructional differences between the two types, it is almost identical to the 1977 type Para Smock I recently posted: the same style label, DPM cloth, Newey snaps and zip. One difference of note is that it has a metric size (180/96) which presumably dates it to post-1982 - but by how much? I haven't taken any pictures yet, but it is in excellent condition and cost £45. Cheers, Mark Edit. It appears to be identical - except for the label - to the trials pattern Sniper Smock posted in this thread: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?24138-DPM-Para-Smock-DPM-Sniper-Smock-Green-Windproof-Smock&highlight=sniper

Another recent sale that caught my eye: £138 for a DPM P1960 smock: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190551496791&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

An example of the above has just sold: £170...:shocked: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280707114426&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT Is it because it's a relatively large size?

Interesting. It sounds like it has almost become a ceremonial garment or a form of insignia like a regimental beret colour, etc. Perhaps the Parachute Regiment doesn't want to lose the last living link to the iconic Denison smock? Presumably they became a less interesting acquisiton for non-parachute qualified troops when the P1990 and CS95 smocks were intoduced?

Just wondering: is the Para Smock going to be issued in the new MTP camo?

Herewith, some pictures. All comments gratefully accepted. As well as the chest loop, (which has been well done) there are three strips of white cloth tape stitched to the back of the collar. Presumably an aid to visibility and I wonder if the front loop had a similar purpose? Another thing I noticed is that the unit badge has been neatly machine stitched on whereas the parachute wings have been rather more crudely hand stitched. Finally, the cloth seems to be slightly heavier and thicker than the cloth on my '84 pattern Para smock. How do you tell if the material is Cotton-sateen or Cotton-modal? Thanks, Mark

To my delighted surprise it has arrived today, and like OMG! (as I believe young people put it:-D) it's better than the pictures suggested. It is an HE Textiles one and has a Newey zip and snaps. The label style looks early and going by my P1968 smock, I think it's made of Cotton-sateen. I'll try and post some pics later...

Is there an official date for the change over to the metric sizing? I've come across references to it being 1982 or 1984.