M1934 pyramdial tent

[Its me]

Hi all iv been offerd a ww2 dated m1934 pyramidal tent, but there are a few concerns and the biggest one is the colour. The reason being that it is a very light colour now i dont know if this is down to the sunlight, but does anyone know if they made them in differnt shades I.E.early ones? and is there anyway i could get it back to the original darker colour if it is due to the sun light?. the other concern being that some of the stiching is coming away from from the seams on the side walls know is this repairable? and lastly the data tag has gone on it but you can see where it once was (above the door) so now that this is missing is there any way i can confirm it is ww2 and is there any way of telling if it is an early or late variant?

many thanks

Kyle

[Joris]

This is a question Jack should be able to answer!

[Jack]

Hi all iv been offerd a ww2 dated m1934 pyramidal tent, but there are a few concerns and the biggest one is the colour. The reason being that it is a very light colour now i dont know if this is down to the sunlight, but does anyone know if they made them in differnt shades I.E.early ones? and is there anyway i could get it back to the original darker colour if it is due to the sun light?. the other concern being that some of the stiching is coming away from from the seams on the side walls know is this repairable? and lastly the data tag has gone on it but you can see where it once was (above the door) so now that this is missing is there any way i can confirm it is ww2 and is there any way of telling if it is an early or late variant?

many thanks

Kyle

 

 

Hi Kyle - just sent you a PM and....

 

 

 

Sounds like you have a nice tent! Yes they were all olive drab and yes yours has faded over the years - if you bear in mind that they were first introduced in 1934 then you can see why they now look old.

 

The only way to get it back to green is to dye it which is impractical...you have to remember that the canvas was originally white and then it was dyed green - it will keep fading. Yes you will have problems with stitching as they are old and fabric and stitching does weaken over time. One good wind and your tent could be left in pieces - it happened to a guy at W&P so be careful with that.

 

No worries about the QM label as they do get stolen or they do wear out as they aren't as tough as the canvas - they are cotton. But it will be WW11 as that is the only time they made them. They started to phase them out in 1942 when they were replaced by the M1942 12 man squad tent.

 

Nonetheless if it is cheap enough then I would go for it as they are historic and iconic - does it come with poles?

 

Kind regards,

 

Jack.

 

Further reading (taken from our website)

 

Used by the US forces in all theatres during WW11. This iconic tent was the mainstay of the famous ‘tent cities’. These major encampments in the US could have as many as six thousand pyramidal tents in them.

 

Whilst US troops were billeted in the UK they to used pyramidal tents and would have been a familiar sight throughout the country. Major camps were established in France as staging post for fresh troops on their way to the front. These major camps were named after US cigarette brands – camp Lucky Strike for an example. This was to help confuse the enemy of the whereabouts of these camps and to give the soldiers a sense of familiarity. Just to get some idea how big these camps were, Lucky Strike housed 100,000 men and 1.5 million men passed through it over an 18 month period.

 

Another name that was used for them was Company Streets. And when you see original pictures of them you can see why. Drainage was put in and often wooden walls and floors where fitted to give extra comfort. It would be fascinating to field walk these camps now to see if you could find any signs or relics from their time there.

 

At the end of the war the roles of these camps were reversed – they were then used for those men who were going home...