Goretex Coveralls Sniper DPM

[MHillyard]

A friend who has a pair and asked me to enquire if anyone has any details on them. I had a quick google and people seem to mention them but there are no obvious pictures or sales of them.

 

Thanks

[wdbikemad]

There is indeed a goretex DPM sniper suit, but I can't remember exactly what it looks like. These date from (probably) the early 90s.

 

It seems that a 1-piece DPM sniper suit existed as far back as the mid-1970s when a trial version was illustrated (along with the then-new DPM para smock) by SCRDE in the Osprey Men-At-Arms book "The British Army 1965 - 1980" (I think).......seems to be a coverall, with hood and foliage loops but in cloth, not nylon or goretex. Not certain if this ended up as an issue garment or remained as a trial item only......? It is not listed in the 86 edition of the QM CG combat clothing catalogue, although the sniper smock (with two separate NSN stock numbers lists !!!?) and the sew-on knee pads (see below) are.....

 

The sniper smock seems to have appeared soon after the para smock commenced issue during the late 70s, and was worn with standard DPM 68 pattern strides with sewn-on padded DPM knee-pads (available as separate items to sew-on). The sniper smock has undergone one major revision during this time, in that the lining changed to DPM (from green poplin) and the frontal zip changed from brass to plastic...........the sizing system also changed from the older "1 to 9" to the metric system........I think these changes (to the design) were around the early 90s......?

Edited November 25, 2012 by wdbikemad