Proper kit for 1974 Land Rover Lightweight

[Bilbo42]

Hey guys. I am brand new to this forum and brand new to British helmets, uniform and other kit. I live in a city that is very famous for a Civil War battle and I am a WWII buff! I live in the US and I am now interested in collecting British stuff to go with my newly acquired 1974 RHD series III Lightweight rover! Who would have thunk it!! :-D Well, I will be the only kid (56) on the block with a Lightweight and I want to get some correct era British military kit to go with it. My question is: If I were to collect a helmet, backpack and uniform for say the era 1974 to whenever the Lightweights began to be taken out of sevice on a wholesale basis, what type (or Mark) helmet wouild be correct, backpack and uniform. I am thinking either airborne or basic infantry. It is painted Deep bronze Green now but I was considering European or Nato green and black camo. Can anyone help get me started with some basic kit ideas? Thanks, Bil

[REME 245]

You are looking at 58 pattern webbing, steel helmet and the older pattern of DPM clothing i.e. not the current 95 pattern kit.

[LeeEnfield]

Hi Bill,...........the guys on here will be able to help you out, here, also, might be worth having a look at http://www.emira.org this is the web site of the

ex-military land rover association.

 

All the best, and welcome to the forum.

 

Andy

[Tony B]

Look for the 85 pattern smocks with knitted sleve cuffs. 58 pattern green canvas webbing. Correct small arms are L1A1 rile, Browning 9mm HP pistol sterling Mk 4 sub machine gun, L4A1 Support weapon and FN GPMG machine gun.

(Showing off ;-) SLR, Sterling and 9mm pistol. You can also mock up a de-ac No 4 as a sniper rifle. Radio gear is Clansman. L4A1is the straight mag Bren 7.62 Gloves are the black leather Northern Island Type, with or without padded knucles.

 

have a look at Northern island and Falkland pictures. Barbour Coats were also used private purchase.

http://www.defenceimagedatabase.mod.uk/fotoweb/Grid.fwx

[Tony B]

http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Army

http://www.raf.mod.uk/falklands/linepre1982.htmlhttp://www.army.mod.uk/para/history/the_falklands_islands.htm

 

Bill the above should help on pictures on kit.

 

[ArtistsRifles]

For the 1974 era issued kit would have been - dependent on unit:

 

58 pattern webbing inc. large pack, poncho and sleeping bag, waterbottle + mug, mess tins, S6 respirator and noddy suit, SLR bayonet

68 pattern DPM Jacket and Trousers (smock if Para or SAS)

DPM crap cap

Helmet comforter/liner - woollen

Either another 58 pattern belt or a courlene belt to hold the trousers up.

Green Wolly Pully

Shirts Khaki Flannel

Socks - woollen

Gloves - woollen

Boots - DMS

Brown woollen puttees

Steel "Turtle" helmet - or again Para jump helmet

 

 

Weapons for a lightweights crew would be the L1A1 SLR or the Mk V SMG, 9mm Browing Hi-Power is optional depending on theatre. Very rare to find either a GPMG or Bren on a lightweight UNLESS the vehicle was stripped down and prepared for a particular role. Same for the Mk IVT snipers rifle.

 

In 1974 I think most vehicles were still bronze green with the colourful divisional and unit badges diplayed fore and aft. Radio in an FFR might still - just - have been Larkspur as well. Maybe Clansman - again dependent on units.

 

Hope this helps.

 

[ferret1958uk]

I had a 1973 L/wt FFR that was released in 1989. It had been winterised for use in Norway, but had NEVER been fitted with Clansman. It still had a complete, but damaged, larkspur wing box when it was sold off. Just because Clansman was coming into service around 1974 does not mean that all vehicles were fitted with it straight away. Chances are that many of them stayed with Larkspur for several years.

[Tony B]

Good old 'Wireless for the Warriors' is the bible for comms gear.

[Lord Burley]

Hey guys. I am brand new to this forum and brand new to British helmets, uniform and other kit. I live in a city that is very famous for a Civil War battle and I am a WWII buff! I live in the US and I am now interested in collecting British stuff to go with my newly acquired 1974 RHD series III Lightweight rover! Who would have thunk it!! :-D Well, I will be the only kid (56) on the block with a Lightweight and I want to get some correct era British military kit to go with it. My question is: If I were to collect a helmet, backpack and uniform for say the era 1974 to whenever the Lightweights began to be taken out of sevice on a wholesale basis, what type (or Mark) helmet wouild be correct, backpack and uniform. I am thinking either airborne or basic infantry. It is painted Deep bronze Green now but I was considering European or Nato green and black camo. Can anyone help get me started with some basic kit ideas? Thanks, Bil

 

This threads useless without pics.lol Here is one of my old bus,back in the summer of 91.http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/BLUETHUNDER_06/landrover.jpg[/img]

Kit wise it depends on what era you want to portray your Ltwt.You can use all as been mentioned above,right up to the latest helmets and SA80,s.But still with 58 webbing.The bulk of Ltwts were disposed of around 94-95 with some off the last going around 99-00

 

 

[AlienFTM]

Look for the 85 pattern smocks with knitted sleve cuffs. 58 pattern green canvas webbing. Correct small arms are L1A1 rile, Browning 9mm HP pistol sterling Mk 4 sub machine gun, L4A1 Support weapon and FN GPMG machine gun.

(Showing off ;-) SLR, Sterling and 9mm pistol. You can also mock up a de-ac No 4 as a sniper rifle. Radio gear is Clansman. L4A1is the straight mag Bren 7.62 Gloves are the black leather Northern Island Type, with or without padded knucles.

 

have a look at Northern island and Falkland pictures. Barbour Coats were also used private purchase.

http://www.defenceimagedatabase.mod.uk/fotoweb/Grid.fwx

 

 

1. The standard issue 85 pattern smock has velcro cuffs (looks at the one hanging up a few feet away that replaced his Guard Commander combat jacket that fell apart this winter). I did see knitted cuffs on the previous (75? pattern) model, but they were a user mod. It would be frowned on in a garrison but I saw them particularly in NI.

 

2. As 3 Armd Div Armd Recce Regt, the division's eyes and ears on the FLOT, looking down on the IGB, we didn't get Clansman until 1980 (might have been 79) and on Ex Spearpoint that year we had to work our Clansman sets in compatibility mode for Larkspur because we were ahead of the game.

 

3. Gloves, NI had padded knuckles (except the index - trigger - finger on each hand). Gloves, Combat, which came out about oh I dunno 1980, were similar to Gloves, NI but none of the fingers were padded. Before the issue of Gloves, Combat, it was quite normal for those not issued with Gloves, NI to wear private purchase lightweight black ski gloves. In our regiment these were available from the PRI. In a German winter, with no L2A3 SMG in hand, I wore my own giant sheepskin-lined motorcycle gauntlets. That said, I also wore a cut-off greatcoat and ex-Bundeswehr sheepskin-lined Panzerstiefel, like Jackboots.

 

4. In our regiment Barbour jackets were barely tolerated on officers, NOT at all on Toms. But we got early issues of Mao Suits for warmth and until Gore-Tex DPM rainwear was issued, we wore green waterfroofs, again available from our PRI.

 

You might want to consider marking your LR for UNFICYP (gloss white on all surfaces, with flourescent UN badges) then you can dress for UNFICYP (my description is 76 - 77):

 

Shirt OG (you could wear KF, but WHY?!?!?) with UN circular cloth badge on the left arm.

Lightweights or Trousers OG (or Short OG) with DMS Boots, Socks, Poly Cotton and puttees. With Shorts OG you would not need to wear a shirt, ie manly chest stripped to the waist.

UN beret. This was Italian in manufacture and though there was more material than normal in the awful Kangols or the preferred Compton-Webbs (or the self-purchased Victor's of Aldershot), they shaped well. It was not unknown for people to wear AAC berets in lieu.

 

I honestly cannot remember what we wore for a belt: my guess is 58 pattern web, though the new nylon web may have been issued, or we may have worn regimental stable belt.

 

Combat jacket if inclement. Being UN troops, there is no need to lash out on a weapon. We NEVER wore belt alone over combat jacket except on guard.

 

UN cloth badge could be worn on a light weight UN blue brassard instead of sewn (or glued), but with a rank brassard on the right arm, you'd look like you had wings. A UN blue scarf was also issued in the same material. Even in winter we tried not to wear these.

 

Both uniform and vehicle ought to turn heads IMO.