Show us your Militaria

[amoulet69]

Hi,

Thanks for your comment Brunswick, but it could also be seen on real soldiers as I wear it:

I also prefer it on the flap because over the ribbons is partially hidden, and I want it to be easily seen. Thanks

 

[MissMittens]

Very nice grouping!!!!

Here is a couple of AAF uniforms I have been working to put together.

Kit includes: B-6 flight cap, F-1 GE blue bunny suit (crazy hard to find in good condition) with inspection tag, theatre painted D-1 jacket, A-4 fight suit, A-1 flight pants (shearling inside with exterior horse hide, pre-war production), A-1 (first production) flight boots, B-3 Mae West, and and A-3 red group parachute harness.

Sill looking for the b-2 cap in good condition and an A-8 oxygen mask.

Here are the photos, enjoy:

 

[rjb1]

The Combat Infantryman Badge was by regulation supposed to be above the jump wings but the paratroopers thought the jump wings were more important and wore them at the top.
In addition to finding that in many period photos, one of my most-cherished reenacting moments was at a display at the 101st Airborne Museum at Ft. Campbell, KY. A WWII 101st veteran came up to me and laughed and pointed at my jump wings at the top. He said he as glad to see us wearing them the way they really did and not the way "the book" said to do it.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Vietnam jungle boonie hat dated 1969 decorated with unit insignia and hand grenade pull rings.

Theatre-made "beer can" morale pin.

As the hat is too small for my gourd I was a little hard-pressed to find a suitable model

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Picked up this set of Observer Wings recently, and this super size 1971 dated 3rd pattern Jungle jacket, an unheard of 3XL

 

[Cicero]

I got some new stuff yesterday.

First is a Belgian paratrooper's smock in what I think is the first pattern of their Jigsaw camouflage.

Can anyone give me an approximate date for when it was made? A lot of them appear to have been from the 50's and 60's.

Late 60's to mid 80's approx.
We kept wearing these smocks until 1994.

This is me around 1991 wearing the exact same smock.

 

[DNO]

This is lengthy, but what the heck.


I’ve collected militaria since my uncle gave me his Second World War Canadian army helmet when I was 8 years old. That’s a long, long time ago (over 50 years). I’ve collected many things but eventually settled on British and Canadian medals and militaria from 1898 to 1918 with an emphasis on the First World War.

I stopped actively collected 24 years ago with the birth of my son…kids can be pricey and are most certainly time consuming! I’ve always kept my eye open for the odd piece, however. With prices skyrocketing over those years (by a factor of at least 10) most of the items I still have would be far out of my reach…good thing I hung on to them!

Anyway, last week I ventured to an rural auction sale near Toronto. They were selling the estate of a local broadcast personality who had served as a Squadron Leader of a bomber squadron in WWII. He kept a lot…a mint Irvine jacket, his service dress uniforms (won the DFC), gauntlets, etc. I couldn’t stay at the auction, but I figured most of the stuff was going to be too pricey anyway. As I was leaving I spotted a khaki uniform mixed in with the various air force blue stuff. Bells went off in my head…I had only seen one of these tunics in all my years of collecting. It was a first pattern khaki Royal Air Force officer’s service dress tunic. I checked it out and sure enough it had a tailor’s label dating it to 19 August 1918, with the officer’s name. So, hoping that the WWII stuff would attract all the attention, I left a very lowball bid on the tunic, knowing full well that it was a tenth of it’s probable value. It was really all I could leave, however.

Next day, I got the phone call from the auctioneer. I had won the tunic…for a ridiculously low price. I suspect nobody at the auction actually recognized it for what it was. I drove up and picked it up right away. The tunic is spotless, with one, and only one, very small moth hole. Someone has removed the RAF pilot wing but otherwise it is absolutely complete. It was tailored in Toronto and the buttons were all Toronto produced. The original owner turned out to be the father of the WWll Squadron Leader. The tunic was only worn from April 1918 to the winter of 1918-19 when it was decided that it should be replaced with a blue version. That makes it one rare tunic!

Miracles do happen.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Very nice, I imagine you could find the wing badge and replace it. I'm not one for adding to an original piece but in this case.

 

[Ross817]

Recently posted these in the Outerwear section. This belonged to my grandfather. "Sweet Routine" was a B-24J model liberator serving in the Pacific theater.

 

[Binary Blue]

Late 60's to mid 80's approx.
We kept wearing these smocks until 1994.

This is me around 1991 wearing the exact same smock.

Thanks for the info.

It looks good on you.

How effective was the camo pattern? It's not exactly the most "conventional".

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Soviet Air Force and Airborne officer's visor cap
Soviet paratroopers, or desantniks as they were popularly known, were part of the Air Force rather than the Ground Forces

Soviet Motorised-Rifles* officer's visor cap.
Soviet infantry, which was almost entirely mechanized, were known as Motor-Rifles

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

USAF Drone Operator's ABU*; Named SSgt; RPA** Sensor Operator Badge; Senior Logistics Plans Occupation Badge
*Airman Battle Uniform
**Remotely Piloted Aircraft

This is the very first example of drone operator wings that I've come across

 

[Happy Jack]

Flak Jacket Dated 1969 Vietnam Era. Mint Condition

I have a small Collection of Vietnam Era items. Always looking.

 

[Binary Blue]

Here's my most recent stuff:

Multicam ACU set (Pants and jacket):

Seller told me that it was used by an ex-SOCOM guy in Afghanistan. The uniform appears to be real based on the tags and amount of wear.

Vietnam-era ERDL jacket

Unfortunately it has a few significant rips in the lower pockets, but they look mendable.



Austrian Camo Jacket from 1959:


Markings:


It's got a few more interesting features like:

Short beaver tail that attaches nowhere else (why?)


Elastic pen holder (?) in upper pocket:


Small internal pocket:


By far the most interesting: Armpit vents. They're on both armpits.



It also smells really musty (and was kind of damp in a few places when I got it). The smell has practically overwhelmed my room.

Do any of you guys know any way to remove this smell? I'm really hesitant to just throw it in the washer.

 

[splintercellsz]

Was given this for free while putting some stuff into storage. A friend wanted us to sell her recently deceased husbands items, and for helping, this is what I got. I was shocked when I opened it up, and say what it was.

WWI 1918 (or 1910) F.S.F. 1911 Magazine Holder (Not sure what it is actually called).

Any ideas to what F.S.F. stands for?

I tried looking for info on the original owner, but had no luck. Maybe one of you know what stones to look under?

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

"F.S.F" might be the name of the manufacturer.

 

[splintercellsz]

Thats what I believe it to be, but am not sure what company it is. Definately safe to say that theis item has sparked the blaze of my interest in this era (not that I wasn't interested enough)... now it's set in stone

 

[splintercellsz]

WWI Army Overcoat dated April 12, 1917.

This one is in amazing shape. Some small moth nibbles in the chest area, and a missing button at the bottom of the coat (to button the bottom shut); but other than that, no issues.

 

[Jeff Londerée]

A few years ago I helped a friend with an estate sale and picked up some WWI items, including this small US Army wallet. I love the tinted photos and his girl's lock of hair. There are also several of his calling cards inside and a rusty sewing needle hidden next to the the stamp pocket.








That's a beautiful overcoat, splintercellsz. Where did you pick it up?

 

[WWIIBuff]

I've been collecting WWII militaria for about 10 years now, and as a result have a couple thousand items in my collection. Most of the collection include German armed forces items, but also a lot of 101st airborne, and a few British items as well. I won't bore everyone with a bunch of pictures, but here shots of a couple of my 101st airborne uniforms. Everything is original pre-1945 and the uniforms are named and attributed to veterans.