Trench Coat - the 'Ultimate' Thread!

[randooch]

Gents! I just picked up a Burberry trench and I'm quite impressed with the attention to detail and craftsmanship. I'm sure this question will make some of you chortle at my ignorance, but that's okay.

What is the purpose of the 4 metal rings sewn to the bottom of the belt?

 

[Tomasso]

What is the purpose of the 4 metal rings sewn to the bottom of the belt?

To hang equipment from.

 

[W4ASZ]

Gents! I just picked up a Burberry trench and I'm quite impressed with the attention to detail and craftsmanship. I'm sure this question will make some of you chortle at my ignorance, but that's okay.

What is the purpose of the 4 metal rings sewn to the bottom of the belt?

I believe the D rings are there so you can carry your map case.

Wonderful coats, they are. This will look good on you.

 

[randooch]

I believe the D rings are there so you can carry your map case.

Wonderful coats, they are. This will look good on you.

Great, now I have to find a map case! Thanks for the zippy reply, you two.

 

[Fifty150]

"There is a popular myth that the D-ring was for the attachment of hand grenades. The ring was originally for map cases and swords or other equipment to the belt."


Hand grenades should always be concealed. No need to attract the unwanted attention of local law enforcement.

What is the purpose of the 4 metal rings sewn to the bottom of the belt?

 

[Doctor Damage]

Paul Getty attending the "Maryland Hunt Cup in Worthington Valley, Maryland" in the 1940s, giving us a good look at a truly vintage Aquascutum trenchcoat. Note in particular the multiple buckle holes on the wrist straps, which, according to advertising copy off the company's website from ye olde dayes of the internet, was a detail the brand considered a trademark, along with five rows of stitching on the cloth belt. Neither detail is used today, as far as I can tell.

 

[avedwards]

Hand grenades should always be concealed. No need to attract the unwanted attention of local law enforcement.

If it is the case that the D-rings were for hand grenades (which I doubt given the inherant danger of having four hand grenades hung from rings they could easily fall off from) then it would have been a feature from the WW1 in which case concealment is hardly an issue. However, I think the map case explanation is more plausible as it would make more sense for soldiers to carry a map case than grenades hung from their trench coat belt.

 

[Fifty150]

If it is the case that the D-rings were for hand grenades (which I doubt given the inherant danger of having four hand grenades hung from rings they could easily fall off from) then it would have been a feature from the WW1 in which case concealment is hardly an issue. However, I think the map case explanation is more plausible as it would make more sense for soldiers to carry a map case than grenades hung from their trench coat belt.

No idiot would dangle a grenade on his belt by attaching the pin to a d-ring.....I hope. Only in the movies would it make sense to have the pin attached to your coat's belt, so that you can simply yank the grenade away from your body, and lob it at an enemy combatant.

But then again, what kind of an idiot would use his teeth to pull out a grenade pin?

 

[cuthbert]

If it is the case that the D-rings were for hand grenades (which I doubt given the inherant danger of having four hand grenades hung from rings they could easily fall off from) then it would have been a feature from the WW1 in which case concealment is hardly an issue. However, I think the map case explanation is more plausible as it would make more sense for soldiers to carry a map case than grenades hung from their trench coat belt.

I don't think these rings or the belt can withstand the weight of a WWI granade...

 

[Tomasso]

I don't think these rings or the belt can withstand the weight of a WWI granade...

They actually weren't that heavy. Just over a lb.

 

[Doctor Damage]

The D-rings on trenchcoat belts remind me of similar features on Sam Browne belts, which were intended for map cases (and swords). The trenchcoats were not universally issues to other ranks, despite what some journalists and writers have assumed, and were individually purchased by officers. Only officers carried map cases, and some senior NCOs as near as I can tell, so I suspect the D-rings on trenchcoat belts were intended to substitute for the D-rings on Sam Browne belts, which would not have been accessible when foul weather gear was worn. Remember, in WWI period, officers were generally armed with only pistols and and map cases and relied on their men for the "heavy lifting" (i.e. grenades, etc.).

 

[mdove]

Just did some checking on the purpose of the D rings...hold water bottles, hand grenades, sword. I can see water bottle, but cannot see hand grenades or sword.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

If D-rings were meant to hold grenades, they would probably hang from the spoon.

 

[randooch]

So, do the D-rings date the coat, or are they still installed on new ones as an affectation?

 

[Tomasso]

So, do the D-rings date the coat, or are they still installed on new ones as an affectation?

Burberry still have them on their classic 'Trench 21' model; can't speak for their other models or the other makers.


Edit: Aquascutum have them as well on their classic trench coat.

 

[Tony B]

Most likely seems to be for a lanyard to a compass or other item stored in a pocket so you dont loose it when your hands are cold and wet....similar to the d rings on fly fishing waistcoats or wading jackets for your line nippers etc.

 

[Baggers]

I'm thinking D rings on belts were never intended for serious load carrying and were more of a decorative touch. The leather Sam Browne equipment sets worn by officers consisted of the belt and two shoulder braces, a pistol case, ammunition pouch and sword frog. The sword frog was the only component that hung from rings below the belt. The braces attached via rings on top of the belt and both were required when wearing everything on field service in order to evenly distribute the load. Nothing else.

From my research, map cases and water bottles were usually carried on their own straps, at least in the British armed forces. The same if a haversack was being carried. The latter two were just too heavy to only be supported by a belt. And it would make transfer of the item to another man easier in an emergency. In World War I, the design of the various types of grenades, with the exception of the No. 36 Mills Bomb, lent themselves to more secure and efficient carry in bags slung over the shoulder or simply carried singly in a pocket, not swinging from a D ring that might separate itself from the cloth belt due to fabric failure or poor ring design or construction. Compasses and whistles were attached to lanyards and carried in pockets or haversack, or in the case of the whistle, in a pouch on the one of the shoulder braces.

I'm sure if the situation warranted, the cloth belt could be removed and the Sam Browne and other equipment simply worn over the trench coat for quick access.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I think trench coats (especially lighter weight ones) are perfect for when it rains in summer when a heavier overcoat would be uncomfortable. I wear mine all the time on overcast or rainy days all year round. In the sun I think they may look strange though. Colour is really only a matter of personal preference though - plus the heat absorbing factor hardly matters when dealing with a coat which is not intended to be worn in the sun.

On occasion, when it was really pouring on a summer morning, I've worn my extremely lightweight L.L. Bean single-breasted-with-belt trench along with an umbrella. It's still hot. A trench/rain coat is intended for days when just going outdoors doesn't make you sweat.

 

[Fifty150]

At the end of the day, nobody here is going to carry a sword, grenade, or map case. What the heck is a map? Don't we all have GPS now? Think about what you could use it for today. Maybe clip your bus pass to it. I would attach a carabiner for keys. Maybe hang a luck rabbit's foot. Or guys like Indiana Jones could use it for his whip. If you're really hip, dangle an iPhone on it.

 

[Hal]

A trench/rain coat is intended for days when just going outdoors doesn't make you sweat.

avedwards, who wrote the posting to which yours is a reply, writes from a country whose summers are (mercifully) much cooler than is the case over most of the USA. The average July temperature in the UK is 16C.