Norwegian uniforms. A pictorial.

In this thread we'll look at different norwegian fielduniforms. Some of these are a bit older than the usual stuff on this forum. Hope you'll enjoy it anyway.


The norwegian army have long traditions with ski troopers. From 1747 - 1826 there was even an own ski corps, consisting of one northern and one southern battallion. They were raised in the areas along the swedish border., and were specially trained for winter warfare.
The swedish infantry were usually on foot, and back then most campains were fought in the winter, because only then was it possible to cross the myriad of lakes and rivers.

The soldier in red and blue wears the 1717 uniform. The green uniform came in 1733, and was very practical in the evergreen pine forest. The king, however, didn't like it. He wanted bright red colours and more feathers. The next uniform is modell 1774. The blue one came in 1788. In 1800 came the last ski troop uniform. It had white pants, green tunic, and a white greatcoat. This is the first proper wintercamo uniform I know. See more details in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvBvgM7nLHo

In 1814, Norway entered a union with Sweden, and the ski battallion lost it's importence, and was layed to rest in 1826.



1845 uniform and helmet: Pics. from www.digitaltmuseum.no




Infantry man in 1855 uniform



Infantryman early 1860's:


Infantry in 1877, 1888 and 1894 uniforms.




Pic. from a mobilization exercise in Steinkjær 1895, showing the three uniforms. The 1877 model also had a glengarry style side cap.


In 1902, the norwegian army started tests with uniforms in natural colours. The result was the 1903 Jaegeruniform. Both Germany and Portugal requested samples of this uniform.



There was a model 1910 uniform as well in socalled "mountaingrey" colour. In 1914 a slightly modified model was adopted, and was the most common uniform in 1940. The 1934 modell was also used during ww2, but is now quite rare.


To be continued...

During WW2, an exile army was buildt in Britain and in Sweden. The navy and airforce had trainingcamps in both Canada and the USA, so many different uniforms were in use. In 1940, norwegian troops in Britain got new made norwegian uniforms and gear, but this soon stopped, and the standard uniform became the british battle dress. Kaki versions of pre war norwgian uniforms saw some use by norwegian forces on Spitsbergen, Iceland etc...
I have a Krag ammo pouch stamped "Norwegian army", this one was made in britain. Also I have a backpack stamped "NA", wich was made in the USA by "Royal norsepack, New Jersey". This is also a prewar model that were manufactured for the norwegian exile army.

The battle dress was used as a field uniform in Norway well into the 60's, and as service uniform in the 70's.


The "Policetroops" in Sweden used swedish gear. I once had a chat with the owner of the largest surplus store in Norway. He told me he had seen this uniform with norwegian manufacturers tags, so some have obviously been made after the war.


A large range of uniform items and gear were used after the war. Particularly by the Homeguard. They received the spoils when the army had gotten their pick. Even german uniforms were used. I've seen a german greatcoat with norwegian coastal artillery buttons, and theres pics. of Homeguard soldiers with german camo uniforms. In the beginning the Homeguard only had armbands. The first uniform they got (except the mix of various countrys items) was american work uniforms. In 1951 a new field uniform was adopted. The M/51. It was a copy of the US M43 uniform, and it would eventually replace the other uniforms. The Homeguard used the M/51 until around 2000. I have a jacket dated 1987.

Homeguard and army 1950's - 60's. Pics. from the armed forces museum page.

In addition, there was also a M/51 grey wool uniform. But the green M/51 became standard issue for decades. The next field uniform was the M/75.
At first a olive green jacket without shoulderboards were used, but in 1984 a camo patterned jacket was introduced. The M/51 and M/75 uniforms were in use side by side for a long time, and on pics. you can see quite a mix of uniforms. The Homeguard usually got the old stuff whenever the army got some new. The army reform "Soldat 2000" was supposed to make sure the Homeguard had the same gear as the regular army. So from 2000 the M/51 uniform disappeared. The army soon got newer uniforms, while the M/75 is still the most common in the Homeguard.

M/75 trial uniform:


M/75 old version.


M/75 upgraded version.


M/77 wintercamo. This one is in cotton. The new one I got with my Homeguard gear is made of some kind of nylon fabric. I tried to use it for roedeer hunting, but the nylon makes so much noise, that they can hear me miles away.


The M/75 uniform is actually were my interest ends. I don't collect the more modern stuff. Here's some pics. showing the transitional period (late 90's) were the M/51 uniform dissapears. Photos from the norwegian armys media archive.

Homeguard excersice 1996:



War accademy excercise late 90's




This "lesson" is very short, and there's tons of uniforms and variations I didn't even mention, but this'll do for now.
I'll post some of my uniforms later. Please feel free to post some pics. of your norwegian uniforms here.

Thanks for sharing this comprehensive series of illustrations!

Wow, fantastic. Thank you for answering so many questions. When did the lift-the-tab pouches come into use?

I don't know when the "lift tab's" came, but they seems to be the latest version. First there was pouches with "lift the dot" type buttons, then a version with smaller plastic buttons, and finally the "lift tabs".

Here's a pic. of me, taken autumn 1994, with the "lift tab" pouches.

Thanks to B.M.F., I now have examples of all three types of twin magazine pouch:

lift-the-dot (US GI type fastener) - 1970
plastic buttons - 1970s dates
lift-the-tab - 1993 dated

Wolverine wrote:Thanks to B.M.F., I now have examples of all three types of twin magazine pouch:

lift-the-dot (US GI type fastener) - 1970
plastic buttons - 1970s dates
lift-the-tab - 1993 dated

Nice! Please post pictures.

LTD:




Buttons:




Tabs (no markings):



Tabs (1993):

This is my oldest uniform item. It's a norwegian M/1877 tunic. The stamp "GBD B" probably means "Gudbrandsdal batallion". "TR4" could be Tropp 4 (4th platoon). In the circle is NI 77 with a crown over. 77 is the date, 1877. NI means "Norsk intendantur" and is common on all pre ww2 items. Norsk means norwegian, I don't know the correct word for  "intendantur", but it is the supply organization.





This is a model 1888 greatcoat, dated 1896. The L is probably for "Landvern" (landwehr) or "Landstorm". These greatcoats were still in use in 1940.

Most of the stuff I collect is post war. I'm mainly collecting Homeguard stuff. They used a huge variety of gear and uniforms, so it's quite interesting to collect. The Homeguard was established in 1946 on the remaines of MILORG, the armed resistance. In the beginning they used civillian clothes with armbands, or any uniform item they could get their hands on. The first proper uniform was a supply of HBT's and coveralls from the USA. I have a jacket and two pairs of pants that came out of norwegian surplus, but with no Homeguard patch.
The pics. are from a Homeguard excercise around 1950. Note the SS camo parka. These are super rare, but the hoods turn up once in a while. The hood should have a fur lining (just as the parka), but most hoods I have seen have had the fur cut away. Mine is stamped "HÆREN" for the army, and "KASS" (kassert = discarded) as a "sold out of service" stamp. General Eisenhower were present at one of the excersises.

Here's some footage from a Homeguard excersice in Oslo in 1950. http://www.nrk.no/skole/klippdetalj?topic=nrk:klipp/364064

Here's some M/51 uniforms. This is the classic of norwegian fielduniforms (at least after ww2). The really old ones had sizes indicated by roman numerals stitched in the collar. This was typical for pre ww2 uniforms as well. Later came stamps, small white tags, and finally the bigger white labels.
Note the manufacturers tag in the older jacket. You would think that when the M/75 uniform was adopted, the production of the M/51 would stop, but this one is made in 1987. I've also seen M/66 boots with 1980's dates.







Note the different shades of olive green. There's two types of pants. The usual have reinforcements on the knees and butt, but some are just plain. I think the plain ones are older. Some are stamped "HÆREN" (army) and some "HV" (homeguard).










These pants are an oddity. The design looks like the fatique uniform used by the homeguard in the 70's and 80's, but the fabric is the same as the field uniform. It also have buttons for suspenders.The roman numerals indicate an older item. It's in unissued condition. The shirt is the fatique, and it should be tucked into the pants. The fabric is soft cotton for summer use.
I once saw a pair of M/51 pants made of the same camo material as the shelter halves / tents. So there's still some oddities to be found.

This is a great thread..

Thanks for the loads of info and photos.

Everything is very interesting; I am particularly glad to see the M51 olive variants ...


S

Here's an interesting M/51 jacket. It's dated 1967, has a modern Homeguard patch, a ww2 US hood, a name tag, corporal shoulder boards and a KFOR patch. I bought a couple of boxes with Homeguard uniforms of a guy that was out of the Homeguard because of "old age". The norwegian Homeguard consists of conscripts, and you're only of service age until you reach 44. There's normally a 5 day excersice every year. (That means I have three years left in the Homeguard , growing old...) Anyway, he sold of all his uniforms etc... He told me he didn't use this uniform in Kosovo, but upon his return to his Homeguard unit, he was allowed to wear the patch on his jacket. This must have been one of the last M/51's in use. A jacket with lots of history...

That is a fantastic example to document.

This one had me puzzled for a long time, until I saw pics. of it in use, in some old Homeguard magazine. It's a womens version of the M/51. It's made without breastpockets and the buttons are on the opposite side from the regular model. It also have a seam going down from the shoulders. Probably to narrow the shoulder width a bit.

These uniforms were usually used by women auxillaries, called "Lotte" or "Lotter" (plural form). The organization "Norges lotteforbund" was est. in 1928 after pattern of the finnish "Lotta Svard".

http://www.lottene.no/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotta_Sv%C3%A4rd

Some Lotter were trained in the Homeguard to take positions were they could replace the men. Like administration etc. I don't think they still have this cooperation due to budget cuts etc.




I found this pic. with women wearing both versions of the M/51 jacket.
More pics.
http://digitaltmuseum.no/search?query=lotter

The M/51 uniform also had a greatcoat. It's made of the same cotton fabric as the rest of the uniform, but with a detatchable wool liner for winter use.
The coat has two big pockets at the lower front. The button row has a tripple overlap, so it's pretty windproof. There's also a strap that can be buttoned between the legs, and it has a drawstring around the waist. I don't have the liner at the moment. I have to get hold of one. Since the M/51 uniform was a copy of the US M1943 uniform, was there also a similar US coat?




Here's a pic. of some MP's wearing the same coat. Found the pic. at the armed forces media archive.

Loving the pics and those green MP40 type pouches.

Not sure if you have one already or too early for you but would a Norgi double decal reissued German M35 helmet be of any interest to you?

Hi gulf91

I allready have two of the ex german helmets, but thanks for the offer anyway. Those helmets are getting rare, because so many strip the postwar paint, looking for german decals. In 99% of the cases, they just end up with a ruined helmet.

Still looking for helmets with Homeguard or Airforce decals though.

The green pouches also came in brown leather and were used both for Sten guns and MP 40's.