Greek Army webbing

Does anyone else out there collect Greek Army field gear? Here are some views of what I believe to be Greek M1971 webbing - basically, it is a cross between US M1956 and M1967 webbing, including the same design for the sleeping bag carrier (shown here without a sleeping bag). One piece I haven't found yet is an e-tool carrier. The field jacket is Greek.




The small field pack can also be worn up top, on the rear of the suspenders:


And here is a detail of the under-arm strap that connects the sleeping bag carrier to the lower front suspender hook:


I have more of this stuff that I'll post if anyone is interested in exploring or discussing further.

Wow that is impressive. As a collector of Euro field gear, I didn't think Greek stuff was even available to purchase. Could I ask where you found it?

Impressive,never ever seen any of that before.

The pieces all turned up on Greek ebay - just the luck of the draw. I have since found some others, including some interesting modified US gear, which I will post when I have time.

Here is a US GI M1945 cargo pack that has been modified to be compatible with the Greek M1971 webbing as a small field pack. It can be worn either at the shoulders by snapping the hooks onto the yoke, or on the belt, using the ALICE clips that have been added to the rear of the pack. Notice that the lower rear D-rings have been removed, and the 1-inch lower rear straps now function as fasteners for a poncho or shelter half. This was not the original function of these straps - their original purpose was to fasten the cargo pack to the M1945 combat pack (upper). The Greeks have also added a plastic window over top of the US stamp on the front the pack lid.

Now this item is not really part of the M1971 webbing, but I believe it is a Greek-manufactured BAR belt. It came from Greece, and has no markings. I have seen dealers at shows with identical examples that have clearly been stamped with fake US markings. Unsuspecting buyers have payed lots of money for these belts when they are passed of as original US GI on Ebay. Aside from the peculiar shade of the canvas, the quality and arrangement of the lower eyelets varies from the original GI standard.

The suspenders shown here are, I believe, Greek-modified US GI suspenders of the type used with the M1944/45 pack sets. Notice that one of the front straps on either side has been removed, D-rings have been added, and the buckles for attaching the US GI upper combat packs are gone. The Greeks have also added M1956-type lower front hooks to make these suspenders compatible with the M1971 webbing (those hooks are necessary for properly attaching the sleeping bag carrier). My guess is that the Greek Army had a supply of US GI suspenders on hand that were re-worked when the M1971 gear was introduced. Once again, I have seen these modified suspenders passed of as some kind of rare GI variant rather than Greek re-works.

I believe that these are Greek grenade pockets, although I am not sure if they belong with the M1971 set.

The best clue as to their national original is the peculiar shape of the wire belt hangers, which is typical of Greek kit (such as bayonet frogs). I have seen a dealer passing these off as rare ARVN magazine pouches, but they are nothing of the sort.



This Greek jungle-type first aid pouch has the same type of wire hanger as the pouches above. For comparison, I have photographed it next to an original GI jungle first aid pouch. Notice that the Greek version is quite a bit larger.

Here is the Greek version of the US GI M1936 musette bag. It is a good quality item, but the snap fasteners on the rear and side pockets are a bit different than on GI packs. The shade of the fabric is also different than most GI variants, but very similar, if not the same, as the Greek BAR belt. This is not part of the M1971 webbing, but I wonder how many other GI items were similarly copied for Greek issue. I have heard of M1923 cartridge belts, but have never seen one up close.

There are no markings on this pack.

Very cool collection. I have some webbing too:

A field jacket and two ammo pouches. As belt and suspenders I use american style products without marking.

Yes, I think that these ones you have are meant to carry 8-round M1 Garand clips.

There is at least one other type that carries SMG magazines:

Looks like the belt clips have been borrowed from some Austrian pouch:


The belts, suspenders, and other parts sometimes show up on Greek Ebay, but they are often mislabeled as US Army, ARVN, or something else besides what they actually are, which makes them even more difficult to find!

Do you know a good reference website or book for greek equipment?

Wolverine wrote:Here is the Greek version of the US GI M1936 musette bag. It is a good quality item, but the snap fasteners on the rear and side pockets are a bit different than on GI packs. The shade of the fabric is also different than most GI variants, but very similar, if not the same, as the Greek BAR belt. This is not part of the M1971 webbing, but I wonder how many other GI items were similarly copied for Greek issue. I have heard of M1923 cartridge belts, but have never seen one up close.

There are no markings on this pack.

You wrote that it was not part of the M1971 webbing, but with which webbing it was worn ?

masive wrote:Do you know a good reference website or book for greek equipment?

I don't know of any.

[quote="masive"]

Wolverine wrote:Here is the Greek version of the US GI M1936 musette bag. It is a good quality item, but the snap fasteners on the rear and side pockets are a bit different than on GI packs. The shade of the fabric is also different than most GI variants, but very similar, if not the same, as the Greek BAR belt. This is not part of the M1971 webbing, but I wonder how many other GI items were similarly copied for Greek issue. I have heard of M1923 cartridge belts, but have never seen one up close.

There are no markings on this pack.



You wrote that it was not part of the M1971 webbing, but with which webbing it was worn ?

Sorry, I missed this post earlier...

I don't think that it belongs to any specific system, but is just one example of a mixture of equipment used by the Greek forces between the end of the Second World War and the 1970s. Some was original British or American kit left over from the war. I am sure that some German kit was probably also used. And then we find examples like the M1936 musette bag or the magazine belts, where the Greeks unded up producing their own versions. The same goes for the British WE 37 webbing.

Here are two interesting early postwar Greek army canteen sets:

1. Carrier with single snap hook.




2. Carrier with M1910 wire hanger, dated 1952.




Neither water bottle has any markings.

Nice canteens. Never see them before in reallity, only on a photo which I have at home. But there you can't see which Version.

Is the canteen carrier with the single snap hook marked too?

No, the carrier with the single snap hook is totally unmarked.

By the way, I believe that there is another type of carrier with a single snap hook, made from olive coloured wool, and with a different type of canteen bottle.

I've also seen a pouch without any hook at all, but a canteen inside which has a snap hook, and the shape is sort of oval with a flat bottom.
I have an M71 pouch with a canteen on the way that might be that type, but I've only seen it on a photo showing the cap and a bit of the hook poking out, so I'm not sure. Will take some pics when it's here.
I think these might have been used in M71 pouches early on, as many seem to come in that combination.

Also, these snap hooked pouches, were they used on their British style webbing too? M54 I think it was called?

Stuff arrived, including the canteen I mentioned.

The metal canteen goes, I believe, with a green woolen cover that is closed with a lace and has one snap hook. It would work with either the older US-type or British type webbing, since the Greek WE 37 belt has two D-rings attached. The M71 takes a regular US-type 1 qt canteen in plastic.

Ah yes, I searched ebay a bit just now, and saw some that match this.

Oh and magpouches also arrived in the meantime. With a gift bayonet frog and bandage pouch (which is better condition than the previous), so now I have one of each extra.

It's starting to look like something now

Good afternoon,
was the Greek army copy of the US field pack M1945 (the upper part) in any way incorporated to the new webbing M1971? Some of the field packs have such original straps that enable carrying them on the back withnout suspenders.
Thank you for your reply.

See my post above from 15 February 2015. It shows how the Greeks modified the M1945 cargo (lower) pack to be compatible with the M1971. They also converted M1945 suspenders to work with the M1971.

I have never seen any upper packs modified for this purpose. Also, I don't know if the Greeks actually copied the M1945 gear, or just used US-made gear.

to Wolverine:
Look at the link below, it is a Czech Armyshop. The lower part of M45 pack is a modified original but the upper part is a Greek made item. (The seller admits this fact in the text). The material and colour are different from the US original but they are not different from parts of the Greek webbing M1971.
I have the upper part (Greek made, without misleading "US") at home. Shoulder straps are connected by clasps on original additional straps to the bottom of the pack. Therefore is possible to carry as a backpack without the US suspender M1945. (Look at the second link, again CZ armyshop)

http://www.army-store.cz/eshop/3111/us-batoh-m45-cargo-komplet.html
https://www.army-surplus.cz/taska--batoh--us-field-pack-cargo-1945-original/