Some Recent modern Belgian finds

I have several that I wear around. You are correct that they are "baggy". I am not sure if that is by design or if it is a result of the Belgian sizing system of only having 2 sizes; Long and Short. Or as the Belgians put it, "too long and too short" What this means is if you have long arms and a trim torso the jacket will probably be looser than the same length sleeve from another jacket that is sized better.

Steve

Another weird thing, not that modern either.

I do remember seeing it before, but aside from it being ome sort of para smock I don't know any details about it, so anything helps!

Now that is interesting! I see two possibilities...

1. It was designed to wear over a standard wool uniform to keep everything together while dropping.

2. It was worn by jump personnel that stayed in the plane.

Personally, my guess is this was an attempt at something for parachutists other than a full over suit (WW2 German style), a special uniform (WW2 American), or a specialized smock (WW2 British style). Whatever it was intended for, I think it's safe to conclude it wasn't successful. If it was, the Belgians would likely have used it for many years in large numbers. Other nations would also likely have used it to some extent.

Steve

The over smock was developed by the Brits in WWII to counter the soldiers who preferred to ignore perfectly clear regulations and wear their web gear over the Denison (the scoundrels!). The Belgian one is an exact copy, and like the British I assume, was made basically to be thrown away after landing (however many grenades the ingenious trooper stashed in his pockets could be transferred over to his marching kit). My guess is that the reason we don't see too many of these is because they were intentionally disposable, and frankly, really not necessary.

(BTW, the one you saw is mine )

That is a nice find. I didn't know that the Belgians had copied this item.

That makes total sense! I didn't know the British had these as well, but it makes sense that the Belgians copied it since their uniforms were based on the British ones.

How widespread was the use of these in WW2?

Steve

What's interesting is that the Belgians also copied the British Medical Research Body armor after WWII as well.

As far as I know, the Brits very rarely used these, but there's definitely pics of them prior to Arnhem when they're gearing up.

Never seen any pics of the Belgian ones in use, though.

Ah!! I have seen those before, but I thought it was some sort of jerkin, which is something the Brits and Belgians liked to use.

Steve

I saw an actual British one at Ciney today, asked the seller about it and he confirmed it. "Disposable" after landing.

Also, I kept my eyes open for a Resolute Support patch for CollectinSteve, but sadly there were none.


I did find a few other things for myself.


A Brushstroke hood with snap buttons at the bottom edge, a Jigsaw hood with 2 snaps at the top point and way at the back to button it down when not in use,
an armlet with Seyntex label, a nametape and assorted old/new type rankslides.

The Jigsaw hood might be a double, which means I'll keep 1 of them if so, the best one though.

Thanks for thinking of me! An RS badge would be great to have, a Belgian camo ISAF is also high up on my list of wants.

You did good with the hoods. If I recall, the snap Brush and button Jigsaw are the less common hoods out there. Brush buttons and Jigsaw snaps are easier to find. At least that's the way I remember it, so I could have one or both the wrong way around

Steve

hey guys,

this ist a real ABL backpack isnt it? i could not find any labels inside.

The colours are bleeched out. inside its more like the abl camo.

no ideas?

Sorry, I am unfamiliar with this backpack. Here is an original ABL 35L backpack:

https://armyworld.pl/product-eng-2527-Military-Belgian-Backpack-35L-Original-Demobil.html

It is similar to yours, but not identical. Yours could be an older/newer version or it could be commercial I do not know.

Steve

Hey guys,

i just my new a vest. And its really like new and it even has the radio pouch. Seyntex from 2001

Nice find! Many years ago a significant number of these vests were sold as surplus, but the condition was not very good. Yours looks great!

Steve

Today i like to show you a rig by Arktis. it looks like the M171 advanced, but it is slightly different in the back.

Do you know wheater it is used by the army?

ripstop helmet cover

got some stuff from Belgium. shovel, bottle

the new TARP

ponchos

poncholiner

helmet covers, the old and the new without white

I like the Minimi magazines, are they hard to find?

i bought them here: https://www.2dehands.be/a/verzamelen/militaria-algemeen/m1555306434-plastic-munitiedoos-abl.html?previousPage=lr

I remember seeing the box magazines pretty often in surplus stores in Belgium. I brought one or two home.

"The new TARP".

Be interesting to see that item.Is this a recent issue?

I cannot take photos bymyself at the moment. Its from seyntex

Looks good. I believe that Belgian troops are getting some upgrades to their personal kit this year. This must be one of those items.