Interesting Chicom Rig

Picked this up today on a spontaneous surplus stop. I know it's one of the Type 56 chest rigs, but it's got some interesting markings on the back. To be honest, I bought it just because of the markings on the back; this doesn't seem to be any run of the mill Type 56 rig. I put it in the general section because I'm not quite sure of its origin... I'll just post it here and let you guys have at it!

The rig came in with a big bundle of gear the shop owner recently acquired. It's been well-used and is pretty beat-up. The owner wagered it may have been a pick-up from the recent conflicts in Afghanistan or Iraq, or *maybe* even a relic from the Soviet-Afghan War, possibly an indigenous fighter piece. I have seen photos of fighters in Afghanistan wearing Type 56 rigs, but is there any documentation of their use in Iraq?


Well-used and salty; missing a couple buttons, with some abrasions and dirt throughout.


Back of the rig, with all the graffiti.


Not sure what these are. The shop owner said he thinks they are crudely-drawn aircraft profiles, and I can see where he would make that connection. He guessed that perhaps they were a way of chronicling aircraft that the wearer had encountered. There's also some faint print I can't quite decipher below the drawings.


A faint and as-yet unidentified symbol. It's a bit too faint to make out what it is. Below that are two names, I'm unsure of their origin. Notice next to Majed there is a symbol, to me it kind of looks like a leaf. I couldn't find anything about "Werea", but have found that "Majed" is a fairly common Arabic name.

It's anyone's guess as to where it came from or who used it. Any wagers?

Once you said Afghanistan I instantly thought of Northern Alliance, its worth mentioning I suppose.

Oliver, the Northern Alliance totally slipped my mind! Thanks for bringing it up. That is also a very likely candidate as to its origin.

problem there is those are western fonts... i don't think any chinese, middle eastern or mostly asian nations would write with roman letters...
russian use Cyrillic, so they're also out of the equation
maybe eastern europe or africa?

Good points, Danilo. I hadn't even considered that. It is interesting (and a bit puzzling) that there is the Arabic name written in western lettering, though.

I really have no idea where to begin guessing where it may have come from. These rigs do seem to turn up around the globe, so it might be an effort in futility to pinpoint where it was utilised.

It's great hearing feedback from people, it sort of adds to the mystery, seeing what everyone thinks.

If you can - try viewing the markings under UV light. I've heard that it may bring out some of the fainter detail that you wouldn't normally pick up with the naked eye.

hi ben,

well majed could be from several different nations i guess, i know a ukrainian guy named majed. Also there's a store not far from my house named Majed...

As for Werea, that's definitely not middle eastern name... my guess is that is probably eastern european, but now i come to think another possibility is central america...

I still think Eastern Europe is your best bet...

Hmmm... this thing just keeps getting more odd.

Hi Ben, very interesting piece, just how I like em'

Eastern European, Muslim sounding name, had you considered Bosnia...may be a million miles off on this one, just a thought

Easy Gee wrote:Eastern European, Muslim sounding name, had you considered Bosnia...may be a million miles off on this one, just a thought

Another good possibility, Gary. Each theory sounds better than the last one! It really bothers me that I can't pin down where this piece came from, as I like to label and organise things in my collection, and the mystery of this one throws a twist in that whole process!

Camo_fiend wrote:

Easy Gee wrote:Eastern European, Muslim sounding name, had you considered Bosnia...may be a million miles off on this one, just a thought

Another good possibility, Gary. Each theory sounds better than the last one! It really bothers me that I can't pin down where this piece came from, as I like to label and organise things in my collection, and the mystery of this one throws a twist in that whole process!

Thanks Ben, wild stab in the dark mate , but maybe just maybe.

I know what you mean about organising your gear, it bug's me when I can't ID kit, but it is part of the challenge of buying and owning such mystery pieces I guess.

Good purchase BTW Mate

Camo_fiend wrote:Picked this up today on a spontaneous surplus stop. I know it's one of the Type 56 chest rigs,

Don’t rule out former Yugoslavia Bosnia Kosovo.

I thought the supposed aircraft drawing was a Stealth.

Then again, they could have all come from air softer reenactment team.

Have seen rigs like these sold by all the big surplus places, like SG, CTD, etc. and other Gun Wholesalers.

Hope it didn’t cost you much.

silversurfer wrote:

Don’t rule out former Yugoslavia Bosnia Kosovo.

I thought the supposed aircraft drawing was a Stealth.

Then again, they could have all come from air softer reenactment team.

Have seen rigs like these sold by all the big surplus places, like SG, CTD, etc. and other Gun Wholesalers.

Hope it didn’t cost you much.

Bosnia & Stealth jets, that definitely makes sense! There are actually very few airsofters in my area -- paintball is the sport of choice here, and they only wear the odd paintball brands of rigs, they don't seem to buy much surplus kit.

At $6, I'm happy with what I picked up, even if I don't fully know what it is.

The price is very good. If these are actual combat pieces, you’ve hit the jackpot on eBay. As for period, if they are Stealth, then perhaps your pieces were used by the KLA in Kosovo, if those are Islamic names as they sound to be.

They certainly are conversation starters and it will be interesting to see what the experts say.

I think it's from eastern europe, probably brought back by a UN peacekeeper , a US soldier could have picked it up from flea market vendor over there

Yugo, Kosovo, Albania, etc

not asian, not afghan, not arabic, not persian, not russian, not nicaragua / el salvador

I would side with Bosnian or Alabanian/Kosovo. Remember that Albania used (uses?) Chinese weapons. I don't think they ever set up manufacturing abilities. If the Chinese sell like the Russians used to it could have been a package deal. Found a transport/sale bill once for Russian AKMs and it was a case of 5 if I remember correct with bayonet, cleaning kit, oiler, magazine pouch.

Agree with Bosnia/Kosovo because of the English letter and possible Arabic/Muslim name. Remember that there are fighters out there for pro-Muslim movements that aren't Arab. Take a look at the number of non-indigenous personnel turning up in Afghanistan and Pakastan.

And that's why I love this site. The amount of knowledge here is tremendous. Needed this place 20 years ago when I was hard and heavy into collecting.

tenewel wrote:And that's why I love this site. The amount of knowledge here is tremendous. Needed this place 20 years ago when I was hard and heavy into collecting.

To be fair.....that is the ONLY ALbanian chest rig I have ever run across in all my 27 years of collecting. I don't think it is a common item at all.

I love it when bits of kit generate good discussion! I'm leaning towards an Eastern European piece, as that seems to make the most sense based on what I do know about it from the features, and from info you all have thrown out there. Lots of good talking points here, guys!

I guess it'll stay in the "mysterious relic" category.

I'd go with the Bosnia/Kosovo via Albania theory.
Lots and LOTS of gear got funneled into the region during the "civil" war/map re-drawing thing they had going on there. I remember when Sportsman's Guide had the AK mags that came from there: I bought close to 100, and I got Russian, E German, Chinese, Romanian, Hungarian, Egyptian, Yugo, Bulgarian...just about anywhere that made them. The same thing happened with web gear, uniforms, you name it.
So from China via Albania isn't a stretch for me at all. Albania also is alleged to have brokered the delivery of thousands of brand new Romanian AKs and a whole bunch of Russian and Chinese RPG-7s.

Interesting information, cammobunker. That is good to know; thanks for sharing!