Late War Pattern 1937 Webbing Set in Pictures

[karkee]

I generally don't collect past 1943, but I have put this set together over the years comprised of late production P37 webbing. By the end of the war, many items had been altered for economy and ease of production and brass had started to be replaced intermittently by sheradised steel fittings.



A view of the inside of the set.



The pouches, basic, W.E. Patt. ’37, Mark III were made by Associated Cutters (1938), Limited in 1942 and 1943 respectively. The Mk III pouch was a half inch taller than the Mk II to accommodate larger Sten gun magazines.



The braces, left, with loop and right, W.E. Patt. ‘37 were made by Mills Equipment Company, Limited in 1942 and 1943 respectively.



The belt, waist, W.E. Patt. 37, extra large, 56-in was made by Bagcraft, Limited in 1945. The belt is also stamped with Stores Code A.A. 5014 from the Vocabulary of Army Ordnance Stores (V.A.O.S.), a practice that was not common until about 1943 onward.



In addition to sheradised steel back buckles, this belt features webbing keepers to save brass, a modification that first appeared in 1943.



The frog, bayonet, W.E. Patt. ’37 shown here is the late war style with the addition of a button hole in the upper loop to accommodate the smaller stud of the spike bayonet.



The frog was made by S. Noton, Limited in 1945 and also features the Stores Code A.A. 0996.



The carrier, water-bottle, bucket type, W.E. Patt. ‘37 was first produced in 1940, but did not see extensive use until later in the war.



This carrier was made by Mills Equipment Company, Limited in 1944.



The Carrier, implement, entrenching, Patt. ’37.



This Carrier was made by Associated Cutters (1938), Limited in 1943 and features the Stores Code A.A. 5081.



The carrier, grenade, special did not appear until 1945 was designed to carry a pair of No. 36 Grenades.



This example was made by Mills Equipment Company, Limited in 1945.



The haversack for the Respirator, Anti-Gas (Light) Mk II had sheradised steel hooks that allowed it to be attached to the belt.



This haversack was made by R.I. LTD. in October 1943.



Inside can be found a shoulder strap, so the haversack can be worn separate from the webbing set.

[tinlid]

Nice collection of 37 patt webbing,never seen an grenade pouch before, thanks for showing.
Possibly never saw service in WW2 before hostilities ended? or are there WW2 pictures to show it's use.

[karkee]

Nice collection of 37 patt webbing,never seen an grenade pouch before, thanks for showing.
Possibly never saw service in WW2 before hostilities ended? or are there WW2 pictures to show it's use.

Good question tinlid, I have no idea if the grenade pouches were used or not. I guess it would have to be late war ETO if they were...

[reneblacky]

Again another great thread

[CBH]

A really nice clean set , keep up the good work .

[karkee]

A really nice clean set , keep up the good work .

The items were just too clean and unissued and I couldn't justify getting rid of them, despite the late dates. Now I have the set. lol

[CBH]

You'll be glad you kept it , I only wish I knew webbing was going to become so collectable when I was a young collector and it was everywhere . Now you can't even find a belt .

[karkee]

Very true Chris! It can still be found if you keep your eyes open, which makes collecting fun!

[CBH]

That is true , it's all in the chase ! The funny thing a belt is the last thing I've bought , went to buy a half mannequin which was gone ! Ended up 1915 date wide belt , which was a great consolation . I guess if it was easy , why would you collect .

[karkee]

I'd say that's quite a find and consolation, especially with that early date!!

I think it's the excitement of the hunt that adds so much to the fun of collecting!