post war 44 pattern equipment

[rrickoshae]

hi, does anyone know why we were still making 44 Pattern equipment in the 60s? I've got a waterbottle/drinking mug which is stamped '44 Pattern' but has a manufacturing date of 1963. It can't be that they were using old stock as the date would reflect when it was manufactured. Any thoughts?

cheers, Dave

[BlackCat1982]

Probably new old stock from somewhere, as they produced 49 pattern after 44. Makes yours a bit unusual so hang onto it!

[NCA]

1944 pattern was designed for jungle warfare and there were a few conflicts ongoing well into the 60's and 58 webbing is too heavy and takes too long to dry out in the jungle but going by pics it was used...Its worth bearing in mind there is a lot of cross over when kit was designed to when it was issued. A lot of soldiers were still using pattern 37 in the 60's. For instance after the 58 pattern was green plce webbing then a dpm version...some soldiers never even saw the green version and were issued dpm. Just because a new pattern is out doesn't mean everyone is issued it en masse straight away.

Another thing is the metal cup was popular and you kept hold of if you had it!

[rrickoshae]

many thanks NCA, thats helpful

Dave

[PhantomGuitar]

What has been said above, kit was often produced past the "official" dates. I have a few 1937 pattern shovel carriers dated 1962!

[paulp4180]

1944 pattern was designed for jungle warfare and there were a few conflicts ongoing well into the 60's and 58 webbing is too heavy and takes too long to dry out in the jungle but going by pics it was used...Its worth bearing in mind there is a lot of cross over when kit was designed to when it was issued. A lot of soldiers were still using pattern 37 in the 60's. For instance after the 58 pattern was green plce webbing then a dpm version...some soldiers never even saw the green version and were issued dpm. Just because a new pattern is out doesn't mean everyone is issued it en masse straight away.

Another thing is the metal cup was popular and you kept hold of if you had it!

NCA beat me to it, but yes primarily used for jungle purposes. The cups were very popular and the water bottle pouches too were easier to use, I remember having them in the late 80's, can't remember if they were issued from stores though.

[M1910]

Some components of 44 pattern webbing equipment were being manufactured well into the 1960's and there are post-war patterns of various parts of the equipment including the packs and ammo pouches. Look here for information. Pattern 1944 Web Equipment

I too used a 44 pattern water bottle holder on my 58 pattern webbing as the correct one was a very snug fit and hard at times to pull the bottle out. Not very NBC proof mind as the top of the bottle was exposed.

The last use of 37 pattern webbing equipment in the TA was not until the 1970's hence the very late dates on some items.

If anyone has an extra large belt I would be interested. Any date acceptable.

[specopsaust]

I have one 44 Pattern water bottle set (cup, bottle, pouch and Millbank bag) with all wartime dates (1945) except for the bottle itself, which doesn't have a date.

I also have a set from the 50s/60s - a cup dated 1956 and a water bottle pouch dated 1966 along with a British water sterilising outfit in tin dated 1965.

I use a 44 Pattern bottle and cup for hiking trips. It's a nice size compared to the modern 1 litre mil canteens.

[rrickoshae]

many thanks M10 & specopsaust, thats very interesting and adds a lot to my knowledge of these items.

Dave