US webbing

**douglas2496** · 01-17-2016, 12:54 PM

Hello, just bought a large lot of US webbing and equipment for a very good price from another collector. I already had the helmet and carbine. As you can see there are two sets of webbing, one in khaki and one in OD. I would like to know more about the OD webbing inparticular, where was it used? All my reference books show the khaki type in use in Europe, so was it made for use in The Far East? Also is the OD webbing authentic period made? It appears unused. The khaki webbing is well used and looks and smells old. Any comments appreciated. Doug

**Gunny Hartmann** · 01-17-2016, 12:57 PM

A nice find!.....

**Adrian Stevenson** · 01-17-2016, 01:09 PM

The tan coloured webbing was for universal use.

The OD shade 7 dark green was introduced in 1944 for universal use but it never replaced the earlier tan coloured kit.

Cheers, Ade.

PS: nice kit.

**NCA** · 01-17-2016, 01:11 PM

Nice haul!The OD gear was mainly used post ww2 into Korea before the introduction of the M56 webbing.I guess some of it made it into the ETO late war...

**douglas2496** · 01-17-2016, 01:22 PM

Thats great info, thanks very much.

If anyone has any specific information about use of this OD webbing (or otherwise) during the late war period I would be glad to hear it, as I really need to know if this is legitimate to display in a WW2 collection.

**NCA** · 01-17-2016, 01:42 PM

Just spotted something...on the pistol belt in the top pic it looks like its been stamped with the US on the wrong side...the snap for the magazine pouch should be on the left.Its been stamped upside down.Yes, I am a nerd.

**Adrian Stevenson** · 01-17-2016, 01:42 PM

Used in 1945 in the ETO so fine to display.

**earlymb** · 01-17-2016, 03:24 PM

Actually, mixed OD3 ('khaki') and OD7 ('green') coloured webbing items started appearing as early as 1942, and fully OD7 coloured items in mid-1943 on a small scale. From that point onwards more and more OD7 was used in the production of webbing; either for parts or to make complete items. Existing stocks however were exhausted first, so fully OD7 webbing sets would have been an anomaly in WW2 (although not impossible, especially in the final days of the war). A webbing set of OD3, OD7 & mixed coloured items is perfectly acceptable for 1944-1945. Earlier sets would have been OD3 with possible 1 or 2 mixed coloured items from mid-1943 onwards. Ofcourse fully OD3 sets were still very common right till the end.

NCA is right about the 'US' stamp on your M1936 pistol belt being upside down. This is uncommon but not that rare; the snap is worn on the left side. Does the carrier of the M1943 folding shovel have a fixed hook on the back, or the adjustable one?

A usable way to see if OD7 with faded stamps is WO2 or later is to look how many lines the stamp had, even if it's too faded to read. WW2 stamps were just maker + year. If there is any more information like stocknumbers etc. it's post-war. The smaller stamp may also be post-war, but the large stamp certainly is.

**douglas2496** · 01-17-2016, 04:05 PM

Ok, thanks very much for that, really good information. These sets of webbing came with various spare pieces of OD3 webbing so I will mix them up with the green ones.

The entrenching tool has a fixed hook on the back (pictured)

Also, there are two unidentified straps. For scale, the webbing strap is about the size of a trouser belt (but with snap fasteners along it) and the leather strap is clearly for carrying a piece of heavy equipment, perhaps a rifle or machine gun?

Any help is appreciated.

**earlymb** · 01-17-2016, 07:33 PM

The leather belt with the 3 brass hooks is a carrying sling for the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR); the one for the M1 Garand rifle is nearly identical but has only 2 brass hooks. It's probably maker marked & dated somewhere. The webbing trouser belt has snaps added, that could have been done by anyone but it is not original. Belt buckle is the enlisted men's model.

Your carrier for the M1943 folding shovel is the first model with fixed hook (as I suspected from the 1943 date) and these are quite scarce. The second model carrier has a adjustable hook and that one is common. Obviously any WW2-made M43 folding shovel will fit in to it but you could try to find an original 1943 dated folding shovel, those are very rare. 1944 & '45 dates ones are common. Your carrier is also a nice example of mixed colours, the tab for the hanger being OD3. My example has an OD3 body with an OD7 trim (I have a 1943 dated folding shovel in it too), it's on the left of the pics below to show the difference between the 1st & 2nd model carriers. The carrier itself is identical in both types.