British DPM Camouflage

[Jerry B]

These were issued for deployment to The Former Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) ie Bosnia, Croatia etc.

They are "inners" in as much as a goretex cover was also issued.
The DPM material is the same as the rest of the clothing. The green material is like Cordura. The "dimpled" material is a friction surface like a "contact" glove but the dimples are soft and not hard plastic blobs. The mitts are lined with the same green synthetic fur as the cold weather "trapper" type cap.The "outers" were issued in green and in DPM. I have those somewhere and will add here when I find them.

Regards

Mark

Inners and outers

[Watchdog]

Still sorting through my old boxes in the loft and I keep finding stuff that I didn't pay much mind to but now seems "interesting" I didn't realise I was as much of a "collector" (magpie) as I appear to be

These mittens preceded the Mk3 obviously but were certainly in service at the same time. The most obvious difference that gives them away at 100 paces is the absence of the textured palm to improve grip though as can be seen there are other differences. This is a size small but my normal glove size is 9 and these will fit over a standard pair of leather "dress gloves".

The label is hard to photograph because of the way it is attached but the nomenclature is as per the title of this post.

The contract number is; SL32B/2011

The outer mitten for these is plain green MVP material (aka Goretex)

Regards

Mark

[Watchdog]

Inners and outers

Thanks Gerry, this illustrates the point about Mk2 and Mk3 being in service together. The Mk2 outer you show is plain green but is also different in design to the Mk3 outer. As soon as I dig my Mk3 outers (which are DPM MVP) up from where they are buried I will post them too.

Regards

Mark

[Watchdog]

Some will argue that these do not form part of the DPM uniform. However, I can say without doubt that they do, these are dated 1995 and that is when I received them and there was no sign of MTP before 2010!

They are very soft and supple leather lined with nylon. They are very comfortable and guess what, the MoD actually recommend that they can be washed!!!

They exist in this fetching shade of green as well as black, DDPM and now MTP although I think the nomenclature has to have changed to cover the different colours at least.

The NSN is; CM 8415 99 978 3713 (last 4 digits will be size)

The contract number is; CT33b 5857



Regards

Mark

[Watchdog]

Double post sorry!

[reneblacky]

Great to see the earlier models Guys Cheers

[Jerry B]

picked up today, PARKA, Men's cold weather in very good condition but without the removable liner. Contract code dates it to just after the Falklands and before the end of 1985.

[Jerry B]

A few more pics whilst the uploader seems to be working again.

Showing the lined hood but the body and sleeves have a removable liner which I do not have. Also note it has the para type tail for buttoning under the crotch.

[Jerry B]

A pair of mint NOS 68 pattern combat smock hoods -HOOD Cold Weather (Combat DPM)- both size one and by two different makers with A/78 contract numbers dating them to post 1968 up to 1979 though they coninued in use until well after the Falklands War where they saw use as ad hoc camo covers for the helmets used down south. One has an inspectors arrow stamp whilst the other has a circular stamp and still has the paper label from the makers

[Watchdog]

A pair of mint NOS 68 pattern combat smock hoods -HOOD Cold Weather (Combat DPM)- both size one and by two different makers with A/78 contract numbers dating them to post 1968 up to 1979 though they coninued in use until well after the Falklands War where they saw use as ad hoc camo covers for the helmets used down south. One has an inspectors arrow stamp whilst the other has a circular stamp and still has the paper label from the makers

These were a great item but were doomed to be deleted through lack of use. The lack of use was entirely due to the perception imbued in recruits from the start that it was sloppy and un-soldier like to wear one. It was common for the use of hoods to be forbidden on pain of punishment. The principle was based on tactical / field skills and the great lie was that it meant that your hearing and to an extent vision would be impaired and you would not be able to hear / see the enemy as effectively as without it! This was drummed into recruits who took it forward as their own belief. Of course the reality is that common sense and soldierly "nowse" should always have been the deciding factor depending on circumstances. So, they ended up as helmet covers (also seen as shovel covers!!) before eventual deletion as redundant. A similar ethos was applied to gloves but thankfully did not prevail.

Sometimes the old and bold do not get it absolutely right!

Regards

Mark

PS Look and see how many pictures you can find of these worn as intended in the real world ie not in training pamphlets etc.