Australian Blankets

[specopsaust]

Very nice collections guys.




Mine is a normal blue striped GS blanket made by Onkaparinga in South Australia in 1942. It appears that they started using manufacturer's codes instead of business names on Aussie gear some time in 1942.

[rra227]

Nice blankets. Rich A. in Pa.

[Ubique]

Today I dragged out and dusted off some of my Vietnam War era stuff. There was a time when you could not give this stuff away and many of these thin blankets probably ended up in the dogs bedding. Now that they are half a century old they are getting harder to find and more appreciated.
First pic shows two green blankets and a nylon liner. Usually referred to as 'horse blankets' and 'silks' although there were probably other names too. Note the variation in the broad arrow stamp.
Second pic shows the two assembled with the little tags and the same Carr Australia press studs as used on the slouch hats of that period, to form a light weight sleeping bag.
Third pic shows the markings on my two mosquito nets. These nets were just big enough to cover the bedding and could be tied up under the hutchi (if the soldier could be bothered, which was rarely). Note the D-D (Defence Department) gets dropped on the later net. CGCF stands for Commonwealth Government Clothing Factory and the tags show an early example of the use of the Nato Stock Number over here.
Fourth pic shows two of the mattress covers along with one of the inflatable mattress sections. There were three sections to a cover and they were notorious for getting punctures. The inflatable in the picture is dated 1971 and has the yellow inspectors stamp.










Cheers,
Oz.

[reneblacky]

Great stuff Oz, Great to see.

[rra227]

Never seen them before. Thanks for posting them. Rich A. in Pa.

[Ubique]

A couple more I unearthed: 1949 by DWWM (anyone know that Woollen Mill company?) and 1964 by Rex. The '64 would have been soon after the colour change as our military was gearing up for the Vietnam war and training National Servicemen. I wonder what year the colour change came in?





Cheers,
Oz.

[specopsaust]

Today I dragged out and dusted off some of my Vietnam War era stuff. There was a time when you could not give this stuff away and many of these thin blankets probably ended up in the dogs bedding. Now that they are half a century old they are getting harder to find and more appreciated.
First pic shows two green blankets and a nylon liner. Usually referred to as 'horse blankets' and 'silks' although there were probably other names too. Note the variation in the broad arrow stamp.
Second pic shows the two assembled with the little tags and the same Carr Australia press studs as used on the slouch hats of that period, to form a light weight sleeping bag.
Third pic shows the markings on my two mosquito nets. These nets were just big enough to cover the bedding and could be tied up under the hutchi (if the soldier could be bothered, which was rarely). Note the D-D (Defence Department) gets dropped on the later net. CGCF stands for Commonwealth Government Clothing Factory and the tags show an early example of the use of the Nato Stock Number over here.
Fourth pic shows two of the mattress covers along with one of the inflatable mattress sections. There were three sections to a cover and they were notorious for getting punctures. The inflatable in the picture is dated 1971 and has the yellow inspectors stamp.










Cheers,
Oz.

Good stuff. It's almost useless as a military sleep system, but I use the full "sleeping bag" set inside the swag occasionally, and use the mozzie net occasionally too so it's OK for minimalist/old-style or "bushcraft" camping..


Looks like you're missing the cotton liner which was originally part of the set. Being a bit bright for field use, you don't see them very often, but there was a bunch released as army surplus apparently. You can find them on the Bay of E pretty cheap - Sleeping Bag Liner Ex-Army 100% Cotton Very Good Condition | eBay (no affiliation).

[Ubique]

Good info Specopsaust.
I wonder if the sheet liner would mostly have been used with the striped thin mattress and matching pillow on a stretcher for camps?
Yes, they are still usefull for basic camping.

Oz.

[Roger M]

I found another one as it was being laid out at the car boot sale but they wouldn't sell it and was just being used to put clothes on it. Best I could do was a photo of the label.

https://www.marrickvillemetro.com.au...8509f5597a.pdf