andysyk | 01 Jul 2015 10:50 a.m. PST |
Whats the oldest bit of kit you've been issued? In 1981 I got an shirt and field dressing made in 1944 and some 1961 ration packs….I was also issued some wartime denims but the date had worn off…. |
rhisiart | 01 Jul 2015 10:56 a.m. PST |
My first issue weapon was an M1 Garand. I used to remember the serial number on it. That was back in 1964 |
Just Jack | 01 Jul 2015 11:00 a.m. PST |
In 2002 I was in Okinawa and we were inventorying GP mediums, and some had the date stamped on them "1954." In 1995 we were still being issued the green "Gumby Suits," which you'll sometimes see in pictures from the Vietnam War. I'm not saying our Gumby Suits were actually used in Vietnam, I'm just saying the gear was used in that era. For that matter, look at M1911s, M2s (HMGs, not carbines), CH-46s, and CH-53s. The pilots always said some of those airframes had actually served in Vietnam. V/R, Jack |
andysyk | 01 Jul 2015 11:06 a.m. PST |
Good to see its the same the other side of the pond. Imagine the stuff that must be floating around some third world countries. BY the way I think the denims had been worn since the 40's. The 1961 rations were ok… |
freerangeegg | 01 Jul 2015 11:26 a.m. PST |
My Saracen ACV I drove in the early 1980s. Built in 1955. |
Razor78 | 01 Jul 2015 11:28 a.m. PST |
In 1980 I flew in a B52 that was built in 1959. And it's probably still flying!! |
Bismarck | 01 Jul 2015 11:36 a.m. PST |
M1941 haversack, knapsack, suspenders, cartridge belt, canteen covers, metal canteens, canteen cup and mess kit. that was 1967. |
Saber6 | 01 Jul 2015 11:48 a.m. PST |
in 1978, most of the M-2s and M1911A1s in my armsroom were from the 40's |
andysyk | 01 Jul 2015 11:49 a.m. PST |
Great stuff you wont find this in any published source. |
rmaker | 01 Jul 2015 12:04 p.m. PST |
A college friend had previously served in the Navy aboard a destroyer off Viet Nam (c.1966-67). He claimed that he and a buddy, desperate for a smoke, broke into the lifeboat supplies, which contained several packs of Lucky Strikes – in green wrappers. "Lucky Greens have gone to war" was a hot advertising slogan in 1942. |
hocklermp5 | 01 Jul 2015 12:06 p.m. PST |
Bismarck….Same gear as yours in 1966. As I recall only the aluminum canteen had a date on the bottom of 1941 but all the rest was same vintage and very well worn. Ammo pouches were new for M-14 mags but were faded. I grind my teeth hearing that "screech,screech, screech" unscrewing that canteen cap made! |
andysyk | 01 Jul 2015 12:10 p.m. PST |
I used a Browning HP pistol in 1992 with a three digit serial number I think it was 201. It was most loose and rattily weapon in the arms locker but the most reliable and accurate. Must have had some history. |
McKinstry | 01 Jul 2015 12:20 p.m. PST |
I flew between Nakon Phanom, Thailand and Korat, Thailand in late 1971 in a C-47 that had a manufacturers brass plate indicating it left the factory in 1938. The only dating I can recall on kit were related to I think, K- rations allegedly from right after Korea but I cannot say in my distant memory whether there was any stamped date or if it was just urban legend. Again, allegedly it was the ham and Lima beans that were mid-fifties. |
Frederick | 01 Jul 2015 12:21 p.m. PST |
As I recall from my reading, some of the hardtack issued in 1861 was from stores prepared in 1840 or so |
Cattle Dog | 01 Jul 2015 12:58 p.m. PST |
I was using a Telescope Infantry / Scout brass made in 1907. Shell and field dressings were made by Johnson & Johnson 1944. (1981 till 1995) Regards Allan |
andysyk | 01 Jul 2015 1:35 p.m. PST |
I think a lot of shell dressings were made in 1944, some of mine were worn through four seasons of grunt work and handed back in. They must off been great at sterilisation in 1944 :-) |
HistoryPhD | 01 Jul 2015 2:07 p.m. PST |
McKinstry, they weren't called ham and "lima beans", as I'm sure you recall. |
Othra the thief | 01 Jul 2015 4:15 p.m. PST |
I was working as a co-op at the army materials technology laboratory in Watertown, and we were doing ballistic testing. We were issued ammunition to perform the tests that was manufactured in 1944. 1985 was the year. Needless to say I kept away from the weapon system when we fired it…. |
Major Mike | 01 Jul 2015 5:00 p.m. PST |
.50 cal ammo for the M-2HB that was in side open ammo cans from 1943 that we used in 1983. M3 grease guns (not M3a1's) that were manufactured by the Singer Sewing Machine Company during WWII, still in use in the 80's. If one got damaged its replacement cost a whopping $66.00 USD thru the supply system. |
Dn Jackson | 01 Jul 2015 5:10 p.m. PST |
I don't recall anything too old when I was in, 88-94. I do recall seeing actual jeeps driving around in Saudi before the war in 1991 that came out of the floating supply ships. When my father was at Quantico in the early 60s he was issued a ammo rig for his M1911 and a cartridge belt from WWI. he kicks himself to this day for not 'losing' it and getting a replacement from the surplus place in town. |
Bunkermeister | 01 Jul 2015 5:49 p.m. PST |
In the early 1980's USAR, we had pup tents and pegs that were from WWII, tent pegs were wooden. Would have been great for killing vampires. Our M1911s were from WWII, mostly Remington; I think the typewriter maker. Mike Bunkermeister Creek Bunker Talk blog |
rorymac | 01 Jul 2015 6:34 p.m. PST |
I had an M16A1 at OCS in 1991 that still had the Vietnam era three-prong flash suppressor and the take down bolt was so loose and worn I had to put some 100-mile-an-hour tape around the weapon to keep it from falling apart. |
hocklermp5 | 01 Jul 2015 8:18 p.m. PST |
Circa 1970 I had a WWII German mountain troops carbine I used WWII surplus 7.92 ammo in. The stuff was steel case so I would say late war, 1944-45. Never had a misfire. It is strange to me all miniatures of German mountain troops have them carrying KAR-98ks. The carbine had a short barrel, I believe it was 16". Slung you could walk through the woods all day long and not get hung up on low branches. Barrel came to just shy of the top of my head. Also had a heavy steel butt plate that came quite a ways up the stock to use as an assist to climbing. I have 1980 manufactured South African 5.56mm that shoots without a failure 35 years on. Boxes of 20 rounds come shrink wrapped in really heavy plastic with a built in carry handle. Must be air tight because the brass is shiny bright. |
Jemima Fawr | 01 Jul 2015 10:43 p.m. PST |
I remember a massive load of 1944-vintage frozen chicken being issued for an exercise in 1989 (the MoD had a refrigerated warehouse full of the stuff as war/civil defence reserve)… Rather them than me… |
Gungnir | 02 Jul 2015 1:38 a.m. PST |
In 1972 I was trained on a telephone switchboard marked 1916. They were still in use as backup units. |
Thomas Nissvik | 02 Jul 2015 2:37 a.m. PST |
According to their website, in December 1995 the last of the m/96 rifles left Swedish Home Guard service, meaning the Mauser 1896 rifle did not complete a full 100 years in Swedish service. My neighbour was issued one when he joined the Home Guard in the early 90's. |
Reactionary | 02 Jul 2015 3:10 a.m. PST |
Bearskin Cap – 1893 issued in 1981. For warry stuff '37 pattern webbing issued in 1979 |
Jemima Fawr | 02 Jul 2015 3:13 a.m. PST |
It's occurred to me that we're still using Lee-Enfield No.8 .22 Rifles that were manufactured sometime between 1949 & 1953. |
Chalfant | 02 Jul 2015 4:14 a.m. PST |
A 1940's .45 1911 in 1989 (not actually issued, but for some reason I was initially familiarized with that instead of an M9). Rattled like a baby toy, but I still scored 50 of 50 with it (familiarization only, not a qualification for marksmanship). Chalfant |
wrgmr1 | 02 Jul 2015 1:00 p.m. PST |
In the 70's we had WW2 era Lee-Enfield rifles re-bored to 22 calibre. We were also issued rations that include 1952 dated tins of peanut butter. Just for fun I opened it up. Hard as a rock! We also had uniforms originally issued in WW2. These were the blue Canadian navy uniforms with collars, square white gun shirts, blouse and bells. |
Lion in the Stars | 02 Jul 2015 1:32 p.m. PST |
Friend of mine said that one of the M2 .50cal MGs he shot in Stryker school in ~2008 had a serial number from the early 1950s. Poor thing was probably on it's 50th set of barrels, what with being a school weapon and fired weekly. |
Buff Orpington | 02 Jul 2015 1:58 p.m. PST |
When I was in Germany in the early 80's our Senior Medical Officer proudly carried a 1918 issue field dressing. I returned to the UK in 84 and was allocated to the Station Mobile Reserve as my exercise/war role. Despite having a full set of DPM and webbing I had to use old grey coveralls and WWII issue webbing. I got my team to check the original names written on the inside of the belts just in case anyone had my father's original set. It may be significant that only two of the aircraft types I worked on outlasted me in service. One was the Scottish Aviation (later BAe) Bulldog and the other was the DH Chipmunk which entered service in 1948. I pretty much saw off the Gnat, Hunter, Whirlwind & Buccaneer. |
jowady | 02 Jul 2015 2:49 p.m. PST |
The soldiers who fired the salute at my Father's Funeral (they were from the 101st AB) in 2009 did so with M1 Garands. Since my Dad was a WW2 they wanted to salute him with WW2 rifles, a sentiment that touched us deeply. If you're in the 3rd Infantry doing Funeral Duty and Ceremonial stuff in Washington you use a lot of old equipment. The saddles are McClellan Saddles and your saluting artillery pieces are 3inch guns. |
Jemima Fawr | 02 Jul 2015 3:23 p.m. PST |
A lot of the Royal Household and Household Cavalry Band uniforms are apparently of 18th Century vintage – they're just too bloody expensive to replace due to all the gold brocade. They apparently find men to fit the uniforms, rather than the other way around! |
LORDGHEE | 02 Jul 2015 4:36 p.m. PST |
On a gents wall I notice a picture of him and his transport unit in the Iraq war 2004, they where issued grease guns. I asked about it and he said they where in cosmaline and made in the 1950's and had never been issue according to records. |
hocklermp5 | 02 Jul 2015 7:16 p.m. PST |
There was a news item out of Syria where a large number of WWII German StG-44s turned up coated with cosmoline and good as new. The article said "container load" but that would imply shipment quite awhile after WWII. I just read up on the weapon and they produced 425,000 of them and a lot of them ended up in the Middle East. Yugoslavian special forces used them into the 1980s.(Wiki) East German Volks Police used them into the 1960s when (according to Wiki) they were replaced by PPSH-43s. I doubt that as I remember lots of pics from the 1960s where the People's Police were carrying AK-47s. I am sure what did the use of these weapons in was lack of ammunition as nothing else used that cartridge post-war. |
BattlerBritain | 03 Jul 2015 3:12 a.m. PST |
When I was in the Air Cadets in the UK in the 1970s we used to have to shoot with Martini-Henry .22 rifles converted from weapons made in 1889. You can see similar rifles in the film 'Zulu'. |
Apache 6 | 04 Jul 2015 9:14 a.m. PST |
During a demolition range In 2000 in Hawaii, we were issued 15 pound shape charges that had been manufactured in 1943. I saved a couple of the crates. I was on a color guard detail in 1987 that used M1 garands, they were WWII production. I know for a fact that those same rifles are used by that unit today. During a Jungle Training deployment to Panama in 1989, our platoon was assigned as the "OpFor" and issued old OD sateen uniforms that had been in storage. They did not want them back at the end of the deployment. |
Leadjunky | 05 Jul 2015 5:32 p.m. PST |
We had an M3 grease gun on my track in 1987 and all the crew had 1911's. |
Jemima Fawr | 06 Jul 2015 2:30 p.m. PST |
Battler, Those had to be privately-owned weapons owned by the Squadron, rather than issued weapons owned by the RAF. I've got a couple of Anschuetzes and a BSA Martini-action in my armoury. Cadet units have always been permitted to purchase their own weapons and hold them under a special licence, overseen by the MoD. The Air Cadets have only ever been issued with Lee-Enfield No.4 .303", No.8 .22", L1A1 SLR, L12A1 SLR .22 conversion kit, L81 7.62mm, L98/L98A1/L98A2 5.56mm Cadet Rifle and very occasional L86 LSW (plus DP variants). Before that they just used the weird 'training rifles' that poked holes in paper 'targets' an inch in front of the muzzle… :) link |
Andy P | 07 Jul 2015 4:20 a.m. PST |
Ive still got some boot brushes from 1937 and had a 44 pattern helmet in the 80's |
Jemima Fawr | 07 Jul 2015 10:13 a.m. PST |
Ah yes, the joys of sitting in a hole for Queen & Country, watching the rain drip off the rim of your helmet… |
carne68 | 07 Jul 2015 3:40 p.m. PST |
Navy boot camp in 1990 the rifles we carried and drilled with were 1903 Springfields. |
per ardua | 19 Jul 2015 3:12 a.m. PST |
I got a 44' pattern helmet issued in 1989. And a clasp knife from1947 still in grease proof paper. Both issued. |
Supercilius Maximus | 20 Jul 2015 9:09 a.m. PST |
……watching the rain drip off the rim of your helmet. It's your own fault, you were told not to take your trousers and underwear off. |
Muerto | 20 Jul 2015 10:43 a.m. PST |
I'm not a military man, but when I worked in Italy the blackboard in my office was stamped 1926. It was in a cluster of buildings commissioned by that twit Mussolini himself. |
Jemima Fawr | 21 Jul 2015 5:02 a.m. PST |
SM, I dangle the bait and you take TWO WEEKS?! You're slipping, old chap… ;) |
Supercilius Maximus | 22 Jul 2015 4:29 a.m. PST |
I was in solitary for part of that time. But yes, memo to self…… |
Weasel | 22 Jul 2015 5:20 p.m. PST |
I knew a guy from either Norway or Finland who said there were quite a few M1 and M2 carbines sitting around in "home guard" supplies, which would occasionally show up as old guardsmen handed in their weapons. |
Jemima Fawr | 22 Jul 2015 6:54 p.m. PST |
In the 80s the Norwegian Home Guard had some really interesting kit. My favourite was a photo of a Dodge Weapons Carrier with an MG34 mounted on it, circa 1989! |