Army mountain and ski parkas

[Steve H]

Hi all

I just sourced another US second pattern mountain parka via an unrelated link elsewhere on this forum and it spurred me to start this topic- I have had a keen interest in mountain kit for some years and more recently started gathering a collection ranging from ski wax to clothing and other items- since this forum deals with vintage jackets, here are 2 parkas to start with- the latest aquisition first and then my pride of the collection thus far... apologies but these pics double up from another post... feel free to follow up with your parkas!

Parka sourced from Ontario, Canada- 1st SSF? Fur trim missing but can be easily replaced by moi

And my mint, 42 dated, large size labelled 2nd pattern parka- apologies for the poor pics;

 

[watchmanjimg]

These look like excellent examples of relatively rare garments. Good scores!

 

[ausreenactor]

I went the 'Airborne' route and not the FSSF/10th route as I am para-qualified and I can not ski. No, the OCD would require me to ship bulky and heavy items I could not move through the USPS. No use having one part of the collection without the rest. Do have the mountain leggings here if really need some.

I bought a BR M-1951 parka. And an original went for $229 only yesterday. Aside from that I am content for now..

Couchy

 

[ausreenactor]

Oh! The later pattern did not have the fur hood!!

http://www.amazon.com/GI-Collectors-Gui ... 235250080X

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/235250 ... B1ERJ1GDHJ

http://www.amazon.com/World-War-II-GI-P ... 1847970338

Get a hold of these. First and last are a must have. If you want to take a look I can post down for six months? Three weeks to enact that COA..

Couchy

 

[Steve H]

Yeah, got those books Couchy- brilliant reference and amazing pieces inside!

I can ski/ board but never jumped so my natural course was to follow the hills in collecting! Have also climbed a bit over the years. i also have a bit of Gebirgsjager stuff, climbing kit and whatnot.

 

[dujardin]

nice nice nice

good catch

thanks for the photos

 

[Peter Graham]

Great post. I love kit like this. Are those parkas lined or just shells and if they are lined, what with ?

 

[Steve H]

No lining Peter and reversible only ie green one side, white the other with no intermediate layer of lining- they are poplin, so pretty light but windproof/ showerproof. One of the first layering principle garment series.

 

[Steve H]

Reversed

 

[Peter Graham]

Great photos Steve. What the heck is that gun in the last photo, some Marine corps oddity ?

 

[Steve H]

Its a Johnson automatic rifle- limited issue to mainly forcemen of 1st Special Service Force but i believe para- marines may have used them too(???)

The pics are of forcemen fighting in Italy, the johnny gunner is probably in the vicinity of Mt Camino or Radicosa

 

[dujardin]

lot's for sale this time on ebay
close to mint condition
?????????????
strange....
post war production maybe
Korean war stock now for sale ????

have a look on this first for sale, on the label i read 1946 or 1948 and you ????

http://www.befr.ebay.be/itm/11100858165 ... 1436.l2649

those following looks too mint for me to be ww2

http://www.befr.ebay.be/itm/22119946675 ... 1436.l2649

http://www.befr.ebay.be/itm/23093891509 ... 1436.l2649


and now, have a look on this photos, one show the label US Air Force

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Army-WW2-10t ... 7675.l2557

so, my confusion is biggggggg
was the post WW2 USAF mechanic's jacket the same as the WW2 mountain troops parka ????
what about labels ?????
was this parka still produce after war, i think yes; wich denomination???

can we be deceived ????? thinking we bought a mountain troops parka in place of a USAF parka ??

maybe this parka is also reproduced, knowing she is well researched by collector????



i correct a little my post after i took a look in my 'gear up' - there is of course nothing to see with the D-2

 

[watchmanjimg]

Marcel, I don't think this is a repro and it need not have been produced as an item exclusive to the USAF. A possible scenario is that the garment simply found its way into the USAF supply system and the decal was added at the unit level sometime thereafter.

 

[watchmanjimg]

Great photos Steve. What the heck is that gun in the last photo, some Marine corps oddity ?

Its a Johnson automatic rifle- limited issue to mainly forcemen of 1st Special Service Force but i believe para- marines may have used them too(???)

The pics are of forcemen fighting in Italy, the johnny gunner is probably in the vicinity of Mt Camino or Radicosa

That's actually the Johnson light machine gun. Here's the rifle:

You and Peter are both on the money regarding the USMC/Paramarine connection to these weapons. I believe a few years ago the American Rifleman magazine published an article about the Johnson LMG in use by FSSF, and the story goes that the Forcemen traded explosives to the Corps in exchange for the Johnsons. In addition to their use by FSSF, Johnson rifles and LMGs saw action in limited numbers with the Marines in the Pacific. More details can be read here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1941_Johnson_rifle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1941_Johnson_machine_gun

 

[Peter Graham]

Thanks Jim. Great info as always.

 

[Steve H]

Thanks Jim. Great info as always.

Seconded- i forgot there was two types; rifle and lmg. Good post.

 

[Chandler]

Crazy, but that looks very close to an old LL Bean ski anorak I bought back in the late '70s -- right down to the hood-to-yoke pattern with the buttons and the green-to-white reversible.

Wonder if Bean patterned theirs after this surplus, or maybe even made them for the government?

 

[Steve H]

Do you still have it?

 

[watchmanjimg]

Crazy, but that looks very close to an old LL Bean ski anorak I bought back in the late '70s -- right down to the hood-to-yoke pattern with the buttons and the green-to-white reversible.

Wonder if Bean patterned theirs after this surplus, or maybe even made them for the government?

I don't think it's crazy at all. LL Bean and other outdoor suppliers were/are inspired by military designs. I'm not sure if Bean had any government contracts, but Eddie Bauer definitely made parkas for Uncle Sam. An example was recently discussed here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=14639

 

[Chandler]

Do you still have it?

I do. Somewhere... I think it's in storage. I'll have to see if I can dig it up.