British uniform and equipment of ww2.

Various British Army helmets and other equipment from World War II.

All photographs and captions are from “The World War II Tommy: British Army Uniforms European Theatre 1939-45 In Colour Photographs”, by Martin Brayley & Richard Ingram, The Crowood Press Ltd., 1998 – UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE.

MK I* HELMETS:





MKI-H1
Mk I* Helmet
Battledress, Serge, 1939 (p 15)
Battledress was an innovative concept in its day, the most modern and rational combat uniform adopted by any European power: It was more economical than the old long tunics worn by other armies; and a great deal of thought had gone into its design, down to the level of exactly what could be carried in which pockets. Production of the original pattern of BD, often erroneously called 1937 pattern, started in 1938, but issue in quantity did not begin unti11939. Typically, this soldier in early 1939 has been issued the new BD but has yet to receive the 1937 pattern web equipment; he makes do with 1908 pattern, identical to that issued during the Great War except for the entrenching tool and its helve, which had been discarded during the interwar period. All buttons on the BD were of the concealed “fly" type; they were normally of dished brass, with the exception of those for the epaulettes, which were soon replaced by composition button with a metal shank.




MKI-H2
Mk I* Helmet (p 15)
Our private of the Devonshire's, not yet issued with the Anklets, Web, of the 37 pattern set, makes use of the small straps let into the inside of each ankle section of the Trousers, Battledress, Serge. These could be drawn around the ankle and fastened using one of two buttons, to confine the bulk of fabric with the intention of improving the fit of the web anklets. At his feet lies the Mk I* steel helmet in use at this time; it consisted of a Mk I helmet shell - the old 1916 Brodie pattern - fitted from 1936 with an improved liner (note oval rubber pad in skull) and an elasticated web chinstrap. This pattern was not fully superseded by the Mk II until late 1940.

As the BEF is pushed back to the French coast in May 1940 an infantryman (who also appears on the front cover of this book) waits for orders, with rifle slung. Although not yet issued to the BEF in its entirety, the battledress uniform in its original specification as manufactured from late 1938 was in use with most front line units; note the uncomfortable unlined collar of the serge blouse. An Mk VI respirator haversack carries the gas mask in the alert position; this particular model was introduced in 1939. Passing through the rings of the respirator haversack are the white tapes of the Cape, Anti -Gas, seen rolled behind the soldier’s head and resting above his small pack. A hessian cover with additional "brush loops" is fitted over the Mk II helmet (manufactured from 1938) to camouflage it and prevent reflections. Such covers, echoing practice during the Great War were unofficial but were made up by certain units during the battle of France; one original example is known with a painted hessian divisional flash sewn on. Helmet nets were also beginning to be issued and saw limited use in France; but most helmets were worn uncovered and uncamouflaged - which is somewhat surprising; as the paint finish on many early helmets was "eggshell" or satin rather than matt, without the addition of sand to coarsen the finish and kill reflections. Note that this respirator haversack has been "blancoed"- scrubbed with the same water-dilute powder preservative as the webbing harness. Later in the war hessian covers were sometimes seen worn over haversacks to prevent heavy soiling during exercises; the haversack could not easily be laundered without appearing conspicuously washed out thereafter.
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 BEF Infantry, France 1940
A brief rest during the long fighting retreat to Dunkirk in May-June 1940 finds BEF infantrymen and French refugees mixed by the road- side. The word has been passed permitting these Regulars to drink from their water bottles. In order to do this the bottle and its carrier have been unbuckled together from the right side of the webbing equipment: the bottle is difficult to remove from the tight-fitting carrier; and even more difficult to replace without the help of a mate. Note that the battledress blouses are absolutely bare of unit insignia. By the spring of 1940 only a few unofficial battalion sleeve flashes, along similar lines to the "battle badges" of 1916-18, had begun to come into use with the BEF. These were usually simple coloured felt shapes - bars, strips, cap badge silhouettes, etc. - adopted at battalion level; only 51st (Highland) Division seems to have had an organised system, and even that was not universally seen. With the return of the BEF from Dunkirk its troops were reorganised and these battle patches disappeared.

Mk II Helmet
US War Aid Clothing (p 64)
Italy, 1944: an infantryman wearing US-made battledress. This was one of the anomalies of wartime procurement: while trans-Atlantic; shipping space was at such a premium that many items of US web equipment were manufactured in the UK, at the same time US factories were producing BD and other equipment for the British Army. Production of BD began in January 1943 from specifications drawn up in autumn 1942; its issue was limited to Italy and the Mediterranean theatre. Battledress, Olive Drab, War Aid was of noticeably better fabric and a greener shade than British production. The most noticeable identifying feature is the fly front on the blouse but with exposed buttons to the un-pleated pockets, Blouses had two labels on the internal right pocket, one unmistakably American giving contract and stock numbers, and the other giving typically British size ranges.




Vickers Section
The Vickers in action - note flame in parabolic flash deflector fitted to this gun, a device which reduced the tell-tale muzzle flash, particularly when viewed from a flank. The theoretical rate of fire was in excess of 450 rounds per minute, although in practice one 250-round belt was fired in two minutes, (one belt per minute for rapid fire).

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