1. Uniforms
Paratrooper
So, this is really for Miss Drop 44 members, if members of other groups do things different; great! At Miss Drop 44, we all wear the same kit and do things our own way, if you like our way, great! If you don't then thats fine too.
Most people will quickly find that re-enacting soon fills all the available free space in your home with random items! It's quite easy to buy everything you see at a good price, not because you need it, but because it looks good or is a great price!
However, this list below will give you list of what you'll need. This is all based on a 101st Enlisted Trooper jumping into Normandy. If your planning on doing a more specialist role, then obviously your kit will be slightly different, but all members will have the complete kit for a rifleman, as well as any other secondary impression.
Combat Uniform - your first biggest purchase!
The M42 Paratroopers Jump Jacket and Trousers can be purchased from a variety of places. However SOF is the easiest option; ATFs seem to be good again, their standards rise and fall more than the stock exchange. EPICs M42s are worthy of getting and tinkering with.
DO PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM ANY OTHER PLACE!!!
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I'm not saying this to be mean, other suppliers are just crap, yes some of them are cheaper... guess why.
M42 Jump Jacket (Reinforced)
M42 Jump Trousers (Reinforced)
M42's come in two types... unreinforced as they were issued and reinforced as they were made stronger for the Normandy jump. You need to get reinforced M42's, easy to spot as they have big knee and elbow patches and around the bottom jacket and leg pockets are green reinforcing material.
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Once you have your M42, you should really get a 101st patch for the arm. If you get a jacket second hand, then it might already come badge'd up. Check the quality of the patch with the ones on the Patches pages as some are appalling and are only good for a fire. Sadly since Green Army Productions (GAP) have vanished from patch making this has left a void in the market... I used to get almost messaged every day asking were people could get patches from. PFC A J LEATHLEY (find him on Facebook) jumped into fill this 'GAP' (amusing right)
Almost all uniforms would have been marked with the first letter of your surname and the last four digits of you Army Serial Number (ASN), these were usually stamped into clothing, but were also hand written in pen and marker. For example M9865, is what was marked on my jacket and trousers. Totally optional, but gives a nice unique touch, although rarely seen by anyone! If you need to be 'issued' a ww2 era ASN, we can give you all the details to match a soldier coming from any location in the USA. If you ever get paperwork like ID cards, pay-books, you'll want it all to make sense and match up.
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Uniforms didn't stay clean for long! Grim and oil from weapons, mess from food, mud, soil sand and anything else that was on the ground would be ground into the jump suit. All this can be simulated, the video below gives you some idea on how to do this should you want to. However nothing beats the actual wear and tear of wearing it in and years of abuse you'll give it.
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USE DECKING OIL - NOT WAX
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Yeah, I know, I'm drilling it home... but we get asked this thing over and over and over. Decking oil is easier, simpler, cheaper, gives a consistent coating, makes it water proof, makes it warmer and takes you about 5 minits to dunk and hang up in the garden to drip dry! If you're joining us, then this is your only option. No WAX coated M42s! Period!!!
To simplify the process - bucket - m42 - cover in oil until sodden - hang in garden - leave in garden until dry (if it rains, snows, thunderstorms, it doesn't matter). That's all you have to do... decking oil, not varnish, not paint, not snowseal, not vaseline, not petrol, not cheese.... JUST DECKING OIL!
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Again... this is for Miss Drop 44 members, if you're not a member of MD44 I'm not telling YOU what to do. Use what ever you prefer.
Almost all the clothing worn for the invasion of Normandy was treated with a gas resistant chemical called CC-2. It changed the colour of clothes giving them an darker oily look, with white powdery residue left in places, particularly in the seems. This really is a step above and beyond for accuracy and is a really nice look to the M42. The link here will take you to a page full of information on this CC-2 Chemical.
This is not an optional step. This is mandatory, as all 101st members in Normandy would have had a CC2 treated M42 jumpsuit.
INVASION FLAGS!
Sooooo... back to basics we go again... after todays fun and games with some stubborn child on Fascist book, this clearly needs to be address as a seperate thing.
Simply put, the 101st did not wear invasion flags of any kind in Normandy. The 82nd did. Before you all jump up on high horse and tell you you've seen it in a film, or on a plastic children's toy or even that those cheap crappy jumpsuits made in china come with them on... none of that makes it right. Let me spell it out clearly.
The 101st did not wear invasion flags of any kind in Normandy!
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They did later wear them on the M43's during Market Garden. However, not on any M42s in Normandy.
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Still don't believe me... go buy the only decent books on the Paratroopers in Normandy. Anything by Michel de Trez will do. Carentan part 1 or part 2 are ideal. Play spot the invasion flag on all the hundreds of photographs... I bet you the only ones you will see are on 82nd jackets... except that one prejump photos of 1 guy who is almost totally green from camo paint. When you find no guys in Normandy wearing them, are you really going to still to and convince me that they wore them. Or do you think there was a top secret order in place for people to removed them every time a camera was about to be used.
Just in case you're wondering who the childlike captain is above... this now the legendary ultra-farb Michael Musumeci who won himself the special place on the website. There is nothing more respected in this hobby than someone who insults you when you try and help them improve their frankly ridiculous impression.
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Now on to something that I discovered on You-tube when making reactionary videos... this guy I adore...his passion and struggles match my own. He is aware that almost all other 101st re-enactors are a joke! I agreed with everything he said (Except for the M1911, as we know that they were all withdrawn at Company level and below from 1943)... everything else he says though is spot on and I had to share his video below.
Jump Boots
Over the years, Jump Boots have gone up in price, even the cheaper reproductions are racing up in price. The best boots you can buy are Corcorans, one of the wartime manufacturers. They are solid, look great and will last for ever. My pair, although very worn in are about 15 years old and still going strong. However, you will pay extra for a pair of Corcorans. They are not cheap, but you get real quality made from an original wartime manufacture. If you can find a pair for sale that is!
Insoles - Even if you buy Corcorans, your feet will not be used to wearing stomping great boots! You don't need to buy extra insoles, although you can from a variety of places. I pulled out the insoles from and old pair of trainers that were going in the bin, trimmed a little of one of each of the sides and now they fit great.
(also, refer to First aid pouch/tin)
Garrison Cap
You have to have at least one item of headgear, nobody should be bareheaded outside. So the garrison cap was the ideal choice, the helmet will come later. There are so many reproductions (many are dog-shit) of, but realistically there are so many originals out there in all sizes. Unless if you head is the size of a beach ball then there is almost no reason not to buy an original. Check EBay and militaria fairs. You may need to replace the piping around the edge, but that is hardly difficult. By the way, basic sewing is fairly useful in this hobby. The piping has to be light blue, this signifies the infantry, you can get original un-piped examples, or even purchase an original that has alternative piping on it and removed it. I recently took the piping from an old moth eaten cap and put it on an lovely condition original engineers piped cap that was really cheap was nobody really needs engineers piping, so it kept the price down! Simply adjustments like these can save a lot of money and give you some stunning kit. The piping can also be purchased on its own for a few pounds and sewing really isn't that hard! After all every Trooper would have had to sew their own unit patches on, cap patches on, rank insignia on... so its good practice... also a fairly handy life skill to have.
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Extra extra... so people are still struggling with this... so it's time to super simplify.
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1- Find out what size your head is.... in inches! It'll probably be something like 7 1/4 or 7 3/8 etc
2 - Original caps are really easy to find in sizes that will be too small. Unless you are tiny, anything under a 7 is no good. SO DO NOT BUY IT.
3 - Go on eBay; both .com and .co.uk YES THEY ARE DIFFERENT. search for "Garrison cap *" *=insert size. You can also search for "US cap *" "cap *" "side cap *" and it will even bring up different results.
4 - Find a good example, not moth eaten, in your size, is wool brown and not tan. Buy it.
5 - If that cap you ordered doesn't have blue piping around it, not a problem as those caps are always more expensive. Go to the next step
6 - Find any cap with blue piping in roughly your size; as it needs to be almost your size or the piping will NOT BE LONG ENOUGH! Buy it!
7 - Removed piping from both caps by cutting threads carefully.
8 - Put blue piping onto your chosen cap, sewn in the same way it came off.
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Yes I'm typing this like a primary school lesson . . . (please don't embarrass yourselves by asking why I felt the need to type it like this)
everything else uniform related that you'll need
That covers the minimum uniform that you can get away with, everything below is desirable and will give you a better appearance and also a better feel for what a Trooper would have worn. Somethings are really simple to obtain, others you'll have to search high and low and some you might already have.
M1, M1C or M2 Helmet!
Firstly, the chronologic order for paratroopers is M2, M1, M1C... Now if you're not familiar with US World War two helmets that line may already sound complicated! Don't worry, its all straight forward. The M1 helmet is the basic American helmet you will have seen in a 1001 photographs. The M2 is the first version of the paratrooper helmet, supplied with a paratrooper liner. The M2 had large D shaped bales that often broke. Resulting in either repairs; or later being discarded and a standard M1 helmet shell being worn over the paratrooper liner. This is the most common pair in Normandy for the 101st. The bulk of the M2 helmets were issued to the 82nd, with the 101st getting some, but in comparison to the 82nd, very few.
To keep the ratios to a sensible level, almost all members will wear an M1 shell with paratrooper liner, with only a few wearing a complete M2 helmet. The M1C was a early - mid 1944 helmet and had swivel bales, so this is not correct. However, the term M1C is very commonly used to deplict any paratrooper helmet that isn't a M2, despite being technically incorrect.
If your technically minded any helmet can be adopted to have a fixed bale, you just need to be able to weld the bales on to the shell... The Shackrats group can do this if needed, you can contact them through Facebook.
M1 helmets (all helmets are always referred to as an M1, so I will call them this from now on) were made in vast numbers, so there are plenty to buy. However, they are very collectable, so the price is increasing. However, you can get an original helmet from time to time for a bargain. There are also lots of post war shells that are identical (none with correct bales of course) but with a good liner inserted you can get a cheap and workable helmet. There are reproductions and refurbished helmets. ATF refurbish helmets into both M1 and M2 styles.
Your helmet will be one of those more expensive items of kit that';; transform you into a paratrooper. It adds so much to your impressions, so this has to be right, the basic kit requirements for Miss Drop 44 does include this and it will be a fairly expensive purchase. It's better to buy the best when you can, rather than buy the first piece of rubbish you spot... do not buy something that is wrong and will just need replacing.
Liners can be completely redone with suspension, A-frames, nape band frames etc at no charge by Miss Drop 44. Of course, you will pay for all the parts and will cover shipping to and from us. If you wish to supply us with extra parts as a thank you for the work, then it is much appreciated.
For the very best Paratrooper helmets you can't go wrong with a J Murray helmet.
Above - shows the correct Inland A-frame buckel, the Westinghouse style was not worn during Normandy.
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Shown here is also a small pile of the liners and helmets recerntly finished.
So getting yourself an M1 helmet is one of the most awkward things to add to the impression, there isn't a good supplier in the UK. So, you either bite the bullet and go all in and order a J Murray (the best refurbished helmets on the market but its gonna hurt your pocket) or you can create one yourself. For details on how to do this, click the pukey green link above!
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Firstly find a suitable M1 helmet shell. Ideally you want a fixed bale helmet. However, if you know someone who can weld; they could weld you some bales on. To find a shell though you either going hunting at militaria shows or searching both F/B groups and eBay listings. They do come up crazy cheap from time to time. WARNING! There is lots of crap on the market, mostly in the form of EURO-CLONES! These are all wrong and problematic. Yes, they are cheap, there is a reason for this! If they were suitable for a good impression they would be 10 times the price.
Next comes your helmet Liner, which simply pushes inside the shell. Start looking on F/B pages and eBay. A good liner is harder to find than a good shell. You don't want it to be plastic, but the weird looking tortoise shell sort of finish (I won't even mention Hawley Liners here). These have all the webbing parts held in place with rivetted clips. These can all be replaced with some minimal skill and a few inexpensive tools. So refurbishing your own can work out really cheap and you know that all the parts won't be suffering from rot or rust.
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Also attached to helmet liner are the 'leather chin strap' and the 'A frames' the leather chin strap simply clips into the two inner studs and goes around the metal shell over the helmet net. The 'A' frames can be purchased from a few places, just make sure that they are not Westinghouse buckles. These will need some of the other rivets drilling out, sounds daunting, just go slowly and carefully! Then put the new hollow rivets and A frames in place and set them. If you don't want to do it, let us.
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Leather Chin Cup - some good news, these can be really cheap to get and some guys threw them away, lots stuffed them up inside their helmets and so the never get seen. So this isn't 100% needed, get one if you want, but NEVER wear it done around your chin. nobody wore this done up once on the ground.
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Helmet nets - simple! Get one from SOF, either green or chocolate brown. Just be aware that the brown ones have a weird tint of purple in them. So should be re-dyed using Dylons Expresso Brown. That should eliminate that odd undertone.
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Scrim - All members of the 502 wore various amounts of scrim. Not the rubbish that almost all companies in the UK sell. There was no bottle green, there was no natural, in fact if you look on J Murrays website he sells off original scrim pieces that he has removed from helmets and there is a huge variations of flat and dull, greens and browns; also some black! Don't buy the rubbish on sale, its not cheap for a few bits of hessian and is also wrong.
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HEARTS - painted on each side of all 502 members helmets were two fairly large painted hearts. Huge variations can be seen in style, skill and paint type. So there is no need to feel that your hearts won't be good enough. They will be correct (as long as they are roughly the correct size - around 2 1/2 inches in height) no matter what they turn out like, regardless if you are an accomplished artist or have never painted anything in your life.
Socks
Of course we all wear socks! The best looking socks for re-enacting are either thin cotton, what I call 'old man socks' or thick green woollen socks. The later are fairly padded to help with the wear and tear on your feet from the boots. It's not often the public will see you take your boots off, but its always better to know if you have to that you won't be showing the world your modern and very out of character pink flamingo socks! These can be obtain from so many places, just google "woollen green socks", the choice really is yours, there is no right or wrong, as long as they are plain and a military colour green, not lime or luminous greens!
T-Shirt - nope...
T-Shirts .... don't do it... I know the urge is there to buy the Camp Toccoa T-Shirts because you saw them being worn at the start of Bandwagon of Brothels. They were not worn in combat!
Just bare in mind that anything worn under the M42 jacket and the wool shirt, will not be visible. No it still doesn't mean wear the wrong T-Shirt! Wearing the M42 with the T-Shirt directly underneath is consider uber-farby and will class you in a category of re-enactors to not be taken too seriously. Unless you want to wear the Toccoa T-Shirt with the tiny blue PT shorts these should never really be seen. It is best to get a singlet vest, all modern T-Shirts have a very modern shape to them and just look wrong.
NO!
Undergarments
There are an assortment of undergarments that can be worn, the common ones being the vest with the thin almost rolled over shoulder straps in OD or white. Long Johns would have been worn and probably taken off (or cut off) the second they had the chance as they would have also been wearing the wool trousers under the M42 jump trousers too!
The vest are a good purchase and can even be gotten from SOF. An easy win for a handy piece of kit that helps keep you warmer in the evening.
Shirt, enlistedmens or officers
As well as the T-Shirt issue, after going through hundreds of original wartime photographs it became very apparent that most Paratroopers wore either the enlistemens shirt or the officers shirt, depending on rank. Which makes sense as just wearing the T-Shirt and Jacket wouldn't be very warm at all. When surviving outside all day and night, the more layers you'd be wearing the better.
There are plenty of original examples of these still available to buy, check EBay and militaria fairs. If you need to buy original, then these need to be obtained from either ATF or QMi.
Shown clearly in this photo of Tommy Lonergan and his buddy Johnny "Peenuts" Hale, both wear the enlistedmans shirt. Tommy Lonergan has closed the gas flap. You can just make out a tiny piece of the white under Johnny's Hales shirt, this could be a T-Shirt, but is most likely the oatmeal vest.
Lonergan would grieve the rest of his life over Hale's death, both were members of the small group known as the 'Filthy 13' in the 506th PIR
Trousers suspenders or enlistedmans belt
Belt and Braces! Yup, they really did wear them both. Although some wartime documents state only one is to be worn, others say both, and considering the weight that was in the trousers, I can see why some chose to wear both! The trousers belt shown here is the enlistedmans type, or open front buckle as it gets sometimes called. Available from dozens of places and they are so basic that even cheap ones will suffice as long as they look like that.
Braces were always worn by Paratroopers are the M42 trousers suspenders (not to be confused with the M1936 webbing suspenders... or ladies hosiery, and if you don't know what that is, don't Google it, you'll only go blind!)
Shown right are four original pairs of suspenders, top is the early style pair that was issued with the M42. I don't think I know of a company that makes these. The second from top is by far the easiest style to find for sale, QMi or ATF sells these. The other two are rather ugly, but both original, if you want something different in your appearance, then this could be a simply option... provided you can find them of course!
other uniform items that are useful to own
Gloves - tan leather
All Troopers were issued with horsehide tan leather gloves, as the Paratroopers were expected to be dealing with possibilities of extracting them selves from tangle parachute cords or even having to simply hold them in windy conditions these sturdy gloves were essential and became part of their unique appearance. If a soldier can't use his hands, he is pretty ineffective. For us the threat of getting your hands shredded by cords while trying to take of a parachute is fairly minimal, these gloves not only keep your hands warm, but are useful when putting up and taking down the tents and gathering fire wood.
Just make sure the gloves you buy do not have the buckle on them, these are not the correct gloves, shown here. Go to SMWholesale and get the correct ones from there.
x x x x
Greatcoat
One of these you'll find really handy when the weather drops, after all, remember which country we live in! Originals can be found as long as your not big, when I say big, I mean above a 44 chest. They won't be cheap, but are fantastic items to have. If you can't find an original then the French 1950s style is extremely close, the colours is a little off, but with a swap of the buttons it looks pretty good.
However, please note that these cannot be worn when the show is open, they are for after hours only, as no paratrooper jumped into Normandy with one of these huge bulky coats!
Sweater, Wool 5 button or Vest type
Another way of fighting the cold yet still wearing only your M42 as an outer layer is to get hold of a woollen sweater, the high necked 5 button ones are really good at keeping the heat in. There are also vest styles ones.
Although these do keep you warm and are a period item, these are to be worn as an under layer only. As frankly they look pretty ridiculous when worn on the outside! So if you get warm, strip of your M42 jacket, discard the sweater and put the jacket back on.
Although the buttons on the one shown right are incorrect as the one shown is probably a 1950s example.
If you want to have a vest type, I have these hand knitted (not machine knitted) in all sizes to an original wartime pattern. Some of the guys in out unit has them and they love them!
Raincoat, Synthetic Resin Coated, O.D.
The rain coat was widely issued, commonly seen in Normandy photos and far more widely carried since it was a handier item and much more compact than any other type of coat.
There are not too many of these being reproduced, the very best of which is made by QMi and will set you back 110 Euros. It comes in a wide selection of sizes up to 3XL. Consider buying a size or two larger than you need as it can go over all those extra layers of clothes you may have on. I was at one event and the heavens opened up in the way that England is renowned for, the guy next to me pulls out a raincoat and puts it on over his webbing! he purchased the biggest they sold at the time and wore it like a tent!
Soldier of Fortune recently released there own version of the raincoat... and asides from the smell... WOW, it is excellent. Mine is brand new, unworn and hasn't been folded, rolled, packed away yet. So the question remains how long will it last, will the glued parts al dry out and fall apart like the old WGP ones. Or will it stay together... sadly only time will tell!
Of course there are much cheaper examples on the market... but don't expert them to either keep you dry, or look anything near as good
