British pattern 58 webbing

The British patt. '58 webbing had its shortcomings that became evident during the Falklands war. Especially the "field pack" was anything but large and did not accommodate all the necessary items for cold weather fighting. It was difficult to carry radio equipment with the webbing as well. 

The webbing was designed during the 1950s for mechanised infantry, and was meant to replace the stocks of patt. '37 and patt. '44 webbing still used in the British army at that time.

There were two basic set-ups: CEMO and CEFO
Combat Equipment Marching Order and Combat Equipment Fighting Order.
 The only difference between the two were that CEFO was without the "field pack" and CEMO was with the field pack.
Officially the pack contained: cap comforter, drawers, shirt, socks, towel, sleeping bag, boots dms, pt shoos, beret and parka.

The CEFO consisted of the following:
In magazine pouches: 4 full SLR magazines (80 rounds total).
Additional ammunition: 1 belt of 50 rounds g.p.m.g ammo, 2 grenades, bayonet and scabbard
Miscellaneous equipment: Weapon cleaning kit and grenade launcher attachment for the SLR. (combination flash suppressor and grenade launcher for standard NATO riffle grenades)

Kidney pouches: mess tin, combat rations, knife/fork/spoon set, washing and shaving kit, foot powder, spare socks, housewife, towel, spare laces.
Poncho roll: The poncho and sometime the NBC suit was rolled up together with the poncho.
Water bootle and mug fit together in the water bottle carrier and a lightweight pick or shovel were fitted on the back of the equipment. The pickaxe head was carried on the poncho roll. To top it all off the soldier had to carry a NBC respirator.

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My own set of Patt. '58 webbing:

 Above: The webbing seen in the CEFO order. 

From left to right: Magazine pouch left, water bottle carrier, kidney pouches (poncho roll underneath) right magazine pouch with bayonet frog.

Above: Notice how the kidney pouches attach to the webbing. 

The poncho roll is attached with two "carbine hooks". 

The picture can be enlarged by "clicking" on it. 

 Above: Notice the bayonet frog that is sewn onto the left magazine pouch. (red arrows)

 Above: Small grenade pouch for the grenade launcher attachment for the SLR.

 Above: Poncho roll. Notice on the top of the poncho roll two pockets the length of the roll intended for the pick-axe head.

 Above: Kidney pouches left and right.

 Above: Field pack. The two cross straps could be used to keep the helmet strapped onto the field pack when not in use, or make the pack secure. 

Underneath the cross straps it is possible to see the loop that would hold either the t-handle shovel or the pick-axe handle in place. 

Danish M48 helmet / Hjelm M48 ( US M1 helmet and Austrian clone)

Danish M48 clone helmet - made in 1965 by USCH

Medic helmet cover from 1963

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In the first years after WWII, the Danish army used three main types of helmets. The British "turtle" helmet + the Mk II and the Swedish M/37. We tried to produce our own helmet, the M/46, however the Danish army decided to introduce the American M1 helmet instead. It was cheap and well made. It remained the standard combat headgear in the Danish army until 1992 when the first kevlar helmet, produced by Schubert in Germany, and the first flak jacket was introduced.

The M1's were in the beginning surplus WWII helmets. A small Danish production run was begun in 1957. These helmets were made of magnetic steel, and came with a Bakelite liner. All of them went to the civil defence, since they were deemed unusable by the army. In 1965 the Danish army received the first German and Austrian produced M1 clones. These helmets are known as the M/48-65.

The Danish M1 clones were produced by:

Austria: Heinrich Ulbricht's Witwe, Schwanenstadt (stamp: U.SCH)

Germany: Linnemann Schnatzer, Ahlen (stamp: LS)

Germany: Busch Vereinigten Deutsche Nickelwerke AG Schwerte (stamp: VDN)

In the beginning the helmet liner were the old "resin" ones, but later, the old WWII helmets and clones were given a hard plastic liner produced from 1963 in Denmark by Dansk Kunststof Industri - DKI. They were of a higher quality that did not dissolve in the humid Danish weather like the resin ones. They liners were made of fibreglass impregnated with coloured polystyrene, and were made in three different colours: Green (army), grey (civil defence) and blue (navy). Later DKI produced a high visibility orange liner for the Civil defence. The liners were able cope with temperatures ranging from -30 to +40 degrees Celsius. DKI also sold the same helmet liner to the Norwegians, when they introduced the M1 helmet, as the M/58.

The helmets were usually used together with a cotton helmet net. The net was very similar to the US M/44 net.  All webbing parts were in a olive green shade, and all metal work on buckles etc were kept in brass. The helmets were made of a non-magnetic metal, the so called Mangalloy because of its high impact strength and resistance to abrasion. - WIKI: Mangalloy

If you want additional information on the M1 helmets, visit Mannie's blog.

http://www.combathelmets.blogspot.com/

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First helmet is a M1 -Front seam helmet made by McCord Radiators late in the war - late 1940s.
Heat stamp: 926A
Liner is of the 1963 DKI type, and the chinstraps are made of cotton webbing.
Colour: "apple green"
Buckles: Brass.

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Austrian clone shell made by USCH in 1965
Same type of liner, made by DKI.
Webbing straps on the liner is a cotton / nylon mix.
The chinstrap on the shell is the US M/73, with chin cup. It is made out of nylon and cotton webbing.