"Storia ed Evoluzione dell'Uniforme Militare"

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In the above photo this WWII Finnish solider is wearing a WWI Austrian helmet, and carrying extra ammunition in a cotton bandolier because the soldiers of Finland made use of a great deal of surplus WW1 equipment.

 

Shown here is the uniform m/36, the standard uniform of the Finnish Army of 1936 to 1945. This pattern of uniform remained in service until the 1970s.

 

In combat the Fin soldier could carry more ammunition by the use of the cotton bandolier, as seen in this photograph. It is made of a strong cotton khaki cloth, and has a simple adjustable buckle. The pockets are large enough to carry ten rounds of ammunition in each pocket. The pockets have a flap, which is held closed by a button. Each button is made of metal and painted black. The buttons are all marked with the words, for gentlemen, and appear to be British trouser fly buttons.

 

Finland issued its soldiers with a variety of helmets. It is not unusual to see in any group of Finnish soldiers a number of different helmets. In fact it does appear to be unusual to see one type worn by a group. Helmets other than First World War Austrian worn were Italian, Czechoslovakian, Hungarian, Swedish, Polish. Some Russian and British helmets were used in the rear areas. The WW2 German type, did not see any substantial use in Finland.

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Uniforms of the US Navy, US Army and the US Army Air Force, WW2

 

Captain, US Army Infantry

 

Captain in the USMC

 

Captain in the US Army Air Force

 

Captain USAAF, A2 dress

 

Lieutenant Pilot in the United States Navy

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Finlandia, Seconda Guerra Mondiale, Esercito, Sottotenente

 

This is the officer's pattern tunic of the Finnish Army in WW2. The collar badges denote rank, in this case a junior Lieutenant, as shown by the single heraldic rose. The green color and the silver Gray border, along with the green piping on the shoulder strap, with the crossed rifles badge denotes infantry.

Also featured is the Finnish Sam Browne belt with a cross strap and pistol holster.

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British Infantry, Korea 1950/53.

 

 

This would be one of the first soldiers to wear the camouflage pattern in Korea. Note the woollen over mittens to go over woollen gloves, the woollen cap/comforter and the woollen jumper under the smock. Gaiters are still worn. Webbing is British 1944 pattern and the rifle is the Lee Enfield No.4, based on the famous SLME of WW1 vintage. It was .303 calibre.

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Australia, Seconda Guerra Mondiale, Fanteria, Capitano, 2/24^th Bn. 9^th Division AIF, 1942

 

 

 

The unit served with distinction at the Siege of Tobruk in 1941.

Note the bar for the award of the Victoria Cross, and the "T" shaped shoulder patch for Tobruk.

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German General Staff Officer

 

 

The German General Staff Officer is wearing:

* Iron Cross 1st class

* Iron Cross 2nd class

* War Merit Cross,

* Russian Front Medal

* West Wall Medal

* General Assault Badge

* 1939 Wound Badge

* Knight's Cross

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Japanese infantry soldier's uniform of WW2

 

 

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French Cavalry Captain circa 1920

 

 

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Seconda Guerra Mondiale,Armata Rossa, Capitano

 

He's wearing a quilted "Telogreika" combat jacket & M40 helmet. This jacket provided both warmth without bulk and featured a banded collar and painted metal buttons.

 

The uniform is topped off with a field-green M40 steel helmet with leather chin strap.

 

The yellow and red bands on his right chest are wound stripes, yellow for light wounds, red for major ones. Just beneath these is the badge he wears as a member of the Red Guards, a paramilitary strike force that grew out of the armed workers of the Communist revolution.

The ribbon bar on his left breast shows the Medal for Valiant Labor, a high award related to his service in the Red Guards; the Medal for Valor in recognition of personal courage and valor in the defense of the Motherland; the Medal for Distinguished Service in Battle, and the campaign medal for the Defence of Leningrad.

 

The weapons are the 7.62-mm Mosin-Nagant M44 carbine, for which he wears the standard-issue twin leather ammunition pouches on his belt; and a double-action (officers' issue) Nagant model 1895 revolver, which he carries in a shoulder holster with a built-in ammunition pouch under its flap.

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World War 1 and Kaiser Wilhelm II is in power.

 

A young Infantryman wearing an Ersatz felt Picklehaube. Circa 1915

 

A young Infantryman in the newer tunic with the newer steel helmet . Circa 1917.

 

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British and Commonwealth Soldiers during WW2 (I^a parte)

 

 

1937 Pattern Battle Dress Blouse

 

The P37 BD Blouse is easily identified by its pleated breast pockets with hidden buttons and the fly front closure, the cuffs also have concealed buttons.

Buttons are generally made of brass.

Other features are the pleats gathered at the waistband front and rear, two internal pockets with the size label on the right hand side and three button holes for attaching the trousers.

 

 

 

1940 Pattern Battle Dress Blouse

 

The P40 BD Blouse is a simplified version of the P37 introduced to reduce the amount of material required and speed up the manufacturing time.

Identified by its unpleated breast pockets and generally lacking the pleats at the waist band. All buttons are now exposed on pockets, front closure and cuffs.

Buttons are now a type of plastic.

Other differences are the single internal pocket on the left, with size label attached and only two button holes for attaching the jacket and trousers together.

 

 

 

1937 Pattern Battle Dress Trousers

 

Identified by the belt loops around the waist, tabs and buttons at the bottom of trouser legs (used to gather the trouser leg in before attaching gaiters), concealed button on map pocket and also the lack of button on the field dressing pocket.

 

 

1940 Pattern Battle Dress Trousers

 

Like the 40 Pattern Blouse the 40 Pattern Trousers were introduced to speed up production and reduce material.

The belt loops and the tabs/buttons on the bottom of trouser legs removed, map pocket button now exposed and a button added to the field dressing pocket.

The number of buttons to attach to Blouse reduced from three to two.

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Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK) The Afrika Korps

 

 

Armoured Units

 

 

In North Africa, 1941-43, Panzer troops wore the same basic uniforms as all other German Army personnel. The only part of the black uniform sometimes retained in the desert was the side cap, seen in one or two photos of crews otherwise dressed in tropical uniform. Members of the Panzer units wore the wore the olive shoulder straps with pink piping. Officers wore the pink-backed silver shoulder straps from their European uniforms, and other ranks . All arms, Panzer included, wore the conventional Litzen of the German Army on the collar, in blue-grey on tan brown. Officers wore their European service dress collar Litzen – silver, with pink "lights", on a dark green backing. All ranks identified their arm of service by pinning the white metal death's-head from their black European collar patches directly to the cloth of the lower jacket lapel. These death's-heads, and the pink piping on their shoulder straps., were all that distinguished Panzer troopers' tunics from other branches. The chevron of pink was Waffenfarbe sometimes, but not invariably, worn on the front of the tropical field cap and sidecap. The insignia on these caps were conventional – eagles and cockades – but the former was in blue-grey. Officers had silver woven cap eagles on brown backing, silver crown piping, and the embroidered cockade.

Ballantry and wound decorations were worn on the tropical jacket in the usual way. In fact, the jacket itself was very frequently discarded; in the desert the Panzer crewman's normal dress, except in the cold of night or deep winter, was a field cap, shorts and the short canvas-and-leather boot. Oliver green shirts were worn, sometimes with uniform shoulder straps attached but without other insignia. The jacket sometimes displayed the AFRIKA and AFRIKAKORPS titles. The khaki-brown greatcoat was also worn by Panzer crews. For all branches, the shade of "olive green" displayed by all items of headgear and uniform varied very widely, from a true green, through every shade of khaki, to a bleached sand yellow: Field caps were often deliberately bleached. As well, all branches made use of captured British tropical clothing: it is not uncommon to see Afrika Corps clothing mixed with British shirts, shorts, socks or boots.

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British and Commonwealth Soldiers during WW2 (II^a parte)

 

 

Collarless Service Shirt and Jumper

 

 

 

 

Greatcoat and Leather Jerkin

 

 

 

GS - (General Service) Cap

 

Complete with Wiltshire Regiment badge on maroon backing cloth.

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Hauptmann in the DAK (Afrika Korps) M43 cap

 

Hauptmann in the DAK (Afrika Korps) M40 helmet

 

The desert campaigns of the Second World War have captured the popular imagination like few others in modern history. This is due in large part to the almost-mythic fame of its commander, the "Desert Fox", Irwin Rommel. But few understand the reasons for his success. The Afrika Corps is a textbook example of why the German Army was able to achieve the success it did, despite its handicaps.

Often outnumbered, usually undersupplied, the Deutsches Afrikakorps succeeded because of the technical superiority of its weaponry, the skill of its leadership, and the élan of its men. And its achievements are truly remarkable: with only three German divisions (the 5th Light – later christened the 15th – the 20th, and 90th Light Divisions), plus six Italian divisions of varying degrees of quality, the Afrika Corps was able to push back a superior Commonwealth force from Tripoli to within a few hundred miles of the Suez Canal, almost ejecting the British from North Africa and its rich oil reserves in the process .

And, despite its defeat, the Afrika Corps tied down the equivalent of more than twenty Commonwealth divisions for a period of two years – nearly half of Britain's operational strength.

Service Dress The tropical uniform worn by the Afrika Corps varied widely in colour, depending on length of use, different manufacturers' batches, etc.; and the latitude tolerated in the desert armies of other nations was also observed in the German forces. Colours described below are regulation shades.

Upon arrival in North Africa, members of the Afrika Corps seem to have been dressed in the following: an olive green M1940 Tropical tunic; flared olive green breeches that laced at the calf and resem led British jodhpurs; high-laced tropical boots with brown leather feet and reinforcement strips, and olive canvas insteps and legs; and cork helmet. (The colour resembled British "khaki" or American "olive drab".Early versions ranged in colour from greenish-brown to dark brown. Later versions were more standardized.) Unlike forces on the continent during this period, both officers and other ranks wore virtually identical uniforms.

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Seconda Guerra Mondiale, Australia, tenente pilota.

 

 

 

Many RAAF men served with the RAF during the Second World War. When they did, they wore their RAAF uniforms with shoulder arcs bearing the title "Australia."

 

This Flight Lieutenant wears an RAAF four-pocket tunic with the prescribed pale blue shirt and black necktie. RAAF uniforms, though virtually identical in every other respect to those of the RAF, were darker blue and often featured blackened bronze or bakelite (plastic) buttons and insignia in place of the RAF's bright brass.

Unique to the RAAF are the miniature crown and eagle insignia - smaller versions of the RAAF cap insignia - which were placed just above the rank stripes on the cuffs of the service tunic.

The four red overseas chevrons on the right sleeve indicate two years of active duty in foreign theatres of operation, with each chevron representing 6 months' service.

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Initially known as the Long Range Patrol, the LRDG was one of the first special forces formed in World War II. Although part of the British forces, the unit was made up mostly of New Zealanders from 2NZEF with some Rhodesians, South Africans, and the occasional Australian.

 

The LRDG became the forward eyes and ears of the Allies in North Africa and together with the Special Air Service played a secretive but vital role in Allied desert strategy.

 

Our CGI model Barry is wearing a traditional Arab headdress as part of his regulation uniform for the LRDG, though members also wore visor caps, side-caps, ski caps and berets, usually with the unique scorpion badge of the LRDG.

 

 

 

His uni forum is standard British issued kaki and rank insignia were seldom worn in the LRDG. They were tiny units and everyone knew who was who. This officer displays only a pair of slip-on epaulette slides identifying him as a New Zealander serving with the LRDG.

 

From around his neck hang Canadian-made War Office issue binoculars and on his M37 webbing belt is a leather pouch containing his MT prismatic compass.

His goggles are U.S. Army skiers' goggles with polarized lenses, designed for cutting the glare from snow, but also worked well in the harsh desert sun.

 

As you may have noted, shaving was not compulsory, and was even discouraged, as the beard made for protection against the sun and the desert wind, the dreaded "khamsin" that roars in off the Sahara Desert at temperatures over 40* Celsius, (104* Farenheit) with very low humidity.

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Circa 1950. US Ranger & US paratrooper

 

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Standard issue wear for Soviet tank crews at Kursk was the slate-grey or black coverall as seen in Figure 1. 2. The Red Army employed many women in combat roles such as this sniper in camouflage coverall and equipped with a mosin 1891 rifle. The lieutenant of the Rifle Forces in Figure 3 illustrates the January 1943 uniform changes which saw the introduction of Tsarist- style rank insignia and new "gyminastiorka" or blouse with stand-up collar and shoulder boards.

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Captain USMC HBT Fatigues

 

 

Here we see the Captain in his everyday utility uniform, also known as fatigues. He wears his cotton khaki HBT utility jacket open at the collar, with sleeves rolled up in the steamy Pacific climate. His matching "cover," as Marines refer to all headwear, is the P-44 utility cap, which was a variation on the Army's P-41 cap. The Marines' version rotated the crown a few degrees to provide a place front and center for the "bird on a ball" Marine Corps insignia to be stenciled in black.

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Depicted is a Capitano Italian Decima MAS Marines, a unit that served proudly and well throughout the War.

 

Decima means "Tenth," and M.A.S. abbreviates the Italian words for "Motor Torpedo Boat," which harks back to the unit's formation as a speedy seaborne attack force in World War I.

This RSI period Capitano wears the distinctive metal arm shield of the Decima MAS. His rank is shown by the braid on his cuffs as the yellow-thread version for battle dress.

 

The collarless woolen tunic was unique to the Decima MAS and Italy's "Paracadutista" (Paratroop) forces.

 

The ribbon in his top buttonhole is for the German Iron Cross 2nd Class, which was also awarded to Germany's Italian Axis partners. His single medal ribbon is that of the Medal for Navy Valour in Silver, the Italian Navy's second-highest bravery award. Beneath it is the badge of the Italian Navy's elite "Nuotatori-Paracadutisti," or swimmer-parachutists air-and-sea commandos.

 

Below this badge is the Iron Cross 1st Class. On his right chest is the "Addestramento Germania" badge, given to members of the many Italian units who trained under the Germans. He also wears the signature Decima MAS M41 beret, with metal officer's insignia instead of the prescribed anchor-design cloth badge.

 

The weapon is the Carcano M38 "Mannlicher" carbine, for which he wears the standard-issue dual ammunition pouches on his leather utility belt. Tucked in the belt is a German "potato masher" M24 stick grenade.

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Vietnam era Marines

 

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USMC uniforms 2002

 

 

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URSS, Seconda Guerra Mondiale, cecchini. L'armamento comprende fra l'altro la tipica arma dei cecchini sovietici dell'epoca, l'SVT 40 (СвТ-40, Самозарядная винтовка Токарева, образец 1940 года, fucile semiautomatico Tokarev, modello 1940).

Una celebre cecchina dell'Armata Rossa, la cecoslovacca Marie Ljalková (Ordine della Stella Rossa, 30 uccisioni confermate) con il suo SVT 40.

 

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USMC uniforms 2002

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Uniformi sovietiche anni 70.

 

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