On the way to making an SAS loadout

Airborne beret all the way.

Rather than start a new thread look here: viewtopic.php?f=47&t=2255&start=15

Comrade,
A good gag used by the "Regiment" was a pair of 37 pattern braces attachments hanging under the belt with an attached Pistol Holster fitted to them ( by hooking it on and bending the brass fittings) so you and wear it comfortably when driving a vehicle.

If you check out the historical Documents or even the Men at Arms book on the SAS, you will work it out.

Comrade,
A good gag used by the "Regiment" was a pair of 37 pattern braces attachments hanging under the belt with an attached Pistol Holster fitted to them ( by hooking it on and bending the brass fittings) so you and wear it comfortably when driving a vehicle.

If you check out the historical Documents or even the Men at Arms book on the SAS, you will work it out.

Very much a french SAS things tbh.

The big problem with the late war SAS 'raider' look is that it really needs a jeep....

If you really want to stand out and be unique on the skirmish field... do regular brit line infantry as nearly every other bugger will be SAS or commando.

'Stirlings Men' (author escapes me now) and 'Winged Dagger' by Roy Farran are probably worth reading before you buy anything.

Regardless of what would happen to them on 'capture' knicked bits of german kit were universal (they were going to be shot and tortured anyway so what difference would it make) and jack boots were apparently quite popular with jeep patrols (as were Drs boots0.

Anything that marked you out as 'SAS' was usually not worn in the field as the idea was to bluff your way for a while at last as being from some other unit... certainly they'd kick it out of you evnetually but the idea was to hold out for long enough to let the rest of the lads get away.

To that end it was not uncommon to badge up as Army Air Corp and also as mentioned at one point there was a policy to attmept to pass themselves off as very forward recce elements of an armoured division (hence the wearing of RTR berets, insignia and even having pay books made up as RTR).

In short the commonly held view of sand berets, 'sas smocks' and thompsons isnt that common outside of 'battle' comic.

You probably shouldnt bother with blancoed webbing either.

The accounts i've read seem to show a preference for a pistol belt around the waist and all their essential kit in a small pack on a single shoulder strap that can be grabbed from the jeep if anything went wrong. As for blancoing, its the sort of stuff mainly invented to keep regular soldiers busy ":)

It's not wrong to blanco it, just you dont have to.
Lots did, the improved camo effect of blancoed webbing was useful for some.

made it look a wee bit tacky

tacky?

What sort were you using?

The shoot and scoot stuff or the waxy block?

Regardless of the type of blanco the key is to have an even coverage and no 'patches'. Personally I'd give it a quick dip in warm water and then haul it straight out. or leave it on the line for a few days, that should even it out.

Like poacher says its not *wrong* to blanco it its just that the vast majority of men who joined the sas did so because of the personal freedom it offered an the fact they trusted you to look after your kit, make yourself presentbale, be on time for parades etc without beasting you left right and centre or putting you on a charge for having the laces in your boots twisted or a pocket button undone. All the 'bullshit baffles brains stuff' the RSM and the British army loves like blancoing, bulling boots and shining brasses is in the whole there (other than to look smart) to give hundreds of young testosterone filled young men in barracks stuff to occupy their time and stop them drinking and fighting *

Given that the regiment expected a certain ammount of self discipline and motivation from its men, stuff that was the bane of many soldiers (who were on the whole civilians pushed into khaki suits) lives was not enforced as highly on a day to day basis.

* and with all due respect to the veterans of WWII SAS unit its very important to remember that the calibre of SAS soldiers in WWII was a million miles away from todays SAS. Like the Royal Tank Regiment of WWI, the sas of WWII as to a large degree populated by the men and officers that other units didnt really want... some were exceptional soldiers but others joined for a hassle free life. If you read Roy Farrans book you'll get an idea that the soldiering skills of a fair few of his men was less than that of a modern day TA unit. Farran himslef is honest enough to admit to making a lot of potentially disasterous mistakes during his service. In WWII there was no selection and for a man to join the SAS his parent unit had t discharge him... obviously they didnt let particualry brilliant officers, ncos and men go without a fight as they wanted to keep them.

I've done a couple of sas impressions for one or two magazines in the past.

This was a Wip while i was trying to get a moe sbs look for the island raiding period.

While the following pics are the ones we used for the article on the SAS in NWE. Both these impressions are based around kit worn by individuals in contempory accounts.

Thats pretty much regular army air corps uniform with a pair of jack boots to replace worn out ammo boots and belt kit for a captured german MP40

whereas evo use more regualar infantry kit (windproof smock and RTR beret) and uses the ever popular us m1 carbine.

Again evos webbing is minimal being just a pistol holster and a 'pouch mt' as they were easier to drive with than regular webbing.

In WWII there was no selection and for a man to join the SAS his parent unit had t discharge him... obviously they didnt let particularly brilliant officers, ncos and men go without a fight as they wanted to keep them.

I was talking with a customer the other week who's father had been at Arnhem with one of the British Parachute Regiments. I was talking about, if I remember correctly, how the Polish Brigade was unusual in not being composed entirely of volunteers.

She said 'well, my dad did volunteer after the MPs in North Africa caught him nicking and gave him a choice between jail and joining the Paras'.

which amused me, and you have just reminded me of it, so I am now amused again.

In WWII there was no selection and for a man to join the SAS his parent unit had t discharge him... obviously they didnt let particualry brilliant officers, ncos and men go without a fight as they wanted to keep them.

I was talking with a customer the other week who's father had been at Arnhem with one of the Parachute Regiments. I was talking about, if I remember correctly, how the Polish Brigade was unusual in not being composed entirely of volunteers.

She said 'well, my dad did volunteer after the MPs in North Africa caught him nicking and gave him a choice between jail and joining the Paras'.

which amused me, and you have just reminded me of it, so I am now amused again.

Not that unusual i think.

I'm pretty sure all the parachute formations were all volunteer like the commandoes. There was no shortage of volunteers as in 42/43 they actually appeared to be *doing* something with small raids etc and the pay and prestige was better.

Certainly all airlanding formations were all volunteer. While the units were converted en masse to airborne role anyone who didnt want airborne service was allocated to another corp or line inf formations (includin those not medically suitable for assault glider landings)

A subtle but significant difference exists between volunteering and opting out?
You volunteered for parachute training but opted out of airlanding/gliders.

But with the same end result?

I.e lads who *wanted* to be there and with a corresponding greater morale.

Given that jump training aside (and it's debatable how much of this was undertaken given that some SAS lads dropped into europe having never even done a training jump before) the actual additional combat training was the same for both 'delivery methods'.

I get your point but I think that the results the same. Given that the parachute regiment didnt exist until after the outbreak of war it *had* to have volunteers really as opposed to converting long established battalions many of which had a sizable ammount of pre war regulars - i just think iit was easier admin to convert en masse and handle a few who couldnt or wouldnt convert that handle the logisitcal and admin nightmare of asking for volunteers to form new glider units and then set them up?

Oxf & Bucks seem to have lost few to opt outs. That old adage of sticking with your mates.
Edit: I only have details to hand for Oxf&Bucks.

I seem to recall a fair few just opted to join parachute units if they could as the pay was much better and it was far less dangerous than assault glider landings.

I dont have the books to hand but I think there were a shockingly large ammount of fatalities and serious injuries in glider training. For certain I can recall accounts of jeeps and tetrarchs being loaded slightly off centre and pulling the glider to bits in mid air...

When it comes to WWII sas less is often more.

If you look at the few pics of the guys on op bullbasket they are just in BD trousers and blouses, shoes or boots and a shirt.

Nothing fancy.

There is a fantastic online archive with a *lot* of pics of sas teams in NWE and a heck of a lot of them are just in shirts and trousers with a pistol belt. While in many ways its important they were seen as representatives of britain and so fought in uniform while leading groups of partisans you can imagine you're ging to look a bit of a div head to toe in webbing and steel helmet if the chaps you're leading are all in comfy civvies...

http://www.specialforcesroh.com/browse. ... c&catid=25

Images here:

http://www.specialforcesroh.com/gallery ... rt=n&id=25

very true Gadge lol cheers I shall do some researching and looking at gear right away! thanks for this
operation ballbasket is where I got the idea from, from some SAS doc on the history channel or something
good ol discovery and history channels

BULLbasket chap, ballbasket sounds a bit dirty

I cant rate 'Winged Dagger' by Roy Farran highly enough for an insight into the SAS from the formative days to the later ops in NWE. If you're likely to be at a Gunman event in the near future i'd happily loan you my copy.

You dont need Para trousers. Most Paras never got them.

ok so far items I have collected and got for my impression so far are:

BD trousers (not para though)
belgian smock (not exact i know) getting skint!
cap comforter head cap
have a us m7 shoulder holster with m1911
webbing with two pouches thats been blancoed
puttys
"special air service" (in long, SAS insignia not sure if this is correct for the guys from op bulbasket)
and brown leather jerkin.

will ad photos once its all arrived from ebay

Jerkin *or* smock tbh, the only time i've ever seen both worn at the same time was the winter of 44/45 by 6th airborne in the snow.

Insignia wasnt that common on field uniforms as it tended to say 'please torture me and then kill me'

1n 1990 I was at the "PARA 50" event at Rushmoor Arena, and chatting to a WW2 lad who'd asked me how many jumps I'd done - about twenty at the time. I asked him how many he'd done
"Six"
"Is that all?"
He said "Yes, North Africa, Normandy, Arnhem..."

I can totally believe that, i've read numerous accounts of lads whose first ever jump was a combat drop in full kit.