101st M1942 Paratrooper uniform and US arm flag

Reinforced or Unreinforced Jump Suits depends on unit. Some did some didnt. But the idea behind it was good hehe. Learnt their lessons from Italy.

Infact if you do 504th your M42 is good for Market Garden but thats another can of worms hehe.

Well this thread is about the 101st M1942 uniform in Normandy, so whatever uniform combinations were worn on Operations Husky, Dragoon, Market Garden of Varsity it quite irrelevent as I see it. Fact is the majority of M9142 uniforms in Normandy were modified.

Plus they look cooler

Plus they look cooler

Fashion whore.

Hows about this image from Mark Bando's Trigger Time 101st website then:

Here's a pair of 502 men(above left), in Alsace (Feb.45) with one still wearing M42s as an outer garment. c/o Len Swartz
The studio portrait (upper right) shows 2 members of the 506th at Mourmelon after the Bulge. Les Hashey (l) wears M43's and is armed with a non regulation revolver. T. Rubino (r) is wearing a M42 jumpsuit. c/o T. Rubino

Plus they look cooler

Fashion whore.

Yeah but he has got a point there.

M43s are more comfy though.

Certainly warmer in the winter too.

I agree M43's ar damn nice, i use my Norwegian camo M43 Jacket all the time at open days + the camo looks awsome and reminds me slightly of denisons lol

I have a nice Norgi M43.

One of the best uniforms ever made.

Yes, mine's Norgi. Very nice. My repro trousers are a bit weak though.

I've got an original jacket that stays indoors too. Pretty knackered around the cuffs but the material is nice and thick.

My Norgi M43s have got my Big red 1 stuff on, the colour difference between the repro M43 trousers I have and the top is quite different!

Have had a few Norgi M43 jkts and trs over the years when they were cheap and available

Fantastic quality and pretty much spot on to WW2 ones.

Mine came in various shades of greens-some very green others almost brown/khaki-never had 2 the same or trs that matched

What i like about norgi ones over repros is the fact norgi ones were made for the army to use in combat so its built to last unlike repros.

In fact most norgi ones look better than the repros lol

.... and everyone has hessian in their helmets and a first aid pack tied onto it.

These are things I've had a bit of a hump about but have never mentioned for fear of being labelled a stitch-counter!

We don't have hessian or indeed a first aid pack on our helmets (we don't even have US flags or pockets on our arms) but I'm curious about the hessian comment.

What should be in the fashion-conscious airborne soldier's helmet net if it's not hessian?

First aid kits were tied to all manner of places, most common is the suspenders.

And arm pockets is a HQ & E/506th PIR thing unfortunately some people take as gospel that all 101 had them.

What should be in the fashion-conscious airborne soldier's helmet net if it's not hessian?

Just the net, or nothing, or possibly a bit of local foliage if there's any to hand.

What I hate is bright yellow hessian cut off the roll the day before and covering the entire helmet, it just looks a bit rubbish.

My first 2 games I had brown and tan hessian on simply because the helmet net I had was modern and wanted to disguise it. Now I've replaced it with a proper net and tend to stick a few leaves in it as its much more effective. And can proudly say a first aid kits never crossed its path!

is it really that important? a few minor details? were are ww2 airsoft, not museum dummies or re-enactors, stop killing the fun.

Chill out scaleyback, no-one's being prescriptive - do what you want to do with your kit. This site, among other things, is a forum for discussing topics such as this, and we have a great many knowledgeable people here who can help you make your kit look 'right' - that is, if you want it to.

This topic is small fry, have a look at the PBI threads for anal retention.

Hehe, I think discussions on the colour of cut-up potato sack stuck in helmet netting has to be classed as anally retentive. There was a war on you know!

More seriously - some discussions recently (I'm not not just refering to this section) have drifted away from the 'CiA way' and have lead to moderator intervention, a very rare occurrence. There is absolutely no reason for chaps to get arsey or impolite, there are other forums where you can do that to your hearts content. Give help or advice by all means when it's asked for but there is no need to slag chaps off, be critical or write in a bombastic way. I accept this very often isn't intentional and forum posts are renowned for misinterpretation as all subtlety is lost but hey, lets make the effort.

i used to play paintball, but gave up becouse it became too competitive, i airsoft becouse i am a former reg soldier and loved it, i went for ww2 becouse i love history, but above all its becouse its a bloody good laugh, i agree with chomers, as long as your load out looks close enough ( film sim,,,,,,,) isnt that good enough? i cant get upset enough to post a message just becouse some guy wears whermacht shoulder boards on an SS oak leaf smock ( before somebody points out that you dont wear shoulder boards on a smock, i know i know ,) i had an arguement once with a re-enactor who was ripping a young lad apart for not having the exact genuine gear, when i pointed out to him that his 63 year old dennison smock wouldnt have looked 63 years old and faded to hell in 1944 he didnt like it. i think the poor 17 year old he took apart ( publicly) never went to another living history even again. dont kill the fun.