The latest Troop Carrier uniforms

[jonesy1275]

Another two Troop Carrier uniforms have landed at my house this week.

 

The first one is more of a grouping. The uniform belonged to Fondus B smith of HQ 316th TCG. Along with the uniform there were nearly 300 photos either taken by him or copies from an official IX TCC photographer. Interestingly, the jacket is a British made battledress blouse. Was that common?

 

 

 

F-B-Smith-(a) by jonesy1275, on Flickr

 

A nice British made felt Troop Carrier patch.

 

F-B-Smith-( by jonesy1275, on Flickr

 

F-B-Smith-© by jonesy1275, on Flickr

 

F-B-Smith-(d) by jonesy1275, on Flickr

This is a photo of Fondus B Smith. Definitely a good looking chap and tall too. His trousers have an inseam of 35".

F-B-Smith-(e) by jonesy1275, on Flickr

 

 

The second uniform was bought off Ebay where the seller claimed that it was un-named. Within a minute I had found a name in both the trousers and jacket plus the initials in the garrison cap. His name was M.M. Laird. It looks like there might have been wings pinned above the ribbons at some point. I need to do some investigative work to see if I can find more info on him.

 

M-M-Laird-(a) by jonesy1275, on Flickr

 

M-M-Laird-( by jonesy1275, on Flickr

 

M-M-Laird-© by jonesy1275, on Flickr

 

M-M-Laird-(d) by jonesy1275, on Flickr

I hope you like them.

Neil.

[doinworkinvans]

Drool ....Drooollll...Droooolll....

 

Man those are too sweet! Maybe you could share more of your Troop Carrier collection??!!

[JDK]

Nice uniforms. The British made battledress was used by US personnel at times. It was not real common, but was done.

 

JD

[Sabrejet]

Very nice acquisitions Neil. To echo what JDK said, there's plenty of photographic evidence which attests to the occasional wearing of BD blouses by US airmen.

[jonesy1275]

I wonder why US personnel would wear battledresses when their four pocket or Ike jackets were a lot comfier. Man the wool used in the battledress is rough and itchy.

[Sabrejet]

Most GIs weren't issued Ikes until mid-45. In the meantime, AAF personnel in the ETO wore either their regular service coats, cut-down service coats, ETO jackets...or occasionally, BD blouses!

[Ricardo]

Very nice uniforms!

 

Ricardo.

[jonesy1275]

If anybody could find any info on M.M. Laird I'd really appreciate it. I'd appreciate anything even speculative info.

 

I'm hoping that what could have been wings pinned on his jacket is true. The only full list of names from a TCG that I have is the 316th TCG and he's not listed there.

 

Due to a British made Troop Carrier patch on his jacket, I'm assuming he was part of IX Troop Carrier Command.

[jonesy1275]

This is a tag I found in the trousers of M.M. Laird. Is there any info that someone can squeeze out of it?

 

This is the tag hidden inside the trousers.

 

M.M. Laird trouser tag by jonesy1275, on Flickr

 

Also Charles Day on the Army Airforces forum found information for a possible match on the name.

 

NWWGPA has Marlin M. Laird (clarify; this is Marlin not Martin), O2067527, ( 10/19/1917, (d) 7/23/1999, PGP, graduated Lubbock 10/20/1944. As a Power Glider Pilot, he would have had regular power wings AND glider pilot "G" wings. This would mean he had 2 engine MOS and MOS 1026 (glider pilot) and wings.

[19delta-uav]

If interested, I just posted Marlin M. Lairds flight bag on Ebay. I found this only after doing some research on him.

[PacificGunner]

The Fondus Smith group is my favorite, I always like seeing stuff from the 12th Air Force, as I do not see it pop up as much. I have seen several British made Ikes but I have never been able to acquire one. I usually see them with 8th or 9th AF patches, so seeing a group like this from the 12th is very interesting, especially when it comes with all the photos.