Nylon 'M1967' plastic snap first aid pouch and small arms ammo case--strangely marked

[milsurp_scout_14]

Found these together at a local surplus store. One is an early nylon plastic snap pouch marked 'Case, Field, First Aid' on the back in big bold letters. The second is a nylon 'Case, Small Arms Ammo', which has grenade hangers (also with plastic snaps) and supporting strap. The ammo case fits 2 M14 mags, but will barely close, and there's substantial left over room on the sides; so that may not be what it's supposed to hold. It's too short for 30rd M16 mags, and too tall for the 20rd. Also, I've not seen these type of pouches marked the way they are; usually markings are under the flap inside on both. They show zero signs of use. Are these some early testing phase pouches or something?

[milsurp_scout_14]

Inside of compass pouch, and showing 2 M14 mags in the ammo case

[milsurp_scout_14]

Inside of ammo case. It's also worth noting that the plastic snap on the compass pouch has been installed opposite of what I've seen on issue examples; usually the female side is on the flap, and the male side is on the pouch body. This one is opposite of that.

[Justin]

Man that nylon first aid pouch is really cool, don't think I've seen anything like it!

[Cap Camouflage Pattern I]

I think this is M1956 Lightweight Load Carrying Equipment.

 

 

 

6 sets were sent to ACTIV on 14 January 1966.

550 sets were shipped to Vietnam on 13 April 1967 for a 90 day trial period. They were used by 101st Abn, 11th ACR, 199th LIB, 4th ID, and some others.

First aid pouch was named "Case, Field First Aid Dressing" and ammo pouch was named "Case, Small Arms Ammunition" and like the standard canvas M1956 ammo pouch it is meant to be universal, sort of a jack of all trades master of none, which is why nothing fits perfectly. Most soldiers found this annoying and 66% of those surveyed suggested resizing the pouch to better fit M16 20 round mags.

 

 

This info is from the great book American Web Equipment 1967-1991 by out very own C.A. Monroe and Craig Pickrall. I highly suggest it.

 

Edit: I forgot the most important part, they were made of nylon, the first aid pouch had a plastic snap, and the ammo pouch had a plastic latch fastener

[Justin]

Any idea what a set consists of?

[Keystone]

Any idea what a set consists of?

 

The M56 LLCE consisted of the same set of equipment as the M1956 cotton web gear except made of nylon and plastic whenever possible. I have some of the pieces. First up are my ammo pouches.

[Keystone]

Note that the size of these pouches is larger than the later M14 pouches issued by the Marine Corps. The M56 pouches were "universal" in that they were designed to hold ammunition for the M1 Rifle, M1 Carbine or the M14.

 

[Keystone]

There were two prototype entrenching tool carriers before the adoption of the standard nylon type. First was the carrier to hold the older combination tool.

[Keystone]

Next is the type to hold the lightweight tool.

[Keystone]

The field pack was the same size as the M1956 cotton type.

[Keystone]

And the last piece I have is the canteen carrier. It is identical to the nylon limited procurement type produced in 1968 and 1969.

[Keystone]

All these pieces have the 1/2 inch "U.S." and the nomenclature of the piece in 3/8 inch on the back except for the early type e-tool carrier which is unmarked.

As Cap Camouflage Pattern I said Craig and Chris went in to detail on this equipment for their book "American Web Equipment 1967-1991".

Tim

[Keystone]

BTW milsurp_scout_14, I have to ask, where is this surplus store you visit????

[Justin]

Very nice keystone!

[The Meatcan]

Keystone, that's an excellent set of kit you've got there! I don't think I've seen a full set before outside of reference books. How long did it take you to put it all together?

Terry

[Keystone]

Very nice keystone!

 

Thanks Justin.

[Keystone]

Keystone, that's an excellent set of kit you've got there! I don't think I've seen a full set before outside of reference books. How long did it take you to put it all together?

Terry

 

Hi Terry,

It has taken years of looking. I think the first piece I had was the second type e-tool cover. I really didn't know the set existed until Chris and Craig got the book together and told the story. Until today I had never even seen the first aid pouch. I got the ammo pouches off of eBay a few weeks ago along with some of the LINCLOE gear. That's another set that I'm trying to put together. So far I have the e-tool carrier, the 30 round M16 pouches and the canteen cover. I figure another 20 years and I'll have the whole set!

That is the best part of this hobby, there is always something new to learn and find! It took many years to put my EX54 set together and I'm still missing one or two pieces.

Tim

[milsurp_scout_14]

Thanks to all for the info--I recall reading about that system, but had forgotten. I do have that book, but like everything else, it's buried in a stack *somewhere*! I'll have to start looking closer at early nylon gear now. Also that surplus store is in Phoenix AZ, but will be closing May 30th--US Surplus Corporation. Sad to lose them, but 'good stuff' seems to be coming out the woodwork in the process.

[mohawkALSE]

Thats a bummer, I went to that place a couple times over the years on trips out there. They had some decent stuff, and much to my surprise one of the times they had some flight gear at reasonable prices. Now I know not to bother looking them up next time Im out there.

[Cap Camouflage Pattern I]

Very nice keystone! With both your and milsurps being in such good condition I wonder if extras were made and not shipped to Vietnam.

[bheskett]

If I remember correctly the small field pack was never made in large quantities for whatever reason. The one shown by Keystone is a really nice example of a hard to find item. Keystone can you post some pics of the memenclature printing on the interior?

 

Thanks

[Cap Camouflage Pattern I]

None of this M1956 LLCE was made in large quantities, 556 sets is what's known to be made. Presumably a set would be 1 of each item except two universal ammo pouches per set but that is a guess on my part.

[Keystone]

If I remember correctly the small field pack was never made in large quantities for whatever reason. The one shown by Keystone is a really nice example of a hard to find item. Keystone can you post some pics of the memenclature printing on the interior?

 

Thanks

 

No markings on the inside of the flap. The only markings are the U.S. on the front of the flap and "PACK, FIELD COMBAT" on the back above the name tag holder.

Tim

[Keystone]

Both markings are faint.