thunderw21 Posted December 11, 2015 Share #1 Posted December 11, 2015 Reading through the March 17th, 1945 issue of "Army Talks" magazine I saw the following quote in the combat tips section. A Browning Automatic Rifle magazine pouch hooked to the cartridge belt provides a convenient place to carry three grenades. What is the BAR magazine pouch? Sounds like it's a stand alone pouch that can be slid onto or hooked to a pistol belt or cartridge belt. Does anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGrayGhost Posted December 11, 2015 Share #2 Posted December 11, 2015 I would assume that they mean one side of the standard BAR belt. It is common to see these made into bandoleers as well. I don't know of any other BAR magazine pouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted December 11, 2015 Share #3 Posted December 11, 2015 It could also be a reissue of the WW1 BAR bandoleers. I'm searching to see if I have a photo of mine on the computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtpeter Posted December 13, 2015 Share #4 Posted December 13, 2015 Thunder - was there a drawing or photo included or just the comment? Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderw21 Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted December 13, 2015 Just the quote unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted December 13, 2015 Share #6 Posted December 13, 2015 There were field expedient items as well.You will often see photos of the Rangers in North Africa or Italy wearing the meat can pouch off the model 28 packs as a pouch attached to a ammo or pistol belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtpeter Posted December 13, 2015 Share #7 Posted December 13, 2015 I would say that is possible. It took some looking, but I did find my WW1 BAR bandoleers. Unfortunately there is not an easy way to attach the bandoleer to anything, it really needs to be carried as a bandoleer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtpeter Posted December 13, 2015 Share #8 Posted December 13, 2015 Two frags fit each pocket, it is a tight fit, but they do fit. Due to the short strap on the bandoleer, I think it would be difficult to wear and quickly retrieve a grenade from the bandoleer. I'll get one of BAR belts and see if that would be easier to attach to a cartridge belt. BTW if anybody has a photo of this happening I would like to see it. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Flage Guy Posted December 15, 2015 Share #9 Posted December 15, 2015 I would agree that surplus Bandoleers are a good interpretation of that notation. There was a spate of these around years ago, virtually all of them in mint condition, so it would appear that there may not have been a whole lot of demand for them to be used in their intended function...just a theory. Picked up a couple of colorful examples, both made by the Long Company in May of 1918... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtpeter Posted December 16, 2015 Share #10 Posted December 16, 2015 I did some experimenting and have found a way to easily attach a BAR belt to a cartridge belt. I do want to be clear that I have no evidence this was actually done. I simply approached the problem as a soldier looking for a way to make this work without a lot of effort. First is the back side of WW2 era cartridge belt followed by the back side of a 1942 dated BAR belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtpeter Posted December 16, 2015 Share #11 Posted December 16, 2015 As soon as you see the back of both belts, you'll probably quickly come to the same conclusion I did ... just weave the belts together much like the modern MOLLE connection. I used the connector belt between the cartridge belt halves to weave them together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtpeter Posted December 16, 2015 Share #12 Posted December 16, 2015 With the two belts weaved together the BAR belt hangs naturally below the cartridge belt allowing reasonable access to both. What I noticed is that the belt that connects the two halves of the cartridge belt was too short to attach two halves of the BAR belt to the cartridge belt. Attaching one half of the BAR worked well with the exception it interfered with attaching other things to the BAR belt such as canteen, first aid kits, etc although they could still attach to the BAR belt. I'm sure someone else could come up with a different way of attaching. I welcome your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted December 19, 2015 Share #13 Posted December 19, 2015 Let's dissect the quotation. 'A Browning Automatic Rifle magazine pouch hooked to the cartridge belt provides a convenient place to carry three grenades.' The first few words, 'A Browning Automatic Rifle magazine pouch...', I think most-likely refers to a single pouch cut from a BAR belt. The next few words, '...hooked to the cartridge belt...', could mean either with an M1910 belt hook secured to the back with a billet of stitched canvas, or as simple as a piece of wire poked through the back of the pouch and through the eyelets of the cartridge belt. At least that's what comes to mind when I read the quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airborne53 Posted December 19, 2015 Share #14 Posted December 19, 2015 hello you have also this modified bar belt look like by depot made , same repair on usmc canteen http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-four-WWII-BAR-pouches-1942-Lot-A-/321897087636?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=am6DVdLfEaPHaxv0r3cXEN5CQWA%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc olivier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etienne Posted December 19, 2015 Share #15 Posted December 19, 2015 Hello, on this photo, taken on Okinawa island, you'll see the Marine BAR rifleman wear a combination of half BAR belt on the left and half rifle belt on the right plus a BAR bandoleer ... very original combo, isn't it ? E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderw21 Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share #16 Posted December 19, 2015 With the two belts weaved together the BAR belt hangs naturally below the cartridge belt allowing reasonable access to both. BAR belt hanging from cartridge belt back small.jpg BAR belt hanging from cartridge belt small.jpg What I noticed is that the belt that connects the two halves of the cartridge belt was too short to attach two halves of the BAR belt to the cartridge belt. Attaching one half of the BAR worked well with the exception it interfered with attaching other things to the BAR belt such as canteen, first aid kits, etc although they could still attach to the BAR belt. I'm sure someone else could come up with a different way of attaching. I welcome your thoughts. To simplify on this, you could use wire between the lower eyelets of the cartridge belt and the upper eyelets of the BAR belt half to hang it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtpeter Posted January 16, 2016 Share #17 Posted January 16, 2016 Was thumbing thru the 25th Division WW2 history book and found this photo of a soldier at Balete Pass 1945. If you look below the cartridge belt, it appears there are at least two BAR pockets. It also looks like there is a strap in front of the pockets that could be from a BAR bandoleer rather than a BAR belt. Unfortunately this scan is from a book and the photo isn't well lit. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinb Posted January 16, 2016 Share #18 Posted January 16, 2016 Peter, I think that's an M2 Jungle First Aid Pouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Username Posted January 16, 2016 Share #19 Posted January 16, 2016 [quote name="sgtpeter" post="2053480" timestamp="1450028920 Two frags fit each pocket, it is a tight fit, but they do fit. Due to the short strap on the bandoleer, I think it would be difficult to wear and quickly retrieve a grenade from the bandoleer. I'll get one of BAR belts and see if that would be easier to attach to a cartridge belt. BTW if anybody has a photo of this happening I would like to see it. Peter Perhaps this is what led to the development of that five pocket grenade pouch that hung from the belt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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