Netting with burlap strips.

[Usmc2004]

Are there any netting gurus on here,  I recently picked up this large 6’x12’ piece of netting with burlap weaved all through it.  I am wondering if there is any way to date netting like this? Would this net have came with the burlap in it or was that a field added thing.  It is pretty well worn, and definitely has a similar odor like netting on some helmets I have.  It looks very similar to a photo I have from Normandy, it is being used on an artillery gun placement.  

 

[doyler]

Possible a WW2 net looking at the cord construction.. also the scrim is WW2 era. I recal there was so much scrim made during WW2 and left over it wasnt made after the war. I have seen photos of pallets of it and own a dozen or so rolls that is NOS WW2 manufacture

[General Apathy]

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On 4/7/2021 at 5:54 AM, Usmc2004 said:

Are there any netting gurus on here,  I recently picked up this large 6’x12’ piece of netting with burlap weaved all through it.  I am wondering if there is any way to date netting like this? Would this net have came with the burlap in it or was that a field added thing.  It is pretty well worn, and definitely has a similar odor like netting on some helmets I have.  It looks very similar to a photo I have from Normandy, it is being used on an artillery gun placement.  
 

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Hi USMC,

 

I believe that there were both factory produced nets with the burlap already attached, also over here in Europe there are still WWII surplus large rolls of burlap strip in three different colours for sale for either netting or helmet netting use. 

 

Early 1942 several west-coast aircraft manufacturing plants covered their entire facilities with camouflage netting to disguise them from enemy aircraft should America have been bombed at that time, and obviously the military made use of it as well. 

 

Back in 2019 I had an auction of my collection and I auctioned an unissued roll of early 1942 American netting, however the strips were actually material and not burlap, the edging was identical to yours. . 

 

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regards lewis

 

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[Old Marine]

I was sorting through some photos.  I saw this one and remembered this post.  Maybe it will be helpful.  Here is a photo of a working party adding the burlap strips to a camouflage net that is very similar to your net.   The burlap camo scrim was WWII vintage and came in rolls just as Ron described.

 

This photo was taken at Camp Fuji Japan in 1977.  I never saw any new nets, we were always adding new camo strips.  The nets and scrim that we used were  left over WWII vintage, and smelled like it.    Even some of our mortars were dated 1945.  There was a lot of WWII dated stuff still floating around in the warehouses. We used what they gave us.  In my 782 gear issue I was given a WWII "frog skin" helmet over.  I went out in town and bought a Mitchell cover at the surplus store and kept the Frogskin.  If we were still garnishing the nets like this in 1977, they probably were doing it this way in 1943.  I don’t think there is anyway to positively date your net, but it is most likely WWII surplus.
 

If you notice the guy standing had just been told that he put the camo strips in wrong, no straight lines. He had to take them out and do it right.  
 

 

[doyler]

Great photo Dennis.

 

I picked up a large net with scrim and thought it may be US. Found a tag on it and was Dutch dated from the 70s .

 

Similiar helmet cover story. I met a guy who served in the Marines and with Recon in the mid 1980s. He wanted to sell a few items. He had a pack and a upper pack. In the roll top pack (vietnam era 41 style) was a set of WW2 leggings and a WW2 camo helmet cover with bug net. He was surised when I asked how he got the WW2 items. He replied I was issued the stuff when we were going to the Philipines for a training exercise. We needed big nets and this is what we got. He said the canvas kegging were also worn to keep the critters out. He had no idea the two items were WW2 .