PSK-2 and SEEK-1 & SEEK-2 Survival kits from Vietnam War

[The_Matty]

Greetings gentleman,

 

I am currently trying to find as much information as possible about those survival kits mentioned in the title. I have seen great images on this forum which were very useful. I would like to know more accurate information about years of service of these kits and make a clear chronology of what was used sooner, which kit surpassed other kit etc. If you have any tips for literature, publications or documents that might be useful for me I would highely appreciete it. 

 

I am also thrilled to learn more from you if you have any experience with these kits as collectors and enthusiasts!

 

Thank you for reading my post!

[Jpage]

The PSK type kits seem to have appeared in the mid 50's. The earliest SEEK-1 kit I can remember had a 62 contract date. The latest date I've seen is 1967. The SEEK-2 was first produced around 1968, based on the earliest contract date I've seen. The improved version, SRU-31P, was introduced around 72, not sure if it's still in use ? Brueninger's book on Survival Gear is the first place to start.

[RWW]

I concur with Jim for the most part. The SEEK-1 was used from 1962 until 1967 - 1968. I have one with an assembly date of Jan 1968.

There was the Soft Auxiliary Survival Kit made by Rocket Jet Engineering which were a two-part kit with a Medical & General packet. The only ones I have seen are dated 6/66.

                                                The SEEK-2 kits were made in 1967 by ACR Electronics and in 1968 by Hope Industries. The 1968 kits added a "Burning Lens".

                                                                       In 1972 the Survival Kit, Individual Airman's, 24 Hours, SRU 31/P came out.

In 1974 this was changed to Survival Kit, Individual Airman's. They are still referred to as SRU-31/P kits. The components and material the outer and inner cases are made of have changed a little over the years, but this kit is still used mostly by the Navy today.

                                                                                   1975 General Kit

                                                                                                                             May 2015 General Kit

 

 

[The_Matty]

Thank you very much for your replies!

 

I have ordered Brueninger's book, so I'm looking forward to learning more out of it. Also thanks for the help with dating and the amount of beautiful photos! May I also ask you about the manufacture of these kits? Most of them seem to be made by FRAASS Surgical Mfg., but I have also seen diferent companies making these kits. Was it common, that it was made by more companies? 

 

Also, any additional information about the usage of PSK-2 kits in early 60' would help me a lot. Is there also any other source for technical documents about the kits then articles from United States Army Aviation Digest? It's a great source, but I have access only to some digitalized magazines. I was able to get some pages about SEEK-2 and leg holster kit.

 

Thank you again for your time and willingness to help. 

[RWW]

The US Government bids things out and they are done by the lowest bidder. There were several companies during that period who made most of the survival kits, so no, it isn't unusual to see several companies make a particular kit over the course of it being used. ACR, Fraass, Kings Point, Hope Industries, Clark Cable, and Lite Industries are a few that come to mind. I am sure I have overlooked others. 

 

There are several posts here on the Forum with a lot of information on the "Leg Holster Kit." This is one of them that has quite a few photos:

https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/186702-holster-survival-kit-individual-lightweight-army/

 

What kind of information are you looking for on the PSK-2? There isn't a lot of information about them, other than they were the common kit during that time period.

[The_Matty]

42 minutes ago, RWW said:

The US Government bids things out and they are done by the lowest bidder. There were several companies during that period who made most of the survival kits, so no, it isn't unusual to see several companies make a particular kit over the course of it being used. ACR, Fraass, Kings Point, Hope Industries, Clark Cable, and Lite Industries are a few that come to mind. I am sure I have overlooked others. 

 

There are several posts here on the Forum with a lot of information on the "Leg Holster Kit." This is one of them that has quite a few photos:

https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/186702-holster-survival-kit-individual-lightweight-army/

 

What kind of information are you looking for on the PSK-2? There isn't a lot of information about them, other than they were the common kit during that time period.

 

I'll definitely check that topic out. Thank you for the clarification on the different companies making those kits. It would be nice to know when they were abandoned, usually there is some article about the kit being surpassed by other one (I have seen for example a nice article from late 60' about the "Leg holster kit" being manufactured as a new alternative to SEEK kit series), but I am not able to find any article about PSK-2 kit being retired from usage. Right now, I can only guess taht it must have been around the year 1962, when SEEK-1 kit became preffered alternative.

[RWW]

There is usually never a hard date that one kit is retired, and a newer one takes its place. When a new kit comes out, the older one stops being ordered, but does not stop being issued. Depending on how many old kits are in the supply system, it can be years for some units before the new kits make it to them. Kits like the "Leg Holster Kit" that are not well received by the people using them go away faster. 

[Jpage]

Never heard of a Soft Auxiliary Survival Kit in my life ! Learn something new everyday

[RWW]

A lot of other collectors haven't either. I have never seen anything about them in any manual and have only seen a few sets. I do know that the Navy did use them. They were from the same time frame as the "Leg Holster Kit", and being made by the same manufacturer, a lot of the components are the same as the ones in that kit. Notice that they have the same FSN as the SEEK-2 kit.

[The_Matty]

I have just found this list of contents from what seems to be some literature/manual of survival kits, but I am not able to find it's name. Is it familiar to anyone?

[RWW]

That is a page from Mike Breunninger's book, "U.S. Military Combat Aircrew Individual Survival Equipment" you mentioned you had ordered in Post 4. 

[The_Matty]

35 minutes ago, RWW said:

That is a page from Mike Breunninger's book, "U.S. Military Combat Aircrew Individual Survival Equipment" you mentioned you had ordered in Post 4. 

Once again, thank you very much for literally saving me in all my questions. Still waiting for the book to arrive, it's nice to know that it will contain information on these kits!

[RWW]

Mike is a friend and was a mentor of mine when I started collecting long ago. Mike would tell you his book is not all inclusive and there are items he didn't have access to or know about when it was published in 1994. It is a good starting point and a great source of information, but please do not take it as the know all, end all reference for individual survival gear. 

[The_Matty]

6 hours ago, RWW said:

Mike is a friend and was a mentor of mine when I started collecting long ago. Mike would tell you his book is not all inclusive and there are items he didn't have access to or know about when it was published in 1994. It is a good starting point and a great source of information, but please do not take it as the know all, end all reference for individual survival gear. 

I always try to get as many sources, as I can. United States Army Aviation Digest and Approach periodics are great source of information for me so far and I also try to seek information from still existing kits/items from kits that are being sold. It would be best to have an access to all technical manuals and other original official sources, yet that's usually quite impossible (but sometimes you can get lucky!). Anyway you gotta work with what you can get and comparation is a great tool to sort out some 

uncertainties. Mr. Breunninger's book will be a very welcomed addition to the list :)

[RWW]

Especially during the Vietnam era, survival gear was evolving and changing so fast that things came and went without ever making it into a manual. A good example is the Soft Auxiliary Survival Kit. I have never seen that kit mentioned in any manual or literature, yet they obviously exist. There are a lot of collectors who have never seen or heard of them.

 

Another off-topic item is the OV-1 "Survival Kit, Individual, Composite RVN, Army". They were done through the ENSURE program (Expedited Nonstandard Urgent Requirements for Equipment). In Vietnam, OV-1 pilots were told to head for the open sea and eject when in trouble. This created a requirement for a kit combining the essential components of both the Hot Climate and Over Water Kits. Since they were an ENSURE item, they were never standardized, or type classified and never made it into any technical or field manual. This kit is not in Breuninger's book either.

 

You are correct that it is hard to find manuals, especially early Vietnam era ones. Manuals were updated with change pages where you would take out 1 page and replace it with a new page rather than a completely new manual being printed. These obsolete pages were thrown away. The original date on the manual might be 1967 with changes through 1978. Many of the 1967 pages were replaced over time so when the entire manual was replaced, the original information from 1967 was not in the manual anymore.

 

You will find the book a great reference and starting point!

[The_Matty]

On 2/7/2024 at 6:46 AM, RWW said:

You are correct that it is hard to find manuals, especially early Vietnam era ones. Manuals were updated with change pages where you would take out 1 page and replace it with a new page rather than a completely new manual being printed. These obsolete pages were thrown away. The original date on the manual might be 1967 with changes through 1978. Many of the 1967 pages were replaced over time so when the entire manual was replaced, the original information from 1967 was not in the manual anymore.

The only way I am able to find any manuals is searching in Google books and sometimes by a reference out of some publication. I wonder, do you know some other way which can yield better results?

[RWW]

I don't. Manuals are hard enough to find here in the US, I have no idea where to tell you to look.

[Jpage]

Ebay

[The_Matty]

The book arrived a while ago and it was very useful. Thank you for recommending!
Recently I have wondered - do you know the purpose of SEEK-2 light filters? They have a nice pocket shape, so it can be definitely used as a container. But what is the original purpose? Nothing seen in survival guides and periodics so maybe you guys know?

[RWW]

The filters went over the SDU-5/E strobe or any other flashlight for signaling or preserving night vision.

[Jpage]

Strobe flashes can also appear as muzzle flashes from AAA fire, the blue filter helps to identify.

[The_Matty]

Thank you guys for making this clear to me! You are the best :)

[The_Matty]

Oh, I had it right infront of my nose! There is an explanation in Q&A seciton of Approach periodics from 1970! Sharing it as I find it very interesting.