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M43, MQ1, M50 & M51 Field Jackets & Trousers


Bob Hudson
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Luke, interesting, I've never heard that about M41 jackets before. I have one with the lining sewn into a M43 jacket and thought it was soldier done. I'll see if I can take some pictures a little later.

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I finally got out to take some pictures in between all the snow drifts. Here is mine with the M41 liner sewn to the inside. Unfortunately the label is washed out so I cannot verify the PQD number. The liner appears to be sewn in by hand, but in a rather complex type of chain stitch. It is just the wool from the M41 and the zipper remains in place.

 

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I think your jacket is a PDQ 370-C (11 november, 1943). It has "Khaki" lining, flat breast pockets, full loop for suspending it when not worn.

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In every case not factory done. I think it's soldier done.

 

...wearer had either a rigger or a Dutch housefrau make the liner.

 

Please say "Huisvrouw"

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Nice jacket, and whilst I don't doubt the jacket, the armflag apears to be one of the ones made at the end of the war as homecoming flags. They are often seen being sold as "original Airborne" flags, sometimes still with the markings of where the staples were that used to attach it to the little pole, and whilst being roughly the same size as an Airborne gauze armflag, they aren't the same thing.

You quite often see uniforms that Airborne veterans have worn in parades post-war with these flags added, by the veteran, to make it more like the jacket they wore in Normandy/Holland/wherever.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

What do you guys think of these? I am going through my stuff and I never was sure on these M43's. The material is very similar to the M43 jacket. They have the brown buttons with HBT inside pockets. The only markings are the size and iron on instructions. I have always been on the fence as to them being pre 45 or not.

 

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Johan Willaert

Are you sure there's no label sewn behind the right hand pocket on the lining? I have exactly the same type, but with the additional QM Label. Some of these were even made with 13-star metal buttons.

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Isn’t that something? I have had these for 20yrs and have looked at them 100 times and never seen the tag. I just flipped them inside out and the tag was placed on the inner pocket between the fob pocket and the front pocket so I never saw it. The QM tag is dated Feb. 1945.

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These are FEB, 1944. Made same as M37 wool trousers minus the gas flap, they are made over size as they are meant to be worn over wool trousers.

 

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Just a couple more pairs of M43s to add to this post

 

First is a pair of unissued trousers with HBT lining and HBT style 13 star buttons, followed by the "regular" ones with plastic buttons and white cotton pockets and waist band lining. The unissued pair has the extra suspender buttons on the outside and lack the cuff tab and adjustment button, where the "regular" pair have plastic buttons on the inside for suspenders and do have the cuff tabs/button. Also included is a side by side color comparision-although the pair with the plastic buttons have been washed, so they are faded- the size tag is washed out.

 

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Greg Robinson

I picked this up off ebay this week, near mint condition, for $20. It's got the HBT lining over the pile which makes it 1950, not WW2, vintage so not as rare as some of these but any of these in this condition is a good find. This version of the pile field jacket was worn under the M1943/M1950 field jackets and under the early fish tail parkas.

 

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  • 3 months later...
GIl Sanow

This is in responce to greg Robinson's M43 / MQ1 posted earlier:

 

If memory serves me correctly, your M1943 has been upgraded to M1950. There was a short-lived liner similar to the M1951 which buttoned in. The two (jacket and liner) were superseded by the M1951.

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Greg Robinson

Yeah, there was an M1950 field jacket manufactured starting in late 1950 and made through the Spring of 1951 when it was replaced by the M1951. Early M1950's had the liner buttons but there didn't actually exist a liner for it until early in 1951 when they adopted the M1950 jacket liner which is similar, but not identical to, the M1951 liner. But prior to the M1950 the Army produced these MQ-1's which were nothing more than an M1943 with liner buttons for a liner that was not yet in existence. So, the MQ1 and M1950 are essentially the same garment.

 

For a while, existing M1943's were upgraded to M1950 specs due to the need for a warmer field jacket in Korea.

 

A similar situation existed with the WW2 pile field cap. They modified the spec and called it the MQ 1 then later standarized it as the M1951.

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Greg Robinson

The M1950 field jacket liner. All I've seen are contract dated in the Spring of 1951 so I assume the production period was short since the M1951 came out around this time.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Interesting to note that the Rayon lined m43 pile liner was made from march 1944.

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  • 8 months later...

in the ardennes battle of the bulge many soldiers had M43 jackets but no M43 liners due to the failure of the supply system...so they were trying to keep themselves warm with field expendients...2 sweaters or 2 wool shirts or the M41 jacket under the M43...but many GIs were not even that lucky & they maded just with 1 shirt 1 highneck sweater and just the M43 on top without liner ofcourse!!!

 

i think they survived due to the very good quality design of the 5 button higneck sweater..

when the neck & the feets are warm the whole body is warm

 

but yet the M43 was not the most common jacket in the ardennes..the most common was still the M41 the tankers jacket the melton overcoats & the very many mackinaws...the mackinaw was a very good heavy jacket..they were some M41 arctic jackets also...just a heavier version of the M41

 

so..who's the lucky soldier in ardennes?...the soldier with the melton or the mackinaw or the tankers or the arctic thumbsup.gif

 

who's the unlucky soldier?..the soldier with the M43 & the M41 thumbdown.gif

 

the M43 without the liner is nothing...is just a jacket for the summer...is a very good design but only combined with the liner

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Greg Robinson

The M1950 field jacket was only made for a short time....from Dec 1950 thru the Spring of '51. They all look the same on the outside, basically identical to the M1943, but inside there were two variations.

 

First production had white labels and contract date is usually December 1950. Liner buttons are the large size, same as the buttons on the outside of the jacket. No button in liners were yet available so the pile jacket went back into production.

 

Second production had inkstamped markings and the same smaller size liner buttons as was used in the M1951's. Contract date is usually in the Spring of '51. And by this time they were being issued with the M1950 liner.

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  • 1 month later...
The first pattern B was November, 1943 followed by the next update for pattern B of August, 1944. I think they sneaked pattern A in after late September / October, 1943 but I've not come acrross one as of yet. It seems that the Nov, 1943 to Aug, 1944 patt b mainly had a browner od, khaki if you like, lining and green buttons, some have brown though, supply and demand, and the post Aug, 1944 had green lining and brown buttons. Yours may be a Nov, 43 / Aug, 44.

The colors of my M43 of the contract dated November 14th, 1943.

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