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What was their 550 cord?


Guest Alaskan Scout
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Guest Alaskan Scout

In my day as an Army scout and still now when i got to the bush here in Alaska, everything I need rigged was and is rigged w/ 550 para cord....Was the stuff around in WWII and if not what would they have used on a regular basis?

 

Im suspecting shoe string, tent rope or anythingthey could get thier hands on....correct?

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hi Alaskan Scout,i do'nt think you are to far off the mark...i'm sure AirBorne Infantry of the day used 550 cord as utility cord and regular Infantry just plain cord and shoe laces also a fair bit of electric tape/friction tape...German Infantry in ww2 used thier tent line as a sling for the Panzerfaust as the round came with no sling...by the way i liked your photos posted above and was glad to see someone not afraid to use old kit in the field i do the same ,good for you...also were you a Infantry Scout or a non-Infantry mech/mounted scout on a bradly...well anyway thanks for your service :thumbsup: ....vince g. 11b infantry..

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Guest Alaskan Scout

I was an infantry scout way back in the 90s..God that hurts to say..Old sucks even @ 37...;-)

 

Thanks.Im glad you liked them.......i was actually expecting to get strung up for using the orginal kit....Im finding loads of old kit up here for my project. Im trying to find ratty stuff and save the minty ones but ill use what i can get....

 

Anyhow thanks for the reply..I figured as much on the answer..I use to do WWII German till the egoes and Farb-Fests got to be too much. I use to use Zelt cord for everything. That was usually simple cotton cord taken from Swiss Zelts...

 

One last Question: Was the electrical tape used then the same as now? I never thought about that until i was watching a movie the other day and noticed a guy had some on hius webbing..I couldnt deside if that was accurate or a Wardrobe malfunction...

 

Here is another pic from that same day...Combo of kit...1952 British Denison Trousers,,Repop 1944 SAS Smock..Repop Splinter smock and the M43 wool cap....A ratty (seriously ratty as in it fell apart out there @ Minus 15 ) Pistol belt and repop holster....I used 550 to repair the belt on the go. It felt like i was cheating so I had to ask..

 

Im very much into survival..This old kit has presented me w/ a challange i cant pass up..Plus it caters to the historical monster inside me..In these pics i did 9 miles in 10 hours up there in the snow..I was spent @ the end..Gave that Mountain ruck a serious work out and she stood fast..

 

The blanket thing im wearing is a poncho made form a wool blanket..Not sure of it oragin though..Looks US possible WW2..

 

p1010016.jpg

 

 

p1010019.jpg

 

 

Rigged/repaired on the go.....(I know the stuff isnt period, the project is just getten started..I plan to get it all US period (or there abouts) by spring)

 

 

 

p1010014.jpg

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AlaskanScout i think the electric tape used in ww2 was that black sticky fabric"friction" tape,a famous ww2 picture of a Paratrooper boarding a C-47 for the D-day drop has his black Lightweight gas mask bag and i think a ammo bag secured with that black "friction tape"... how is that czech water bottle and German messtin working out for you...again nice pic's...vince g. 11b Infantry...

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Guest Alaskan Scout

The Czech water bottle was tops..I was really impressed @ its 20th century technology being as good as it was out there..The melted snow actually stayed warm hours later in the wool cover it has around it.....And the mess tin, well ive never stopped using one since forever..Even when i was a kid I used one..I love them for the deep pot cooker, handle and you can store stuff inside...Its made to live from and cook in as opposed to the US version that basicly makde to eat from in a chow line....

 

Glad you liked the pics...;-)

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And the mess tin, well ive never stopped using one since forever..Even when i was a kid I used one..I love them for the deep pot cooker, handle and you can store stuff inside...Its made to live from and cook in as opposed to the US version that basicly makde to eat from in a chow line....

 

This is an interesting thread.

 

I was on active duty for 26+ years in the US Army and went to the German Einzelkampfer Lehrgang ca. 1982 (Altenstadt - Schongau) where I got issued a Bundeswehr Messkit (Kochgeschirr) that I used until I retired in '03. I have to agree that it was made to actually cook in and use as opposed to the US version which evolved from a Civil War frying pan.

 

At any rate, an interesting project you have going on there.

 

Mike

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Guest Alaskan Scout

Thanks Mike..So you went to a German Special Forces Trainng School in old town Schongau? Good stuff..

 

 

My entire plan is to aquire kit from thr 40s and very early 50s and actually survive off it out in the bush. No gortex or anything modern. No triox or canned heat either..No modern water tight containers or plastic bags either...Old can and containers to store parishables...For fire a BBow and drill will be the order....And just basic kit and skills. It started out as a kick around project @ our forum but the more I dug the more interested i got and now its fine streaming itself into a period project w/ certain rules ill have to follow..It will most likely be entirely US kit (but save a few items, mess tin being one!) from that time period..

 

Anyhow thanks for posting and viditing thiws thread..

 

A S..

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It's entirely possible. I spent a lot of winter field time at Ft. Drum, Ft. McCoy, Camp Ethan Allen and various other places in New England in the days before Gortex.

 

Wool long underwear, OG 107 shirts and pants, field pants, parkas, wool glove liners (under trigger finger mitten liners), army issue ski socks (the cream colored wool ones), and a black USN wool watch cap - add VB boots and you're good to go. The extreme cold weather sleeping bag was entirely too heavy, but the mountain bag was just fine as long as you could get a good, deep bed of fir boughs under you for insulation. Pochos for a lean-to. As long as you're careful and keep all that stuff dry, no problems.

 

In so far as your question about what kind of cordage was used in the field: I can't speak to what guys were actually using in the '40's and '50's, but I can say that we used sisil and hemp string and cord for much of our lashings for field expedient shelters, etc. The natural cords couldn't be untied easily and re-used, but when breaking camp, all you had to do was cut the lashings and toss the cord scraps in the fire - no more signature than the fire ashes and if you missed a piece, no "US soldiers were here" signs like with 550 cord. Also, it was inexpensive and made the supply sergeant happy since it didn't break the training budget bank.

 

(Environmentally friendly and economical - we were P.C. before P.C. was cool! We also practiced L.N.T. before any granola-head ever thought of it and long before NOLS ever made up the term.)

 

We also used a lot of trip wire for field repairs on rucks and LBE. Finally, gutting 550 cord - taking the core strings out - makes a little cord go a long way. The individual strings are very strong and make good fine lashings (traps and snares, etc) and the casing makes good cordage for equipment lashings. I'm guessing that nylon para-cord has been available in the supply system since sometime in WWII and certainly by the late '40's.

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WWII paras also -- in addition to boot laces and rawhide holster thongs and commo wire and riser cord cut from chutes -- used the cloth"tape" cut from ammo bandoleers to tie things down. When they coud get it, they borrowed wide -- 2 or 3 inches -- adhesive tape, such as the USAAF troop carriers used for covering the fittings around C-47 doors. Ordinary 1" adhesive tape, in white and gray-green was common on pack suspenders' loose ends. One vet, who lost all his weapons on the opening shock at Normandy, told me that he "plastered and tied down" every bit of gear on his person for Holland (and then the drop was at proper speed and altitude...).

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Guest Alaskan Scout

Hey guys..first my apologise for the typos..My PC has a hack script and my text shows up micro making proof reading impossible! And if it doenst show up in Cryillic text i cant hardly see it anyhow!

 

Second thanks for the heads up on everything..some great info and ideas....

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In my day as an Army scout and still now when i got to the bush here in Alaska, everything I need rigged was and is rigged w/ 550 para cord....Was the stuff around in WWII and if not what would they have used on a regular basis?

 

Im suspecting shoe string, tent rope or anythingthey could get thier hands on....correct?

 

A number of the veterans I've interviewed have mentioned commo wire in the same context as we might use duct tape or 550 cord.

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Guest Alaskan Scout

Thanks Coffee cup...I think that commo wire would be the more practical route for me in this project...Thanks for rthe reply!

 

Christoph

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