WWII Navy and Marines using Army gear

[Old Marine]

I was cleaning up my hard drive and I came across these 2 photos. Thanks to this forum and the incredible wealth of shared knowledge I have learned a lot and I am noticing much more than I ever did, thank you all.

 

Anyway, my question is, if you look at the first photo you can see that the Navy Corpsman is wearing the Army medic rig. You can see the yoke and one of the medic's pouches. Is this common for a Navy Corpsman in the Pacific? I haven't ever seen Corpsmen wearing this rig before, maybe I just wasn't paying attention. Was this medic gear issued to all services or did he just "acquire" it from the Army somehow? Any thoughts?

 

[Old Marine]

In this photo, the Marine on the left with the M1 is wearing the 1st pattern Army HBT shirt. I think this photo was taken on Peleliu in 1944. You can see the wide lapels and the pocket flap is visible above his left hand. I have seen a large print of this photo and in that print I could clearly see that it is in fact the old model Army HBT.

 

Did the Army dump their old stocks of gear on the Marines? It seems very probable to me that the Marines took and used anything they could get their hands on. Does any one else have photos of Marines using Army HBTs?

 

Dennis

 

[craig_pickrall]

The USN had a set of Corpsman bags that was a close copy of the Army medic bags. The big difference you see in a photo like the one you posted is the USN bags have snap closures rather than shoe lace take ups at the bottom.

 

Here is a photo of the bags in use and also photos of the bag layed out.

 

[Old Marine]

Thanks Craig. The more of this stuff you see, the more you can learn. Thanks for posting the photos.

 

Dennis

[sigsaye]

I think something to keep in mind is the logistics of fighting a war like W2 in the pacific. Yes, the Navy and MC had their won patterns of "Stuff". However, the Army being bigger had the lions share of the manufactuering capability of the country churning out it's pattern "stuff". Taking that inot consideration, in theater, at the end of a several thousand mile supply line across an ocean, you have what is actually aailable. If the Navy/MC is gearing up for an operation, and sufficent ammounts of their pattern "stuff" are not available, it is completely correct and acceptable to resupply from Army stocks, rather than sit around and wait for their pattern "stuff" to arrive. Other than details, it was all compatable. Equipment is designed to support a weapon and since every one was using the same weapons (ok, the reising) the gear would work. While we like to think about "aquiering" gear, most was simply transfered to make up for shortages due to logistic issues.

 

Steve Hesson

['Flage Guy]

This is always an interesting topic, with the usual good contributions and insights Like Sig pointed out, military people who are out to vanquish a formidable foe don't much care about whether the required equipment has the "proper" markings, "looks", and all that rot.

 

Here is one of gazillions of examples of Army gear utilized by Marines; this Cover has the Canteen and Cup in it, but was obviously made a tad too long...

 

['Flage Guy]

The back:

 

['Flage Guy]

Army Cartridge Belt ("R.M.Co. 1941")with the unmistakable Marine Corps-specific name stamp inside:

 

['Flage Guy]

Army-issue S.M.G. Clip Pouch...

 

['Flage Guy]

The back, with the 1942 date crossed over; I have a a '43-dated Jungle 1st Aid Pouch, which I believe came from a Marine, which also had this done- any insights on this?

 

[craig_pickrall]

Here is another Army canteen cover that someone marked USMC.

 

[m1ashooter]

Interesting family IWO picture with different uniforms worn.

 

[craig_pickrall]

The man 2nd from left could be wearing either an Army or a USN HBT shirt. The Navy had this same uniform made.

['Flage Guy]

Didn't the Navy-issue H.B.T. Jackets have deeper pockets which were set lower? Looks to me like that's what the guy has on.

I had one of those years ago, in a big size, and sold it :pinch: :pinch: Been kickin' myself ever since...

And it almost looks like the man at far right is wearing 'flage; I know it wasn't used much at all on Iwo because of the landscape being mostly black sand and rock, but it did show up. :think:

[THAT GUY]

Didn't the Navy-issue H.B.T. Jackets have deeper pockets which were set lower? Looks to me like that's what the guy has on.

I had one of those years ago, in a big size, and sold it :pinch: :pinch: Been kickin' myself ever since...

 

Yep. It looks like a mix of the Army HBT and USMC HBT jacket.

[craig_pickrall]

Didn't the Navy-issue H.B.T. Jackets have deeper pockets which were set lower? Looks to me like that's what the guy has on.

I had one of those years ago, in a big size, and sold it :pinch: :pinch: Been kickin' myself ever since...

And it almost looks like the man at far right is wearing 'flage; I know it wasn't used much at all on Iwo because of the landscape being mostly black sand and rock, but it did show up. :think:

 

 

I thought it looked USN too because of the pockets. Follow this link and look at post # 11 & 12 for more info on the pockets and the uniform in general.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...l=USN&st=10

['Flage Guy]

I thought it looked USN too because of the pockets. Follow this link and look at post # 11 & 12 for more info on the pockets and the uniform in general.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...l=USN&st=10

 

Craig, thanks for the link; I thought I remembered some discussion on these Navy-spec Utilities around here somewhere.