Show me your Vietnam displays

[dsgrant]

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Above is the bayonet for the SLR and a 1966 issued machette,tho the aussies didnt use them on point,
the lead scout would use a pair of normal garden secateurs,very quiet.

[dsgrant]

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Here is the Australian sleeping gear as issued.
The outer cover has three holes for the three black blow ups pictured.
They would be blown up and slid into the liner, then the whole thing
would resemble a lilo mattress.Then during the night two only go flat.
This way you end up being rolled off onto the ground.
The brown blanket and the green cotton liner are clipped together,
then they are placed inside the whole effort and you climb in.
Those that have used this govenment issue mess in the bush will know what
you really do.
Ditch the lot and just use the outer water proof liner.
All are dated 68 to 70.

[dsgrant]

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Here is aussie housewife with needles,thread ect.
1966 J&J wound dressing.
Folding pocket knife,clothes brush,boot brushes & foot powders.
Sunburn cream and sterilizing kit,which also has the soldiers blue Theo pills
for anti malaria.

[dsgrant]

<img src="http://onfinite.com/libraries/974613/d6d.jpg" />

Then just to get of the foot soldiers,here is a 4/19 Prince of Wales
M113 Crew commander with working boom mike and era uniform.
The 4/19th was a recon/cavalry unit that utilised M113 APC's.

[dsgrant]

<img src="http://onfinite.com/libraries/1021652/5d2.jpg" />
Standard issue aussie undergear.
All dated from the 60's

[Patrick Dempsey]

Hello dsgrant,

welcome to the thread, and what a contribution to it!

Some fabulous items and nuggets of information posted, especially liked the line about the "government issued mess" for the sleeping gear.

Favourites include the water bottle sterilizing kit, the machete, and the eating utensils.

Often overlooked by collectors for some reason.


Plus, you have a very nice clean backpack, i am having major problems finding a clean one of those so the envy is returned ....and you have a toggle rope too!


One quick question, on the left facing profile shot of your trooper i can see a water bottle carrier that has an additional strip(?) of webbing on the front, what was the purpose of that?

Having just embarked on collecting Australian items i do not have that much to show i do have the following items that a squaddie will not get far without though...

[Patrick Dempsey]

Marking details.

[Simon F]

Hi dsgrant

Thanks for posting your great selection of Aussie items on this thread. I myself am green with envy, only having a cloth 67 dated SLR ammo bandolier to my name at the moment.

Some good snippets of information here that helps my knowledge base to evolve. Interesting and useful to know about the secateurs, I really didn't know that! It makes sense, especially in regards to being so silent.

Some fascinating items from both you and Patrick, I love the attention to detail that I have not yet achieved with my own meagre collection of items.

I fired the SLR mid 80's when I was a young trainee, I always though it was a real "bitch" of a gun, but then I could never hit a cows arse with a banjo

[dsgrant]

Thanks guys,
Patrick,the canteen cover with the extra material was a make shift effort
to use the compass/aid pack pouch as a water puri tab holder attached to the canteen.
It sticks out to much and just makes one more thing to snag out the bush,so didnt get used.
The canteen is DSA'ed 66
Oh and he wouldnt be a trooper,they are the ones in black berets.
The armoured corp guys are troopers,the ones with the black cow
pats on their heads...
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101LRRP,
Back in the mid 80's for me was the introduction to shooting SLR's,
I couldnt hit a thing either,when issued the weapon on this time,
it was a regimental shoot,the date on the weapon was 1966,it was so
worn I had to keep turning the gas plug back till it reach 0 to keep it firing.
But a bonus that time around was we got to shoot hundreds of rounds out of
the F1 subby,it was being fazed out,so we got to spend a day blasting out the 9mm rounds.

[dsgrant]

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A 4/19 PWLH private purchase safari suit.Dated 1963
They were a cavalry/recon unit.
Note the chrome buttons and rank pips and titles,
armoured units in aussie can have chrome instead of brass,
they also had chrome pieces on their black parade belts.

[dsgrant]

<a href="http://www.dsgrant.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/dsgrant_2006/prc8.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>
I thought I might add in my radios from the period.
This is the AN / PRC 9, 27 to 39 Freq.
Leads,mics,3 foot & 10 foot aireals.
These were carried over from the Korean
war and used early on in Vietnam.

[dsgrant]

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AN / PRC 10, 38 to 55 Freq.
Leads,mics,3 foot & 10 foot aireals.
The 'Prick 10' was the standard FM radio
at the begining of the Vietnam War.
It was replaced by the PRC-25 in late 1965

[dsgrant]

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My Fav a working PRC 25 and accessories.
Hand Set,3 & 10 foot aireals & golf bag.
The 'Prick 25' replaced the old PRC-10 and became the most widely used radio in the Vietnam theatre. The FM receiver/transmitter had a recommended range of 5 clicks with the short tape antenna and up to 8 clicks with the 7 section long-range antenna.

[dsgrant]

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A working PRC 77 and accessories.
Hand Set,3 & 10 foot aireals,golf bag.
Next generation radio,no valves but
pretty much the same as 25 set.

[dsgrant]

And this is what makes the 25 & 77 sets work.
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Shows Original Battery & Adaptor.
It takes 10 "D" Cells,usually lasts 20 hours
in the field with transmitting & recieving
Obtained from Brooke Clarke in the US