British WW2 ammo pouch questions

[IanC]

Friends,

This is my first post in this part of the forum, so please be patient with me.

I have a couple of questions on the the British WW2 ammo pouch.

The first question is for a "typical rifleman\private etc" armed with a SMLE or No4, how many rounds of ammo would he have be issued with?

The second question is that I own a similar pouch dated in the 1950's, I notice that there is no internal structure or dividers inside the pouch, Was that the same for the WW2 patterns? If so, were the clips of rifle ammo just "drop in" or was there a way to correctly fill the pouch?

Thanks in advance

Cheers

Ian

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Ian, the 1937 pattern ammo pouch evolved over the years.

The basic pouch was first modified in June 1940. It was found that they needed to to be worn higher on the belt by an inch. The new modified pouch was known as the "Pouch, basic, web equipement pattern 1937, Mark II."

The Mark III pouch was introduced in order to take the new Sten gun magazines. The pouch was made longer to take them. Sometimes internal dividers were added so three mags could be carried in each pouch. These are scarce. Other than these, all pouches were open with no dividers.

After 1944 pouches were made with a pull tab fastener, as opposed to the brass press stud found on the earlier pouches.

The pouch was not just designed to take .303 rifle ammo. It would take two 2 inch mortar bombs, two Mills bombs or two Bren mags. Rifle ammo was issued in cloth bandoleers which could be carried in here too. In action, the contents would vary. Everyone in the section would have a Bren mag to help supply the most effective weapon. Loose ammo was certainly carried in 5 round charger clips.

In 1944 the new "1944 Pattern" web equipment was introduced. These were dark green in colour and were designed for use in the Far East. They featured the pull tab fastening. Later versions had two position clips on the back, giving a choice of how high they could be worn on the belt. This webbing saw use after the end of the war in 1945 in the Far East and Palestine.

Hope this answers your question?

Cheers, Ade.

[IanC]

Thanks Ade for the quick response and detailed description.

For a humble pouch, it's very versatile piece of kit, much more so than the German 1911 k98 pouch which I was comparing it to.

Thanks again.

Cheers

Ian

p.s.

"After 1944 pouches were made with a pull tab fastener, as opposed to the brass press stud found on the earlier pouches."

This answers my question about why my 50's dated pouch has a different fastener and is marked MKIII !

[John Wright]

The MkIII pouch was not only longer but smaller in cross section specially made for sten mags.
The standard ammo load for an infantry man was 2 Bren mags in the right hand pouch and 2 grenades. 50 rounds of .303 ammo plus at least one and more if looked like a hairy trip 50 round cotton bandoleers.

John

[IanC]

The MkIII pouch was not only longer but smaller in cross section specially made for sten mags.
The standard ammo load for an infantry man was 2 Bren mags in the right hand pouch and 2 grenades. 50 rounds of .303 ammo plus at least one and more if looked like a hairy trip 50 round cotton bandoleers.

John

Thanks for the info John, that's all my questions answered!

Cheers

Ian

[afrika]

You will often see pics of infantry with the cotton bandoliers draped around their bodies. This was the usual method of crriage for rifle ammo, the basic pouches being reserved for grenades and bren mags in most cases. You will also see the bren numbers carrying the supplementary pouches as well, thus increasing the food for the hungry Bren!
Mortar bombs for the 2 inch mortar, offensive/defensive grenades, rations, specialist equipment and section leaders kit (map, compass ) etc were all carried in these pouches. They are meant to be universal in their use, so were used for whatever they needed to carry.