"Airborne" string vests

[Gary Jucha]

Ok ... a question concerning WW2 British Army "string vests".

..I've seen on E-bay a few times "Airborne" string vests for sale.

I was wondering if the title "Airborne" (which seems to have stuck), is really the correct description for this item. ?
Were they issued to all troops, or were they a "specialised" item. ?

Again, there are stories that these were used in case of capture as a source of string, ... which I do believe is wrong .....

..So, over to the forum members for comments please ...

Gary J.

[junior]

Ok, I'm not an expert on these but I'll try to say what I learned so far about these.

-This is a "string vest" not an "escape vest" (so it doesn't has the intention to be used when you're in captivaty)

-This was issued to both Commando and Airborne and Army

-It was issued to keep you warm (?)


Cheers,
Junior

[junior]

This information is from Luc's site:


This is not an airborne item.
The reason for mentioning it here is that often the most unlikely stories are told about it just to increase sales.
For instance it is called an escape vest; the wearer could take it apart to build an escape ladder.
Veterans have debunked this abundantly.
It was simply a part of a variety of standard Army cold weather items such as long drawers, a wool jersey and the Balaclava helmet.
It was made of thick white cotton string, knitted into a mesh sleeveless shirt.
This mesh texture allowed persperation to travel quickly onto the next layer of clothing. This created a dry layer of air around the wearers body, so he would stay warm.
It was a very comfortable and popular item amoung soldiers.
A small tag was attached to the bottom stating size, date, broad arrow and washing instructions.
Wartime manufacturers: Multi Spring, Lilywhites
Wartime variations: Also a vest was produced with knitted shoulder straps, most common seems is the cloth strap version.
Postwar modifications: No
Reproduced: No.
Value: around 40Euro.

[Ciaran Byrne]

they were also worn to keep soldiers cool in the summer. they were worn over the soldiers shirt and were proven to transport warm air away from the wearers body.

[Gary Jucha]

Thank you all.

Thank you all for your responses.

I initially did check Brian Davis's book on British WW2 clothing, and could not find a reference.

I too had not directly seen a reference to the vest being used as a "special forces" issue, and so hopefully this one has been laid to rest.

If anybody does have any additional information, please post it.

Regards and Thanks

Gary J.

[lnijherald]

they were also worn to keep soldiers cool in the summer. they were worn over the soldiers shirt and were proven to transport warm air away from the wearers body.

Hi Ciaran,
Are you sure, you wouldn't have any period pictures or other reference for this?
I have reason to doubt this "warm weather use": as long as the human body is warmer that the air around it, warmth will always be transported away from it. Adding extra clothes does not enhance this.
Regards, Luc

[Marc Sherriff]

Items specific to certain roles taken from

War Vocabulary of Clothing and Necessaries August 1942

Parachutists

CG 0601-12 Anklets, Elastic, for parachutists pair £0 3s 1d

CG 0615-17 Caps, knee, for parachutists pair £0 12s 6d

CG 0655-59 Gloves, silk, for parachutists pair £0 10s 9d

CG 0621-26 Jackets, for parachutists each £1 13s 6d

CG 0635-44 Trousers, Parachutists pair £1 8s 0d

Nursing Sisters

CK 1181-86 Smocks, Windproof, Nursing Sisters each £0 14s 0d

CK 1171-76 Trousers, Windproof, Nursing Sisters pair £0 10s 0d

CK 1077-80 Vests, String, Nursing Sisters each £0 6s 9d

Cold Climate Clothing

CMCC 0011-14 Smock, Snow Suit, Drab Denim £1 0s 0d

CMCC 0015-18 Smock, Snow Suit, Drab Twill, Grandrill £1 0s 0d

CMCC 0201-08 Smock, Snow Suit, Drill Bleached £0 15s 0d

CMCC 0205-08 Smock, Snow Suit, Drill Satin £0 15s 0d

CMCC 0021-24 Trousers, Snow Suit, Drab Denim £0 15s 0d

CMCC 0025-28 Trousers, Snow Suit, Drab Twill, Grandrill £0 15s 0d

CMCC 0211-14 Trousers, Snow Suit, Drill Bleached £0 9s 9d

CMCC 0215-18 Trousers, Snow Suit, Drill Satin Denim £0 9s 9d

CMCC 0231-34 Vests, String £0 6s 0d

[SHEARING-CROSS]

Hiya ,
I.M.O i dont think these vests were designed or intended to be used as an escape item for several reasons ,
having spoken to several soldiers who wore them no one has ever been able to confirm that they were a `survival `item if as i belive this was the design it stands to reason the troops would have been told this , even maybe a lecture by an officer n.c.o as to the vests possible uses ??
the real reason i belive that the vests have developed this myth is this ,

back in the early 1980`s there was a big boom in the `survivalists ` movement , part due to the `cold war ` between the east and west turning a bit sour .
In the UK ( and i expect the U.S / Europe ??) over night army surplus shops market stalls , mail order firms sprung up to cater for this market ,helped along by magazines and booklets from the U.S ( any one remember the big court case with Paladin Press publishers over the sniper book ??)

The fans of this pastime were a cross between weekend ramblers wanting to learn survival skills incase of an emergency right across the scale to the people building nuclear fallout shelters in their back yards .
so ...any army surplus kit that could be sold with the tag ` suvival issue ,escape and evasion special forces issue etc ,etc was labeled thus ,
one of the big ( and most professional ) uk manufactures was a firm in Lancaster ,
S.A.S.S -SPECIAL AIR SEA SERVICES LTD
who had quietly for a good few years been making specialist military kit, webbing pouches to order for individual soldiers , medic bags , sniper smocks etc along the way the owner would pick up job lots of army surplus , he was selling wartime toggle ropes for a fiver , he had crates of the lightweight assault jerkins i thing they were expensive ......£7.00 !!!
all this was purely for collectors and not meant to rip any one off .
NOW THEN .......he also bought a large amount of these vests and listed them for sale in his magazine , now this is were i belive the myth has sprung from , in the description for the vests it was worded along theses lines

" british army string vests made from one length of cord ,
..can be unravelled and used for shelters ,fishing etc in an emergency "

i may not remember it word perfect but as good as , later on militaria dealers bought up large amounts of these which to be fair were even then quite a hard bit of kit to find and sold them on through the shops and arms fairs and so i believe the myth started here and just grew and grew , the original dealer i reckon was just trying to sell the vests on ,i think it was later down the chain when the more exotic description began to take shape.....commando ,para etc by fair means or foul .
hope i have not bored ya , just my opinion ,regards ,Michael.

[Ciaran Byrne]

Hi Ciaran,
Are you sure, you wouldn't have any period pictures or other reference for this?
I have reason to doubt this "warm weather use": as long as the human body is warmer that the air around it, warmth will always be transported away from it. Adding extra clothes does not enhance this.
Regards, Luc

It is quoted in the book "Tommy" and there are one or two modern photographs of it in use worn over the undershirt. I don't have the book with me but will look it up. If anyone else on here has the book "Tommy" they might be able to shed more light on the matter.

[lnijherald]

Excellent info Marc, Michael,

It's good to have this pice of clothing discussed here. Brian Davis does mention the vest on page 213 but he doesn't show a picture.
Ciaran, I have "Tommy" and the authors show an impressive amount of kit but as a whole I don't think it is a very fine reference guide. The pictures of the string vest are just one reason I don't really like the book and the insignia are mostly fakes.
Regards, Luc

[DJT]

CG 0635-44 Trousers, Parachutists pair £1 8s 0d


Wow, now worth about £1800 a pair. Nice inflation


Of course the string vests were normal army issue. The airborne only really had about a dozen items of kit that were specifically developed for them.

Tell that to dealers though

[Guy]

[QUOTE=Des Thomas]CG 0635-44 Trousers, Parachutists pair £1 8s 0d


Wow, now worth about £1800 a pair. Nice inflation


The time machines nearly finished Des.

[Gary Jucha]

Dr Who

" The time machines nearly finished Des."

Jeepers ... Not Another Dr Who !

Gary J.