Cold war re-enactor kit

[Scott Bentley]

There is a pub on Camouflage and Concealment. It is very old and contains all of the hand drawn pictures of how to paint the three color cam pattern to the vehicles of the era. I have a scanned copy of it somewhere.

As far as the poles go, there were/are no standardized "sockets" for them to fit in on vehicles. Having had the pleasure of being a sapper who lived in an M113 Pioneer Dozer (read: thousands of little things for the net to get hooked on), we usually spread a canvas tarp out over the vehicle first and then unrolled the cam net. For the poles, we affixed short sections of PVC pipe to the four corners of the vehicle. Granted this was for a much larger and more complex vehicle.

For the quarter tons we usually just had the nets rolled as flat as possible on the hood and secured with bungy cords. Occasionally they'd get pitched on the rear roof and lashed down, but that usually caused the roof to sag and fill with water. As for the poles, we just wedged them wherever we could, all improvised. For the windows, mirrors, lights and other shiny's, we had sandbags or sheets of hessian. I never (not even once) saw any of those Iltis mirror and windshield rubberized covers while in service, and that was in Petawawa where arguably they should have been.

[maple_leaf_eh]

As Scott posted, camouflage in the CF has always been a crew responsibility. The only bag for cam' nets I ever saw was the clear poly plastic bag it was issued in new from QM. And that was the only time it was ever square again.

The M38A1 mirrors fold, but are really not designed to be folded again and again. However, the licence plates, reflectors, headlights and mirrors. The Sergeant Major's orders before many of our exercises was to tie flaps of sandbags or hessian. We never had many spare canvas tarps. If the tarp wasn't carried or was squeezed under the backseat, if anyone had a spare poncho we'd use that over the interior against the rain.

[rob love]

Ideally the poles were on the ground, and not on the vehicle. Ideally you could drive out of the cam net like a big garage if need be. Seemed like as a mechanic we were the last ones into the hide and would just get the nets set up when the recovery call would come in.

I spent the last 6 years of my career in MLVWs, and usually alone, so I did a lot of camming, and usually with my rifle slung on my back. I hated the little key ring on the BFAs. I also hated the extra hood latches located in the middle of the hood....those went away. By the time I left the RCHA, I was pretty adept at covering an MLVW.

There were canvas bags for stowing the cam poles and spreaders, or they could also be attached together and stowed under the cargo box in the bow stowage area. The nets just stayed up in the roof rack.

Bottoms of the nets, when set up, would be tied to any available trees or onto strings or bungee cords or cargo straps leading to long nails or tent pegs. This method doesn't work so well on pavement.

[Ewen B]

All this talk about black beauties and the green self inflating mattresses remind me on one ex that I was in at Valcartier. We arrived in the rain and they rolled out two tarps for the regiment to sleep in and under. No poles, no bivy bags in those days either. It was a good sleep other than we woke with a thousand pounds of rain sitting on the tarp laying on us. Glad a deuce didn't mistake us for a dirt pile in the rain. The next day it snowed and everything was frozen, and then the next day we were running around in the afternoon with sleeves rolled up. Only in Canada they say...bloody pity. I acquired a few of the black beauties a couple of years ago. Too bad the rubber is all hard and cracked up. I remember my grandfather telling me that he had to sleep on the hard floor at home for almost a year after sleeping on the hard ground in WWI . Wasn't used to a soft bed. E

[Darrell Zinck]

Hi Roberta

I disagree that the Ham Omelet was a bad ration. Good hot or cold, tasty, and filling.

IMHO it was THE best Breakfast menu item when I was hard in my cbt arm trade in the 80s-90s, eating a couple hundred "rats" a year. Sad day when they pulled it from the menu............macaroni and cheese with peas???? Ham Steak and Mustard sauce???Breakfast choices really took a dive after the good ole "Lung in a Bag" was torn from us!!! There was brief revival with the Mushroom Omelette a few years ago but it just wasn't the same.

I concur on most of the thoughts above WRT the other kit items.

Some positives that I discovered over the years: Boots Rubber clumsy with running shoes = Heaven for a Zipperhead. Tent Slippers and Muckluck socks= Ahhhh!! Winter Crewsuit bib overalls with Peerless Parka in the arctic= great combo. American poncho liners. US Army raingear in 1985 combined with their combat coat liner. Tac Hel green leather gloves with the silk liners.

As for bad things, why hasn't anyone mentioned the .50 call BFA and those effin' J bolts? Nearly speared an Van Doo iltis in RV92!! C5 Clasp anyone? Three broken fingernails!! Melmac plates?? All three pieces!! Metal Wash basins?? It continues to this day!!

regards
Darrell

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Darrell Zinck

...

As for bad things, why hasn't anyone mentioned the .50 call BFA and those effin' J bolts? Nearly speared an Van Doo iltis in RV92!! C5 Clasp anyone? Three broken fingernails!! Melmac plates?? All three pieces!! Metal Wash basins?? It continues to this day!!

regards
Darrell

The infamous C5 clasp knife. It was always sharp - because no one could ever open the damn thing! I carried a generic red Swiss Army knife, and one particular exercise it kept me alive. We were issued US canned C-rations (late summer 1978?) and I found the little enclosed US can opener wasn't working well enough for me. The forward stroking push motion of the SAK was better. I still have an aluminum wash basin with the rim folded back. It nests nicely in the bottom of the sleeping bag valise.

Speaking of Gucci kit, show of hands. Who had a green-plastic handle Bundeswehr knife with the aluminum sheath? The ordinary folks weren't issued Russell belt knives and Gerbers didn't exist yet. Or, who didn't have a British Army sweater with the patches? Warmer than the issue Canadian green V-neck sweater. I think mine had a tragic washing machine encounter and came out sized for a 10-yr old boy.