Falklands Para Loadout

[Giddo]

Hello,

This is my 1980's Para Loadout. I also do Falklands War Reenacting, which is why I have the Bergen. The webbing is my dad's genuine 80's modified webbing that he did himself.

My Kit is:

-Para Smock: 2 Para or 5th Airborne Flash
-1980's Tropical Trousers
-SAS Bergen
-Modded 58 webbing: Roll Pin Belt, '44 Bottle Pouches, '58 Bottle Pouches, '44 Pattern Harness/Yoke
-Steel Para Helmet: Smock Hood Cover, Scrim Net, Inner Tube Band, White Spoon!
-DMS Boots/Puttees or British Jungle Boots

Weapons:

-Black M16 is a Kangnam Model. I've taped a FFD to the hand guard. I use it for Falklands Reenacting. I know it's not the rifle everyone thinks about from the Falklands (The SLR), but 2 Para was going to the jungle at the time of the Falklands so had M16's to use.

-Camo'ed M16 is a Tokyo Mauri. It has British DPM over the stock and hand guard and scrim attached. I use it for being a 1980's Pathfinder.











My Inspiration-


Thanks for looking,
Will

[YOZZER]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

Hi, Looks pretty good, if I remember correctly your Corporal stripes should be below your 2 Para TRF, most Para's also used Grenade pins in their smock zip pull. 68 pattern combat dpm trousers also, you look to be wearing soldier 95. I was in at the time on the Ascension Islands doing re-supply. Lightweight OD was also the in trouser.
Good Luck YOZZER

[mad dog]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

looking good, you need to source some NI gloves, putties, and old school corporal chevrons, and place them under the flash.................then work on growing a big 2 para moustache and sideburns!

[Giddo]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

Hi, Looks pretty good, if I remember correctly your Corporal stripes should be below your 2 Para TRF, most Para's also used Grenade pins in their smock zip pull. 68 pattern combat dpm trousers also, you look to be wearing soldier 95. I was in at the time on the Ascension Islands doing re-supply. Lightweight OD was also the in trouser.
Good Luck YOZZER

Thank You very much. I've been looking for a single grenade pin, but I havent sourced on yet. My trouses are actually old school tropicals. They are rather bright and look like CS95 as they are actually Brand New! Para's actually wore tropics instead of P68 as they dried quicker. Yes, I need to change my flash location, I was told it was in the correct location

looking good, you need to source some NI gloves, putties, and old school corporal chevrons, and place them under the flash.................then work on growing a big 2 para moustache and sideburns!

Thanks! I do have some genuine 80's NI Gloves, but I forgot to wear them (It was also rather hot for once!). The putties aren't visible in the photo, but they are there - around the DMS! The corporal chevrons on the OG fabric I currently have, I was told is the correct one I think he moustache and sidburns are a bit far for me lol!

[airsoc]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

Im glad i read this thread. Ive got one of those para jackets and i couldnt for the life of me figure out what it was! Nice loadout

[YOZZER]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

I agree stripes are correct.

[liam88]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

my only sugestion is that your beret needs shaping.

[crasstoe]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

Hello,

What's your elbow doing up there?! Keep it down and make yourself a smaller target :P

Looks good, only thing I would swap is the tactical plastic spoon for a spork, much more versatile

[airsoc]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

What's your elbow doing up there?! Keep it down and make yourself a smaller target :P

Looks good, only thing I would swap is the tactical plastic spoon for a spork, much more versatile

Now youve pointed it out i cant unsee it. It looks painful

[Terry Mcann]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

Would suggest the backing felt of the wings could do with trimming down slightly.

Also,wheres the chinstrap for your helmet?

[Gadge Europa]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

*everyone* who could wore tropics as they dried faster, few guys did in the falklands though because it was bloody freezing. Most paras wore windproof trousers.

Tropics look ok if you were doing an exercise in germany, not for the falklands

Beret definitely needs shaping, it also looks massive on you, is it a WWII pattern one? The army changed the size of berets in the 60s and by the 80s it was fashionable to shrink and shape them to be quite small indeed.

I'd lose the white fork, most of us kept 'eating irons' in the old adapter pouch on the side of your ammo pouch, it's perfect for keeping a spoon in.

Cant see what boots you've got but as others have said you'll want DMS and puttees.

If you're set on tropics (and i personally have never seen a pair worn on corporate) you'd want the 70s/80s day glo types. The type you have are a but late for the period.

And yeah.. sort out the 'chicken wing' arm. and why have you got electrical tape wrapped around your hand?

Good effort though, a few tweaks and it will look a lot better.

80s tropicals look like this:



You can clearly see how bright they are and in my pic the contrast between them and a standard shade sas smock, the purpose of them being so bright was that when soaking wet (as they are nearly all the time in the jungle), they still have a visible pattern and dont just look black.



Not everyone liked tropicals, they had a tendancy to melt and stick to you if they caught fire... hence they were banned on some ops where petrol bombs were a risk

Here's a pic of me on exercise in the 90s (before and after) wearing a pair that got pretty wet (we were in wales, its always wet on exercise in wales) and you can see they still have a camo effect. Note i wasnt in the paras, I was in the Staffords and loads of us wore tropicals for exercises in the summer until soldier 95 came in and made them a bit pointless. In winter you *really* wanted windproofs and or heavy weight trousers.

[Terry Mcann]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

On the subject of trs,remember a vet telling me that a lot of lads used to cut out the lining of their 68 Patt trs as if not,once they got wet they were near impossible to get dry.

[Gadge Europa]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

I think guys did that for 'summer weight' ones. Same as cutting the front and collar off a KF shirt and stitching it onto/into a jacket or jumper so you could wear a vest or t-shirt instead. Pretty much like having a drilled out ressie cannister for exercises or a spare water bottle full of vodka... all stuff that would get you a rollicking but done all the same.

- - - Updated - - -

Thank You very much. I've been looking for a single grenade pin, but I havent sourced on yet.
!

They are just steel split ring pins. You can get them easily enough off a used military type smoke grenade. Failing that a 30mm diameter split ring is about the same

[Giddo]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

Thanks everyone.

What's your elbow doing up there?! Keep it down and make yourself a smaller target :P

Looks good, only thing I would swap is the tactical plastic spoon for a spork, much more versatile

That's how I shoot, my dad has the same problem! The spoon in the band, is only their for reenacting I take it out, otherwise it's a good aim for the snipers!

Would suggest the backing felt of the wings could do with trimming down slightly.

Also,wheres the chinstrap for your helmet?

I shall trim the wings a bit, when I take them off. It was a done thing in the 80's I believe.

*everyone* who could wore tropics as they dried faster, few guys did in the falklands though because it was bloody freezing. Most paras wore windproof trousers.

Tropics look ok if you were doing an exercise in germany, not for the falklands

Beret definitely needs shaping, it also looks massive on you, is it a WWII pattern one? The army changed the size of berets in the 60s and by the 80s it was fashionable to shrink and shape them to be quite small indeed.

I'd lose the white fork, most of us kept 'eating irons' in the old adapter pouch on the side of your ammo pouch, it's perfect for keeping a spoon in.

Cant see what boots you've got but as others have said you'll want DMS and puttees.

If you're set on tropics (and i personally have never seen a pair worn on corporate) you'd want the 70s/80s day glo types. The type you have are a but late for the period.

And yeah.. sort out the 'chicken wing' arm. and why have you got electrical tape wrapped around your hand?

Good effort though, a few tweaks and it will look a lot better.

Thank You. Your pictures are very handy . I've got a KFS set in the ammo side pouch. We were clearing out the loft on Saturday and I found 3 pairs of the old style tropics. The tape on my hand in to hold a bandage in place. I fell off my bike on to some wood and metal and graded up my palm pretty bad, and the hospital bandage wouldn't hold. The beret needs attention, it's an 90's one and is a bit too big. I assume I shrink it the same was as moulding it?

I think guys did that for 'summer weight' ones. Same as cutting the front and collar off a KF shirt and stitching it onto/into a jacket or jumper so you could wear a vest or t-shirt instead. Pretty much like having a drilled out ressie cannister for exercises or a spare water bottle full of vodka... all stuff that would get you a rollicking but done all the same.

- - - Updated - - -

They are just steel split ring pins. You can get them easily enough off a used military type smoke grenade. Failing that a 30mm diameter split ring is about the same

I've got one now. It was on my dad's old CS95 smock. I've also got arctic wind proof smock and trousers, which is what the Para's wore instead of the para smocks.

[Gadge Europa]

Re: Falklands Para Loadout

Its worth bearing in mind that short of para smocks and para helmets.... most professional soldiers of the time wore *exactly* the same uniforms and kit.

As i've mentioned, tropics were not as exclusively 'para' thing, nor were windproofs. It depended on your unit and how much of a git your RSM and or OC was, some units had to wear entirely issue kit, others allowed the lads a lot of leeway. Our old OC had a 'if its green and you dont look like a twat you can wear it rule' but some units would insist on only issue kit.

If anything artic windproofs were an RM thing as they were on general issue to them, everyone else blagged them.

Your beret should shrink as it gets moulded to a degree. It still looks like its too big for you though tbh.

The size my beret is in the pic of me in the back of the wagon was a 'standard' size beret for the time in the 90s, the fashion in the 80s (and especially with RM and airborne) was to wear them quite small. At the mo yours look like a 'large crown' WWII type but like i say it could just be too big for you.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and get some zinc oxide tape in your airsofting first aid kit. You'll find that much better for holding on dressings.