Equipment

Once in Great Britain, the Belgian troops were supplied by the British and as a consequence used all the standard British equipment right until the end of the war. Rather than describe every single piece of equipment used by the Belgian parachutists I will instead select a variety of the more interesting and specialized items that they used.

The Webley revolver was the standard issue sidearm for the British army during the Second World War and the pouches designed to hold Webley ammunition did not acommadate magazines. The British army therefore had to provide a special pouch to facilitate ammunition for the 1911 A1 as well as the Browning Hi-Power pistol. The resulting pouch provided room for 2 magazines of ammunition and was attached directly to the P-37 web belt for easy access. This pouch was issued to any troops who were also issued with a 1911 A1 or Browning Hi-Power pistol. As the 1911 A1 was standard issue in the Belgian SAS, these pouches were also standard issue and are commonly witnessed in numerous Belgian SAS photographs. The original example shown below was made by the Mills Equipment Company and is dated 1942.

British P37 1911 A1/Browning Hi-Power pistol ammunition pouch (D.Thomas Collection).

The Belgian SAS quite commonly camouflaged their webbing equipment in help it blend in with their Denison jump smocks. The pistol holster below is a fantastic example of such a camouflaged piece. This particular example belonged to Captain W.M.Donnelly (Phantom officer attached to Belgian SAS) and housed his US 1911A1 pistol (shown in the weapons section). The makers name is obscured but a date of 1943 along with a broad arrow stamp are still clear to see on the inside.

Camouflaged British P37 Holster used by Captain W.M. Donnelly (D.Thomas Collection).

Sending their men behind enemy lines on a regular basis, the SAS hierarchy realized it was necessary to issue their men with items that might aid their chances of escape if captured or on the run. A basic but rather helpful escape kit was put together by the British military for allied air crew and airborne personnel. There were different variants but those issued to SAS men usually consisted of a waterproof pouch that had 'Maps Only' printed on the front. This pouch would typically contain a highly detailed silk map (Sheet C/D or Zones of France), a small escape compass the size of a button and a small escape saw covered in waxed paper. Not all men received these escape kits but for those that did and would need to use them, it is easy to imagine the assistance the contents would have offered. A typical escape kit is shown below. It is interesting to note that escape kits featuring silk maps are still current issue to modern SAS personnel.

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Escape & Evasion kit as typically issued to SAS men (D.Thomas Collection).

Although technically not a piece of official equipment the following item is interesting. It clearly shows that as well as official military issue maps, some men bought and used commerical mapbooks if possible. The example below was purchased in Holland by a Belgian SAS driver.

Dutch 'Zakkompas" Mapbook used by Belgian SAS driver (D.Thomas Collection).

Although not strictly a piece of Airborne equipment these smaller than standard map cases were issued predominantly to British airborne and SAS troops. Presumably the idea was that parachutists required as much free movement as possible and a smaller map case would be helpful. This particular example was made by 'Leather Products' and is dated 1944.

Special map case as frequently used by Airborne/SAS personnel (D.Thomas Collection).

Undoubtedly the most important piece of specialised kit used by the Belgian SAS parachutists was the 'X" type parachute. It consisted of four parts. The parachute, the inner bag, the outer pack and the harness. The canopy measured 28 feet across when laid on the ground and the rigging lines (28) were 25 feet long each. Unlike the American parachutes, the British 'X' type did not employ a reserve chute but made up for that omission by its high level of reliability.

Period photograph showing the 'X' type parachute being worn.

Probably one of the most difficult pieces of Airborne equipment to find today is the British Airborne Kit Bag (more commonly referred to as a 'Leg Bag'). Designed to carry additional equipment and small arms that were not either carried on a parachutist's person or in a drop cannister/pannier, they were connected to the parachutist by a strap and cord that extended once he had exited the aircraft. The cord extended dangling the kit bag below the parachutist. The bottom of the kit bag was heavily padded to protect the contents from impact with the ground.

British Airborne Kit Bag (B.Overhand Collection).

Once on the ground the Belgian SAS used bergen rucksacks to carry most of their equipment whether it be food, water, spare clothing, ammunition and equipment. They used a light order of webbing consisting simply of P37 belt, P37 pistol holster and P37 1911 A1 ammunition pouch. Wearing this did not interfere with carrying the rucksack.

Bergen rucksack as used by the Belgian SAS (D.Thomas Collection).

While driving their jeeps, Belgian SAS men typically wore British leather driving gloves and goggles. Original examples of the most commonly used types are shown below.

British driving gauntlets and goggles (D.Thomas Collection).