Following on from my post on 51 pattern webbing a few weeks back, this is its immediate successor, the 64 pattern set:
I would argue that the 64 pattern set was one of the worst equipment sets every forced upon the poor infantryman. It was designed at a time where it was expected that warfare would be on a post-nuclear battlefield and troops would remain buttoned up in their armoured personnel carriers for much of the time. Therefore it made sense to make the webbing as minimal as possible. Note then that there are no ammunition pouches- you were supposed to carry your magazines in your pocket! As the set would not be supporting the weight of ammunition pouches, the yoke has very flimsy 1 wide straps, which were uncomfortable to wear for any length of time. Finally all the components are held together with Velcro. This is fine for quickly reconfiguring the set, but Velcro becomes less effective when it is wet and items had an annoying habit of dropping off on exercise!
The belt is made from a single piece of webbing, with Velcro for adjustment, the buckle is made from plastic, which was found to get brittle and break at low temperatures. It might just be this example, or it might just be me but I find this buckle very hard to undo after fastening.
The braces are a simple y yoke of 1 webbing straps, which attach to the belt with Velcro loops:
Although pouches are not supplied for magazines, a grenade pouch is available. This should hold two grenades, however due to being slightly undersized it is difficult to fit both in!
A velcroed loop is fitted to the back to pass over the belt, the Velcro loop at the bottom is to hold the grenade launcher for the rifle, much like the Energa used by the British.
The same attachment method is used for the rest of the set. We have a mess tin carrier, clearly carried over from the earlier 51 pattern set:
And a canteen carrier:
Finally we have a large respirator haversack that can either be worn on the belt like the picture above or slung on a shoulder strap.
There was also a bayonet frog, which I do not have, which resembled closely the 51 pattern design and an entrenching tool cover which was seldom issued or worn. As before I have to thank Andrew Iarocci for his help in setting me up with the webbing set, another rare piece of kit on this side of the Atlantic. Detailed posts on each component will follow on my blog in the coming months.
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