Tag: equipment

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Phillosoph

Vietnam Chest Rigs

Version 2.4

Continuing my researches on how to carry equipment.
Last night I read a lengthy paper about the adoption of British PLCE. One of the points that struck me was the mixed reviews of the chest rigs trailed. It is probably safe to say that for most readers mentioning chest rigs will bring to mind the Vietnam war.
During this period Soviets and most countries under their influence used belt pouches for AK magazines. The examples below hold four 30 round magazines, although versions holding just three are also known. The side pouch on one of these examples is for an oil bottle. (The East German example with the splinter pattern shows a nice example of “staple and tag” closure, btw.) The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) did make some use of these pouches but a chest rig seems to be a more common option. Understandably such rigs are often termed as “Vietnam”, “Chicom” or “Viet Cong” chest rig.
Commonwealth forces did use some systems that could be termed chest-rigs. One of the photos below shows additional ammo pouches that could be worn above the belt pouches. Certain variants of the battle jerkin used only a pair of pouches on the chest.
It is more likely that the inspiration for the Vietnam chest rig was from closer to home. There are numerous photos of Chinese soldiers in the 1920s and 30s wearing a sort of “apron” for SMG magazines.
Several types of chest rig were in use by the Viet Cong (VC) and NVA.
The “simplest” was that intended for use with the SKS. This had ten identical pockets. Each pocket could hold two 10 round chargers for the SKS, giving a capacity of up to 200 rounds. In practice, one pocket often held a weapon combination tool and an oiler. The pockets could also accommodate a 20 round M16 magazine so this rig was also used by some GIs or Vietnamese with American weapons. It is probable that some of these pouches were used for other items. They appear to be of a size that can accommodate some designs of grenade.
A similar rig held chargers for a Mosin Nagant rifle.
A variety of SMGs were in use in this conflict so there were also chest rigs designed to accommodate SMG magazines. An example is shown below:
The third type of chest rig was intended for use with the AK-47/AKM/Type 56 and related weapons. Typically it had three central pouches each capable of holding a pair of 30 round magazines. One or two smaller pouches were to either side. These could be used for grenades but might have held other items such as loose ammunition, field dressings, cleaning kits etc. It is worth remembering that these items were often produced at a local level or homemade so show considerable variation in both colour and details. Some items had straps that crossed at the back while others are described as having a loop that passed over the head like an apron.

One of the things to note about these items is that “chest rig” is something of a misnomer. Often you see the pouches worn quite low on the torso. A sort of “combat cumberbund” or “belly rig”! Perhaps this transferred some of the weight to the pelvis? Rigs such as these can be worn either high or low, depending on physique, preference, type of rucksac worn etc. NVA/ VC seem to have kept their actual waist belts relatively uncluttered, often with just a grenade pouch and a canteen. Items not needed in the assault seem to have been carried in the rucksac rather than crammed into belt-mounted butt-packs or kidney pouch equivalents.
The Chicom chest rig has inspired a number of other designs. The Rhodesians often encountered enemies using this equipment and developed their own version with four or five pockets for 20 round FAL magazines.
The South Africans also adopted the chest rig. The 83 pattern shown below has a smoke-grenade pouch on the wearer’s right and two smaller pouches on the left, possible for a frag-grenade and shell-dressing.
There are small fittings that can carry a pen-flare/pen/pencil, knife or small flashlight.
A rather clever feature is that there is a map/document pocket behind the magazine pouches. On the other hand, the sides seem to have some excess material.

South African Chest Rig Contents

Not surprisingly, the Russians also copied the Vietnam chest rigs. The first-pattern Lifchik is very similar to the Vietnam Type 56, but designed for the AK-74 magazines. It also adds provision for carrying a pair of RSP-30 flares. The second-pattern moves the small pouches so they are vertically aligned. The second-pattern also has the option of attaching a belt holding ten 40mm (VOG-25) grenades. 
1st Pattern Lifchik Chest Rig
Second Pattern Linfhik Chest Rig
Some commercial imitations have possibly tried to incorporate too many “bells and whistles”. Some have ignored that a chest rig can also be a “belly rig”. Another problem is the chest rig is often seen as additional rather than alternate carrying capacity.
The Chicom chest rig is very much a compact assault order carrying ammo and grenades and little else. When you start adding pouches for waterbottles, mess tins and rain-proofs it become something else. The main improvements I would make over the original designs is provision to carry a couple of field dressings. I’d also add provision to carry a small fixed blade knife on either the left pouch or left suspender, a snaplink/ carbineer for empty magazines and a small pouch for a flashlight.
The chest region is often shadowed so a chest rig should have a light base colour to compensate for this .
As mentioned above, VN examples often resembled a sort of combat- cummerbund or “belly rig”. A moment’s thought will confirm that you do not want the openings of your ammo pouches up at nipple level or higher, if you are carrying them vertically. You don’t have much choice with the long AK magazines, admittedly.
The chest area is a major site of heat loss, so a lower slung chest rig may help avoid overheating.
Many (western) chest rigs simply try to carry too much, hence problems with crawling, which is your primary means of not being seen or shot!.
Don’t use frontal pouches that hold more than a pair of magazines each.
There are a great variety of options out there commercially. Some can be mounted horizontally or slanted on the chest. The under-arm or hip positions proposed in a later blog is another option.
Basically, the chest/belly rig should only carry a reasonable amount of ammo.
No more than six magazines/180 rounds and up to six (standard sized) grenades, for example, four frags and two smoke. There is probably not enough room on many designs to carry all of these grenades on the chest/belly rig. One smoke and one or two frags seems more likely, with additional grenades carried elsewhere.
You can mount your “pec’ knife;” on a rig (see Survival Weapons or Crash Combat), a shell-dressing or four, a flashlight and a snap link for spent mags.
Some of the shell-dressings may be carried at the back over the kidneys. They are more likely to be accessed by someone treating the wearer, rather than the wearer so the rear position is not a major problem.
If you have a compact weapon-cleaning kit, such as in a discarded flare container, the belly-rig is a logical place to carry that too.
You will not need the latter in a hurry so it can be stowed on the rig somewhere out of the way.
Provision to add other items temporarily can be included.
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Phillosoph

Soviet Soldier Simplicity

The other day I was reading an article about small unit actions. In the introduction it was explained that the men and women recruited as Soviet soldiers were used to living close to nature and tolerated and even thrived under conditions that would defeat German soldiers.
The questions that spring to mind are how was this done and how can this be applied to modern soldiers? I made a few posts on the Soviet soldier’s equipment some months back. It is apparent that the Soviet soldier of the Great Patriotic War got by with relatively little equipment. Let us start by looking at his clothing.
The basic Soviet field dress was a pull-over tunic and a pair of long breeches. This was an outfit that European fighters have used for many centuries. The Soviet tunic and loose trousers would not seem that unfamiliar to a Viking, Celt, Saxon or a medieval peasant.
Like many uniforms of the Second World War, it was constructed of wool, which has the advantage that it does not chill the wearer that much if wet. The Soviets also had a cotton version for summer use.
The tunic and trousers were worn directly over the underwear. The underwear seems to have been a long-sleeved undershirt and long johns for both summer and winter use. Both of these items were issued in summer and winter forms. Both forms were made from cotton, the difference being the winter version was fustian with a fluffy nap on the inside. The use of cotton for both the summer and winter underwear is interesting. I suspect this may have been selected to simplify mass laundering of items. Theoretically the Soviet soldier exchanged his underwear for a fresh set every ten days.
There were relatively few items for use in sub-zero temperatures. Each soldier had a greatcoat, which was also used instead of a blanket when sleeping so was carried all year. When not worn the greatcoat was usually carried rolled up and worn across the chest
The distinctive telogreika padded jacket and vatnie sharovari trousers were made from cotton and filled with cotton wool. It was cheap and simple to manufacture and very effective. Its thickness and wearing the garment over woollen clothing helped counter some of the disadvantages of cotton if it got wet. Below zero conditions meant that rain was seldom a problem. Telogreika and vatnie sharovari are often seen as outermost garments but were intended to be used under the greatcoat or sheepskin coats.
I am unsure as to how the telogreika and vatnie sharovari were carried if they were not being worn. They look like they would be too bulky to carry in the soldier’s backpack. Perhaps they were rolled up inside the greatcoat. Possibly they were treated as baggage items and only issued when the winter tunics were. Sheepskin coats might be worn in winter instead of the greatcoat. Some books claim the sheepskin coats were for cavalry and tankers but photographs prove that many other units acquired them. The greatcoat or sheepskin and telogreika were worn with ushanka fur hats, balaclavas, mittens/gloves and valenki felt overboots. With these few items the Soviet soldier operated in minus 50 conditions.
The rest of the Soviet soldier’s equipment also forms a relatively short list.
• A weapon and ammunition and grenades.
• An entrenching tool: numerous uses including as a close combat weapon.
• A canteen.
• Gas mask case and contents.
• A rain cape (plashch palatka)
• A simple haversack (myeshok).
The haversack contained a bag of tent pegs and a pole-section for constructing shelters. Contents also including a mess pail, shaving kit, soap, toothbrush and weapon-cleaning kit. There is no bayonet scabbard since bayonets were always carried fixed to the weapon.

The rain cape might be carried folded up in the haversack. It could also be rolled around the outside of the greatcoat roll or carried as a roll instead of the greatcoat. These rolls were also used to carry items. The cape is another item that would be familiar to a viking etc. Effectively it is a rain-resistant cloak and thus could be used for warmth as well as protection from the rain. The rain cape was a heavier item than modern ponchos but was also more robust. It could be used to drag a wounded man to safety, for example. One cape could be used as a shelter and another as a ground-cloth to accommodate two men, who slept together in their greatcoats. Capes could be combined to form larger shelters.
The haversack also carried rations. While I have found descriptions of what a Soviet soldier would carry, I have yet to find indications of the quantities.
Other notable items used were one or two-piece camouflage outfits designed to be worn over the field uniform. Generally these were used by scouts, snipers and engineers. White coveralls were used for camouflage in winter.
Post-war, a few interesting wrinkles were added to this basic equipment. In another post I have detailed the spetsnaz use of cotton string vests and coats with a “skirt” extension piece.
The equipment listed above is very brief compared to that of a modern soldier or outdoorsman. Part of the reason for this is that some items such as the greatcoat and raincape were multipurpose. The list above is probably incomplete. Historical sources often do not mention items such as tinderboxes and matches since it was inconceivable to the author that a peasant or outdoorsman would need to be told to carry these.
Some items we have now simply did not exist then.
Personal night-vision equipment and radio communicators had not yet been developed. The use of flashlights was restricted in the Soviet army, whilst the modern soldier often finds himself searching dark places. There is no compass and map-case in the standard Soviet field kit since navigation was for NCOs and officers.
Very often the Soviet soldier did without many of the things we regard as essentials such as kipmats, blankets, sleeping bags and tents.
The last sentence brings me to another thing that should be considered. What items on your equipment list are truly essential and what are just useful and nice to have?
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Phillosoph

Spetznaz String Vest

Today I’m going to post another exert from the book Aquarium, again detailing Spetsnaz apparel as described in the book.
“As for the rest of a Spetsnaz soldier's clothing, his underwear is made of thin linen. It should be new but already used a little and laundered at least once. Over the thin underwear he wears a vest made of a thick string, so that there is always a layer of air about a centimetre deep between the underwear and the outer garments. This was cleverly thought out. If it's very hot and you are running with sweat and your whole body is burning, the string vest is your salvation. Your clothes do not cling to your body and there is excellent ventilation. When it's cold the air pocket protects the body like a feather duvet, and moreover, weighs nothing. The string vest has yet another purpose. If a mosquito get its nose through your clothes it reaches empty space and not the body. Only in very difficult circumstances does a Spetsnaz soldier allow himself to be driven out into the open. He spends his time in forests and marshes. He may lie for hours in a burning hot marsh or in fierce stinging nettles with clouds of mosquitoes buzzing around him. Only the string vest can save him then. Over it he wears trousers and a tunic of green cotton material. All seams are treble-stitched. The tunic and trousers are soft but hard-wearing. At the elbows, knees and shoulders the material is trebled for greater strength”.
I have experimented with using a string vest as outdoor wear. The time that comes to mind is during a concert in a park on a very hot day. I wore the vest under a relatively heavyweight tee-shirt and had no problems with clothing sticking to my skin, despite the humidity. As the sun went down and the air got chilly I remained comfortable, so it is an idea worth trying out.
Contrary to the above, a common suggestion seems to be that string vests are best worn next to the bare skin, whether it is hot or cold.
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Phillosoph

Greatcoat Tricks, Old and Spetsnaz

I’ve just come across an interesting comment about greatcoats being used by Russian soldiers in the 19th Century. The author notes that the coats were long enough to fall somewhere between the knee and the ankle in length and that the bottoms would often become heavy from getting caked with mud. He observes that many soldiers solved this by adding hooks and eyes to the coat so the skirts could be hitched up to make a shorter coat. Regular blog readers will recall that most WW2 Russian greatcoats used hooks and eyes instead of buttons, which were probably easier to use when wearing thick gloves or mittens. The idea of shortening the greatcoat, in turn, reminded me of this interesting passage in Viktor Suvorov’s book “Aquarium”.
“The saboteur also wears an outer garment like an anorak. It is thick, warm, light and waterproof. In it you can lie in a marsh without getting wet or sleep in the snow without freezing. It comes down to the middle of the thighs so as not to interfere with walking, and if need be you could sit for days on a patch of ice, as it provides something to sit on. It is very full at the bottom, which is important when running or walking fast. But if necessary the lower part can be pulled in tightly round the legs and so keep the warmth in. The Spetsnaz used to have similar trousers, padded and warm. But that was a mistake. When you have to walk for days on end without stopping such trousers are a nuisance. They upset the ventilation. Our wise ancestors never wore fur-lined trousers. Instead they had fur coats reaching down to their heels. And they were right, because fur trousers make you sweat but a long coat doesn't. We have now learnt this lesson, and a Spetsnaz soldier has not only a top coat, but a long skirt covering his body almost down to the heels which he can attach to it. In this way he can keep warm, but is never too hot. The skirt is easily unbuttoned and rolled up so that it does not take up much space in the man's kit. In the old days the top coat was reversible. One side was white and the other grey and green in patches. But that was also a mistake. The coat had to be soft inside, like a woman's skin, but on the outside it had to be as rough as rhinoceros hide. That is why the top coats are no longer reversible. They are soft inside and rough on the outside. And they are light grey in colour, like last year's grass or dirty snow. It's a very well-chosen colour. But in case of great need a white camouflage smock can be worn over the coat.”