Featured here are pictures of gear and other items Airborne troops carried. All items are owned by group members. Most are original and some are reproductions. Reproduction items that are featured are as accurate as possible. This is not meant to be a complete archive and will be updated as new items are obtained.

These are four different types of uniforms that were worn by Airborne troops:

The 42 unreinforced:

The 42 reinforced:

The 43:

The Class A:

Below, from left to right, are the standard first issue of the Airborne Jumpboot. Made by many manufactures, the cheif maker of this boot was Corcoran who still makes them today. Although issued to other units such as Rangers this was one of the symbols of the Paratrooper. Second is the the M43 Boot which was the standard replacement boot for all armed forces in WWII in late 1944. Some paratroopers did not get these until later, and some chose to keep their original jump boots.Third are the winter over shoes that were issued for enviroments which were cold and or wet.

The M2 Helmet with fixed D-Ring loops. Inside is the M1 Parachutists liner. The main differences between this helmet and the standard were the A straps that were used to attach the chin strap that secured the helmet the the soldier's head during a jump. Paratroopers commonly put the burlap straps through the helmet netting to help with their camoflage. The First aid pouch was also often secured to the helmet netting.

These are the 36 field suspenders and standard issue belts. The belts from top to bottom: The two 10 pocket ammunition belts were used for both the M1 Garand and The Springfield. The top belt is a WWI carry over and the second belt is WWII issue with a rigger puch attached to hold extra ammunition. The third belt is another WWI carry over web belt, and the last belt is WWII issue.

These are the different types of E-Tools (Entrenching Tools) that Airborne troopers carried. From Left to right: The M1910 T Handled Shovel (shortend), The Pick Mattock M1910, and The M1943 Folding Shovel. The Pick Mattock was very popular with Airborne troops due to its compact size and versitiliy.

From left to right: a WWI carry over .45 Pistol ammo holder, a WWII issue .45 Pistol ammo holder, A Carbine ammunition pouch, and on the bottom left a bandage pouch.

The first aid pouch pictured was known as a parachutist's first aid pouch but was not exclusive to paratroopers. It contained a toruniquet, a morphine syrette, a bandage, and sulfadiazine packet.

From left to right: The GP bag, a standard issue item for carrying extra ammo, grenades, ect. Next are the Jeep Cap and Winter Gloves. Finally there is the standard issue rain coat that was carried by all WWII paratroopers on D-Day. Below are members of the unit wearing the Rain Coat and Rain Poncho.

The Carbine leg scabbard was attached to the web belt on the paratroopers right leg. Used to secure the weapon in jumps. It was common to have the riggers attach extra magazine pouches to the scabbard.

The Griswald bag was used in early campagnes and Normandy. The paratrooper would put his Garand in the bag field stripped (in three peices) and secured to the parachute straps with a metal ring. This turned out to be a very bad idea as the soldier would have to assemble his weapon being surrounded by the enemy. It was common for Paratroopers to loose the bag and or pieces of his rifle durring the jump.

T5 Reserve Parachute T5 Parachute and Harness

B4 Life Preserver Commonly called the "Mae West." Paratroopers used this life preserver for jumps that were over water.

The TL-122-A flashlight. This model was manufactured by eveready.

The Baily Bridge Bag was well liked by the Airborne because it was made of heavier material and was well suited to carrying things like grenades during a jump.

The MX183PPN2 is a late model Eureka Beacon bag and was used to carry the Eureka Transmitter that Pathfinder Airborne troops used to signal incoming planes as to where their drop zones were located.

The British Leg Bag. Another good idea that did not work in reality. This was clipped to the leg strap D ring of the parachue harness. The idea was that the bag would hit the ground before the paratrooper and he would then retrive the items in the bag (morter, radio, weapons, ammo, ect.). In most if not all cases the Para's were dropped at such a fast speed at Normandy that the bag would be ripped from their leg and dropped far off in the French country side below. Needless to say this item was not used after D-Day.

The Model BC-227 Signal Lamp was another device used by paratroopers to signal incoming aircraft.

The BC-611 Handie-Talk. To the right the AN-190 homing antenna. It, along with the BC-1387 coupler, were attached to the BC-611 to find the approximate direction of a transmitter tuned to the freq. of the bc-611. (pictured in both collapsed and extended positions). The BC-1000 Field Radio (Also known as the SCR-300) and its handset. On the far right it the BG-160 Rubber Radio Carry bag which was used for the Normandy invasion

The M8 Flare Gun was carried by Airborne troops and was used for signaling aircraft among other things.

The M3 holster used for carrying the .45 caliber service automatic pistol by Colt. The Model 1916 .45 caliber pistol holster.

The Gas Brassard was used for the Normandy landings. This unique item would change color in the presence of harmful gas. Many Paratroopers did not use this item as it came with the M5 mask in it's bag which was usually never opened. Also, the gas cape which was used for cover from hazardous gasses

From left to right: The M2 training gas mask and bag. This mask was used early in the war in North Africa and the Italian Campaign, but was also a favorite later in the war because of its light weight. Next, The Army Assault Gas Mask and bag. The mask was compact and the bag was water tight. This bag saved many Paratrooper's lives in the D-Day landings because of its buoyancy when the soldiers landed in the flooded fields of Normandy. Paratroops continued to use this bag well after the gas mask was gone for things like demolitions equipment due to its resistance to water.

3 Pocket Medic Bag, Issued late war. Medic Harness, twin bags, and some contents. On the far right is a late war med kit.

Here is a sampling of Demolitions equipment used by Paratroopers.  12 or more were carried of the 1/2 pound of TNT (the yellow container), and 6 of the 1 pound TNT block (green container).

On the left is the standard cleaning kit for the M1 garand. On the right are the FM21-100 basic field manual and the FM3130 Airborne field manual

These were some of the personal items that an Airborne soldier might have carried:

WWII 1944 Ford Jeep.

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