I own quite a library of reference books and some of my favorites are from Osprey Publishing. Last week they released Osprey Elite 216, “Vietnam War US & Allied Combat Equipments” by Gordon L Rottman and illustrated by Adam Hook. In my collection, I’ve got books going back to the 80s by Rottman and it’s great to see him still in the game.
Right off the bat, I’ll acknowledge that this selection isn’t the definitive work on the subject. This is mainly due to the format of the Elite Series. However, while there are several other in-depth works on Vietnam-era load Carriage out there, “Vietnam War US & Allied Combat Equipments” is a welcome addition to my library.
For one thing, it covers both US and Allied gear in one volume. In fact, they’ve packed a whole lot of information in these 64 pages. If you need a quick reference for mid-century load carrying gear (including specialist items), this is the one to get. They are all there; M1956, early-war M-1961 USMC Load Carriage, M-1967 (Army and USMC variants), LINCLOE, SF-specific items, and ANZAC Systems (’37 and ’44 pattern webbing) as well as indigenous systems used by RVN forces. What’s more, packs, shelters and sleep systems are also accounted for.
Additionally, the author and illustrator do a great job of offering multiple views of the equipment. Not only do they offer period photos of the items in use, but they supplement this with studio shots of artifacts for comparison. The icing on the cake is the series of excellent illustrations which bring the gear to life.
One thing I wish Osprey would do is offer up the artwork from their books as order on demand prints. They’d make great artwork for mancaves as well as going away gifts for military units.
You can order your copy from www.amazon.com/Vietnam-Allied-Combat-Equipments-Elite.
Tags: Osprey Publishing
Ahhh- the pen gun flare…
Had an NCO shoot a pen flare into the TMP side view mirror..Ah, the good ol’ days.
I snagged a copy hot off the presses too. I suspect we have a lot of the same books, but what other references do you suggest on the subject?
U.S. Army Uniforms of the Vietnam War by Shelby L Stanton, cannot recommend highly enough.
I’ll have to grab one, it’s too reasonably priced to pass.
At last count I had 86 Osprey books on my shelf, it is the 1st thing I look for in any used book store. I served with Rottman in the LRRPS many moons ago. CSM (ret) J.
Great books. Great idea about selling the art work. Surprised they haven’t done it.
You can get your hands on artwork from the Osprey books. Go to the Osprey website, https://ospreypublishing.com, and create an account. You get a 24 hour free trial to view books and artwork online. You can download images direct to your device. Once the trial is up, there’s a fee, depending on what level of membership you choose. Gold is $10 a month and you get access to approx 7000 images and 30% discount on all purchases.
I strongly second the art prints.
Hands down some of the best books on military subjects. They have something for almost all military fetishes.
I HAVE the pen flare launcher, but where can one purchase refill flares at/from?
I contacted a couple of companies and the civilian pen flare/”bear banger” type flares don’t work or aren’t compatible with the US Mil launcher.
I thought it’d be easy to get refills, otherwise I would never have used all my damn flares up…hindsight.
Five canteens of water…man, I bet those guys could never carry enough water humping it through the jungle, with a full ammo load. I talked to some USMC vets from Vietnam who told me that they would routinely carry 2,000 rounds in belts of ammo for their Pigs when they were out in the bush on patrols lasting several days.
only 2 are for water. they would use canteen pouches to carry ammo or grenades