World Affairs Board - View Single Post - GI’s gear costs 100 times more than in WWII

braindead · 10-03-2007, 16:42 PM

In the 1940s, a GI went to war with little more than a uniform, weapon, helmet, bedroll and canteen. He carried some 35 pounds of gear that cost $170, according to Army figures.

viewing the original post , one thing came to my mind - according to William Manchester , after WWII had ended a civilian clerk at Quartermaster Corps did some math and discovered a startling thing - average US soldier in WW2 was the heaviest burdened infantryman in all known history - he had carried 84.3 pounds each day . That figure startled apparently many (amongst them some US generals too).
That equipment was - uniform, steel helmet, M1 rifle, knife, canteen , entrench.tool, bayonet, first-aid pouch, web belt , 2 bandoliers of extra ammo , hand grenades , suspender harness + his pack , in pack - poncho, fuses, mess kit, cigarettes, zippo, writing paper, C,K-rations . Plus he had to carry parts of units weapons : BAR or tripod,Browning heavy or med. MG, mortar or its base or their ammo .
Plus he was supposed to carry gas mask , blanket , puppy tent and extra socks but those were thrown away/not issued or not enough for everybody .
AFAIK nowadays only ones to hump this today´s full equipment are the men in A-stan . I wonder how much they like their backpacks ...

10-03-2007, 16:42 PM	#19 (permalink)
braindead Lost in Translation *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 11-30-06 Location: estonia Posts: 1,433 Country:	In the 1940s, a GI went to war with little more than a uniform, weapon, helmet, bedroll and canteen. He carried some 35 pounds of gear that cost $170, according to Army figures. viewing the original post , one thing came to my mind - according to William Manchester , after WWII had ended a civilian clerk at Quartermaster Corps did some math and discovered a startling thing - average US soldier in WW2 was the heaviest burdened infantryman in all known history - he had carried 84.3 pounds each day . That figure startled apparently many (amongst them some US generals too). That equipment was - uniform, steel helmet, M1 rifle, knife, canteen , entrench.tool, bayonet, first-aid pouch, web belt , 2 bandoliers of extra ammo , hand grenades , suspender harness + his pack , in pack - poncho, fuses, mess kit, cigarettes, zippo, writing paper, C,K-rations . Plus he had to carry parts of units weapons : BAR or tripod,Browning heavy or med. MG, mortar or its base or their ammo . Plus he was supposed to carry gas mask , blanket , puppy tent and extra socks but those were thrown away/not issued or not enough for everybody . AFAIK nowadays only ones to hump this today´s full equipment are the men in A-stan . I wonder how much they like their backpacks ... __________________ If i only were so smart yesterday as my wife is today Last edited by braindead : 10-03-2007 at 16:44 PM.