The change over from DPM to MTP saw many items of perfectly serviceable army equipment surplussed out long before they needed to, often when they were still brand new. The other arms holster tonight is one such example, being completely unissued but still available for a few pounds as it has been superseded by the same item in the new camouflaged:
This holster is a hard shell type that offers better protection than some of the earlier PLCE designs that were made of a soft material. The holster has room for a standard service automatic, with a tab going over the backstrap of the pistol and securing with a press stud to prevent the gun from coming out:
A spare magazine is carried in a small pouch along one edge of the holster:
And another web tab and fastener help hold this secure:
The inside of the holster is stiffened to protect the pistol, being clearly visible here, even without a weapon being carried:
The rear of the holster has a belt loop that can be size adjusted with a pair of press studs:
Beneath this is the label for the item, here dating it to 2007:
Two fabric tapes are sewn to the muzzle end of the holster on the rear:
These are to allow the holster to be slung on a shoulder rig and straps passed through them to secure around the wearers chest and to a waist belt. A standard PLCE triangular buckle is attached to the top of the holster allowing the PLCE web set to be used as a method of carriage as well:
The holster was available in both right and left handed versions and other accessories included top flaps:
8465-99-242-8998 Left Hand
8465-99-306-0049 Right Hand
Flap, DPM, R/H 8465-99-665-9704.
Flap, DPM, L/H. 8465-99-862-0109.
Harness, Holster, DPM 8465-99-978-5366.
Strap, Waist, (Other Arms) 8465-99-730-2314.
Strap, Chest (Other Arms) 8465-99-132-1396
An identical version of the holster is also available in the more modern MTP fabric.
The mouth has a metal reinforcement to prevent the machete cutting the fabric as it is fitted into or removed from the sheath:
A simple strap is provided to retain the machete. This is wrapped around the handle and secured back to the sheath with a press-stud:
A small pocket is fitted to the front of the sheath to fit a sharpening stone into:
The stone is retained by a small flap lid secured with a press stud. The sheath has a shoulder strap fitted to the top, and a waist strap that can be passed around the body, securing with a plastic fastex clip:
Alternatively the sheath can be fitted to the PLCE belt, a belt loop fastening being sewn on the rear:
Opening this belt loop up there are two T-Bar type fastening which engage with the loops in the back of the PLCE belt to prevent it from slipping around the belt:
The label on the rear indicates that this sheath was made in 1993:
This design of sheath is still in production and versions made in MTP camouflage are available to match the latest webgear in use with the British Army.
In this case the fabric is quite badly faded, but it would originally have been the same vibrant greens and browns as the other pieces of PLCE we have covered on the blog over the years. The pad attached to the belt through a series of nylon tapes, secured with plastic Fastex clips:
The side of the pad that rests against the body is padded and has a perforated fabric to help keep the wearer cool:
Sadly the stores label in this example has been cut out but it is clear where it once sat. The stores catalogue itself indicates the NSN number for this piece and its unit price:
Hip pads were very popular with soldiers, one notes:
The pouch is made from DPM cordua nylon and is a large rectangular shape designed to be attached to either side of a bergan. The pouches have a heavy duty zip:
That runs up both sides of the pouch on the rear:
These provide a secure fitting to the bergan and are used when assembling two of the pouches into a day sack as seen in the previous post. Also on the rear of the pouch are two labels, one is a standard stores label indicating that this pouch was manufactured in 1999:
Whilst the second is just plain green to allow the owner to mark his name and number, in this case for a Sergeant Sims:
The pouch has a capacity of ten litres, but lacks any form of internal division and is secured at the top by a heavy duty metal zip:
Four loops are sewn to both the front and rear face of the pouch:
These allow extra equipment to be attached with bungees or string to the outside of the pouch. To allow the pouch to fit to the yoke, male and female fastex clips are attached to the top of the pouch:
And the bottom:
If I can find where I put my yoke I will have a go at assembling the set as a day sack, I also need to try and find the full bergan these attach to at some stage- although it is such a large thing I will have to think carefully about how I would store it if I did get one!
A large mesh panel is provided on the rear to help provide strength whilst not overheating the wearer:
The shoulder strap part of the yoke is made from DPM infra-red resistant Cordua nylon in a DPM pattern and is padded for comfort:
The two rucksack pouches attach using Fastex clips, which are position around the yoke in the appropriate positions:
A waist strap is also provided:
In use this tended to be used to pass around the pouches to help hold them steady and prevent them from flopping around whilst the wearer was running.
I suspect that this yoke has never been issued as it appears as good as the day it was manufactured!
This piece of PLCE is unbelievably cheap- I paid just £2.99 for an example posted to me from eBay. I now need to find a pair of the rucksack pouches and see how hard it is to actually assemble…
To accompany this grenade, a special pouch was created as part of the PLCE webbing systems. Originally in olive green, this carrier was later produced in DPM:
The original design was a full pouch, this DPM version though is just a skeleton pouch. Two white plastic cups in the base of the carrier hold the noses of the grenades:
Two little lids are provided, one for each grenade:
Straps underneath the lid help hold the tails of the rifle grenades secure:
The pouches are designed to be used in a number of ways and so the back of them is very ‘busy’:
A flap is provided on the back for a belt to pass through so the pouch can be worn on the belt:
Under the flap are a pair of ‘T’ bar fasteners that lock into the belt of the PLCE system:
Primarily however it was expected that a pair of pouches would be zipped to a bergan in place of one of the standard side pouches. In order to do this a heavy duty zip is fitted round the outside rear of the pouch:
Fastex clips are also fitted to allow a shoulder strap to be fitted or to attach the pouches to the day sack yoke:
This particular pouch dates back to 1997:
The muzzle launched rifle grenade was only a short lived concept, the much smaller and more effective underslung launcher replacing it and rendering these pouches obsolete. As such they are readily available on the surplus market and a cheap addition to the collection.
The cutters fit in like this:
Due to the heavy duty nature of the contents, the top flap of this pouch is secured with both a press stud and a strip of Velcro:
This particular example was manufactured in 2004 as indicated on the label sewn onto the underside of the top flap:
The back of the pouch will be familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of PLCE webbing:
The small loop is to pass a steadying string through. Above this is the main belt loop, secured with press studs. Lifting this flap reveals the plastic T-bars that engage with the small pockets on a PLCE belt:
I don’t believe this pouch is too hard to find, but as with this example you might have to source the cutters themselves separately and then put the pair back together again!