MILITARIA

Call it a MASK unit. This faux-military “Minor Surgery” kit from Voodoo Tactical® comes in a 7" x 5" x 2-1/2" OD canvas pouch containing: 6” wound probe; 3-1/2” stitch scissors; 3-1/2” tweezers; 5-1/2” bandage scissors; 5” straight and curved forceps; a #3 scalpel handle with disposable blade; pupil flashlight with mm gauge; alcohol pads; antiseptic towelettes; some 5/0 monofilament; and a gram of antibiotic ointment. And remember: reenacting actual combat surgery without a license is still not allowed.

Don't jump out of an Air France flight without your surplus French paratrooper helmet. Like military steel pots everywhere, but with a more complicated leather chin and head strap system, and some foam padding because of parabouncing around. Adjustable for tete size with a hook-n-loop band. In gloss black with a front section that's had a badge or unit emblem scraped off, so you might want to do a touch-up, or hit the internet for French insignia. Circa 1980s, we think.

From the Chinese military, this olive drab canvas recon chest rig is made for carrying SKS rounds. We think it’d also be great for fishing lures, balloons (if you’re a balloon artist or a water-balloon tosser), various nails and screws, bolts and washers and probably a hundred other uses. Business part measures 24" wide x 5-3/4" with (6) 4-1/4” deep pockets, (2) at 2” wide and (4) at 1-1/2” wide, all with flaps that close with little plastic clips. Has 4 holders for items in the 7" long range. (Photo shows 7" long tubes inserted) Fits via adjustable crossed shoulder straps and a buckle. We also think it would hold a nice assortment of snacks for hands-free hiking.

A great 3-piece aluminum Czech mess kit. Includes two pots with fold away handles and a lid/tray. It's used but in great condition. limited quantity. 6" X 3-1/4" closed with an inner pot of 5-1/4" x 3" deep.

But no tent. Or shelter half, as they say in the army, although we don't know whose army these are from.  You get a 3-section, 44" tent pole plus (3) steel stakes, all well used and all in an OD camo pouch. Your bivouac partner is supposed to have the other pole and pegs, so maybe he has your half of the pup tent, too.

Nope--we thought it was a theodolite-- a surveying instrument for measuring angles in horizontal and vertical planes, but it seems we missed the mark. With the help of a knowledgeable Surpie, we’re reasonably sure this olive drab apparatus is an artillery sight for a Chinese howitzer. (See, even we don’t know everything.) Measures approx 7-1/2" x 5" x 4" with a plethora of moving parts: optical head that pivots up and down; focal knob calibrated from 0 to -90 and +10 to + 80; horizontal and vertical adjustments with a locking lever; and a 1-5/8" dia ball with a 1/2" hole in the bottom for a mount. Weighs in at over 5 lbs. The paint is chipping, but you would too at this age.

Talk inside the mask. This microphone, designed to fit inside an oxygen mask, is brand new, made for the US Air Force in the mid-1980s. NOS microphone, dynamic type M-133/U. Manufacturers part # 4500-WBC DLA900-85-C-098. Cable has MIL-C-5898C-WD-34U USAF and U-173/U connectors. Sorry, folks, that's all we know.

Get in touch with your inner Schweizer with an aluminum Swiss military canteen cup. Surplus, and yours might even have a genuine Swiss dent or two. In a perfect oblong, unlike the U.S. kidney shape, they hold 14 oz and measure 4" x 2-3/4” x approx 4” tall with a pair of 2-1/2” folding handles that work better than the U.S. cup handle. All in all, the Swiss seem to have been way ahead of us, canteen-cup-wise.

The kind that you hammer into the ground for to hold up your tent. Make that shelter-half, because these are from Uncle. Measure 12" long x 1-3/4" wide in a V-shape, in olive drab steel with a 1/4” bore for your rope, and shoulders to wrap the rope around. Marked 97403-132227 E0136 MFR 92398, which is a lotta numbers for a tent stake, but that’s the gummint for you.

From the mid-20th-century German military, this is a fully functional field phone. Weighs in at 8.2 lbs, and comes self-contained in a 10-1/4" x 6-3/4" x 4-1/4" dark brown Bakelite case with a handset on a 4-foot cord, a 52” 2-pin jumper, 25” TT plug cord, ringer crank and a battery holder for the pair of D-cells you’ll need to add. Side has slots for the carrying cord that we don’t have, and the inside lid has a full schematic. Should work with standard stereo speaker wire, and we’d get a pair of these phones if we were you. Small quantity available. These are surplus and have wear and tear on them. We will pick the nicest of the lot. 

Or peg o’ our tent, or something. Our each is a set of (6) aluminum pegs, 10" long x 1/2" OD x 3/8" ID cut at 30 degrees at the bottom for driving-into-the-ground efficiency, and drilled at the top to take 50 feet of 1/16” dia white nylon polyester rope (included). We’re pretty sure this was all used to stake something down, we just don’t know what. Whaddya got?

These aluminum canteen cups are definitely from somebody’s army, we just don’t know whose. They hold 20 oz and measure 3-3/4” tall x 5-1/8” ID in a kidney shape with a pair of fold-out 3” x 2-3/8” handles on one side. Most of them have some rust-preventing grease on them, so a good cleaning before use is advisable, but when isn’t it?

Keep your powder dry and your canteen cold. Can’t help you with that powder thing, but this insulated camo canteen holder folds together and holds via hood-and-loop strips. Has a 5/8” ID grommet and a big hook-and-loop patch on the back to secure it. Measures approx 3-1/2" x 2-1/2" x 5" inside with room for adjusting.