Item Description
Original Items. Only One Group Available. This is a fantastic opportunity to add a complete D-Day mannequin to your collection. This well-curated set is put-together to represent a member of the Engineer Special Brigade. The 1st Engineer Special Brigade participated in the landings in Sicily and Italy before joining the 5th and 6th Engineer Special Brigades for the invasion of Normandy. This set comes with the mannequin, making for a great instant display!
The items include:
- Refurbished Front Seam Fixed Bale M1 Helmet with 96A heat stamp and Firestone liner. Shell and liner are repainted, chinstraps are reproduction, and suspension may be as well. Markings are replicated for the Special Engineer Brigade.
- Very heavily worn M41 Field jacket with Special Engineer Brigade shoulder patch and Seahorse patch on chest. There are paint stains across the uniform with some tearing as well. The zipper is marked Talon and the interior lining may have been replaced at some point.
- Original WWII Army HBT Shirt and pants with star buttons, heavily worn overall.
- Army Shirt under HBT shirt.
- WWII M1926 D-Day Inflatable Flotation Belt Life Preserver, still closes well. By Firestone.
- M1910 Haversack with laundry numbers inside, stuffed with plastic bag to give form.
- WWII M1 Garand 10 inch Bayonet by Union, Fork & Hoe with M7 Scabbard. Good shape overall, connected to haversack.
- M1936 Pistol Belt rig with M1911 Holster, M1911 Magazine pouch, First aid web pouch dated 1944 with Carlisle bandage inside, and US Army M1938 Lensatic Compass By Superior Magneto Co. With Pouch.
- WWII M1938 Canvas Map Case with intact pencils, pen, and plastic grid insert. Great set.
- D-Day Invasion E7 Assault Carrier for M5 Gas Mask with Army shirt stuffed inside to give it form. No mask.
This is a tremendous set of items on a great mannequin making for an incredible display. The helmet is refurbished and repainted but otherwise all items appear to be original to the period. A great set, ready for further research and display.
The History of the Engineer Special Brigades
Engineer Special Brigades were amphibious forces of the United States Army developed during World War II. Initially designated engineer amphibian brigades, they were redesignated engineer special brigades in 1943. The 1st, 5th, and 6th Engineer Special Brigades were assigned to the European Theater of Operations. The 1st Engineer Special Brigade participated in the landings in Sicily and Italy before joining the 5th and 6th Engineer Special Brigades for the invasion of Normandy.
The 2nd, 3rd and 4th Engineer Special Brigades were assigned to the Southwest Pacific Area, and participated in the campaigns in the Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, Leyte, Luzon, the Southern Philippines and Borneo campaign. The 1st Engineer Special Brigade fought in both theaters of the war, participating in the Okinawa campaign near the end of the war. The 2nd Engineer Special Brigade remained active after the war, and served in the Korean War before being inactivated in 1955.
At the onset of direct American involvement in World War II, it became apparent that the United States would need a large strategic and tactical amphibious warfare capability. In 1941, the amphibious forces were divided into two corps: one in the Atlantic, and one in the Pacific. Both were combined United States Army and United States Marine Corps commands, administered by the United States Navy. The Amphibious Corps, Atlantic Fleet, consisted of the 1st Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division, while the Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet, consisted of the 3rd Infantry Division and the 2nd Marine Division.
In April 1942, the United States and United Kingdom agreed on plans for an emergency invasion of Northwest Europe in the late northern summer of 1942 (Operation Sledgehammer) that would be conducted in the event of signs that the Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse, or that the Germans were withdrawing from Western Europe, possibly due to an internal coup or collapse. This would be followed by a full-scale crossing of the English Channel in mid-1943 (Operation Roundup). These were envisaged as shore-to-shore operations. The US Navy's policy at this time of only taking volunteers meant that it was short of manpower, and those personnel it had available were mainly allocated warships and the amphibious ships required for ship-to-shore operations. This meant that the landing craft for Sledgehammer would have to be operated by the British and the US Army.
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