Original Items: Only One Grouping Available. This is a fantastic grouping perfect for the BAR gunner that is missing his kit! All pieces appear to be in original, unmodified, condition, and show signs of honest use and storage wear that has accumulated over the last several decades. Most will have additional issue markings added at the arsenal or by the soldiers in various places.

The United States Army in World War II had a distinct advantage over the Axis when it came to equipment. Both in terms of quality and quantity the power of American industry kept the GI’s well supplied.

For a Soldier, equipment is a matter of survival. Even something as simple as a button can make the difference between victory and defeat if it fails to function properly at the wrong time. For this reason Soldiers have a strong tendency to become attached to equipment they like, and to modify or discard equipment they find unreliable or useless. Among the Infantry, who have to carry their equipment wherever they go, this tendency is even stronger.

Soldiers must carry everything they need for combat operations with them at all times. Individual load carrying equipment is designed to allow the Soldier to carry a basic load of ammunition, food, water, and first-aid gear. The exact make-up of this load varies from conflict to conflict. In more modern times the load has grown to include additional equipment such as gas masks, maps, compasses, and radios. Because of the cost of replacing equipment for Soldiers is high, equipment is usually replaced in phases, with front-line troops receiving the new equipment first. Support units typically receive equipment later as older equipment wears out or becomes obsolete. Because of this, Soldiers in World War II went to war using several different versions of the basic load bearing gear.

This Is Just A Few Of The Items They Carried Featured In This Grouping:
- M1928 Field Pack Haversack, Meat Can Pouch, Messkit With All Utensils and M1943 Entrenching Tool and Carrier: Now this is an incredible, near complete setup! It’s not everyday where you find all the field necessities all attached properly to the haversack.

Markings and Dates Present:
- Haversack: VARIED MFG. CO. 1942
- Meat Can Pouch: Unmarked
- Messkit: M.A.CO. 1942
- E-Tool: Ames 1945 / Carrier: Breslee MFG. Co. 1944

-M-1918 BAR M-1942 Ammunition Belt With M36 Suspenders, First Aid Pouch With Bandage and M1911 Holster: Another wonderful set up that was the basis of loadout carried by the designated B-A-R gunner.

Marking and Dates Present:
- M1918 B-A-R M1942 Ammunition Belt: Both are marked BOYT 42.
- WWI Issue M1911 Leather Holster: G&K 1918 and retains leather leg strap.
- M1936 Suspenders: Marked ATLAS 1942 and has a laundry number; C-5214
- M1942 First Aid Pouch With Unopened Bandage: The pouch is marked The American Awning Company 1943 and the bandage is a Carlisle Model by Bauer and Black.

A lovely group of items that come more than ready for further research and display.

Browning understood the need for a walking fire weapon and developed one that was shoulder fired. It should be noted that at the same time it should be noted that he was also working on the designs for the Browning .30 caliber machine-gun, the M1917 water cooled machine gun that greatly improved on the widely used Maxim design that was already responsible for untold deaths during the First World War.

That shoulder fired weapon was the Browning Machine Rifle, a weapon that ended up being a little more than a traditional automatic rifle but a little less than a light machine gun. Chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge, the weapon was designed to be carried by infantrymen in an assault. Following demonstrations to Congress in Washington, D.C. in 1917, the weapon underwent tests with the U.S. Army Ordnance Department at the Springfield Armory.

American military planners liked what they saw and the BMR was unanimously recommended for immediate adoption. To avoid confusion with the Browning M1917 machinegun the BMR was re-designated M1918 or more officially “Rifle, Caliber .30, Automatic, Browning, M1918.” It was otherwise known as the Browning Automatic Rifle – BAR. Despite what some re-enactors today may suggest or what video games may imply it was never called a “bar” but rather was spelled out phonetically, “B-A-R.”