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THE WWII 2ND RANGER BATTALION IMPRESSION

If you are new to reenacting or are simply interested in the clothing and equipment of the WWII period, some of the information below may assist you in completing a basic impression or provide a basic understanding of the period gear.

This is not a complete list of every item that may have been issued to or aquired by a WWII Ranger.

BACKGROUND First, it is important to understand the timeframe involved as it relates to the units history. The 2nd Battalions first combat action was the D Day Landing on June 6th 1944, so most uniforms and equiprment will be of "late war" style .Differences among the several Ranger Battalions in the European and Mediteranean Theatres would be quite noticeable, Note that the 1st Ranger Battalion had been in action since the invasion of North Africa in November of 1942 (some individual members saw action even earlier than that in the Dieppe Raid). Their manner of dress was heavily influenced by the British Commando units who trained them. Near the end of the North African Campaign, the 3rd and 4th Battalions were activated with a cadre of 2 companies each from the First Battalion in preparation for the invasion of Sicily in July of 1943. While these 3 battalions were fighting in Sicily and Italy, the 2nd and 5th Battalions were training in Ireland and England. Therefore, gear and uniforms would be adapted to the specific climate in which the units operated as well as the timeframes involved.The "Darby" Rangers would have used more "early war" gear and uniforms while the "Rudder" Rangers would have carried more "late war" gear. Although related, large differences would be evident between the Battalions battle dress, with the closest similarities between the 2nd and 5th and then again among the 1st 3rd and 4th. A poor analogy would be to consider 1st 3rd and 4th as brothers who were cousins to the 2nd and 5th.

1 set of model 1943 HBT pants and jacket.
1 M38 wool shirt
1 enlisted mans belt with open face buckle
1 M-41 OD field jacket
1 M1 helmet and liner
1 pair Corcoran style Jump (Ranger) Boots
1 HBT Cap or wool "Jeep" Cap
1 Overseas cap with infantry blue piping
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Going a little deeper...

1 Ranger Assault Vest
1 Pair M-44 Goggles
Tanker Jacket
1 Wool 5 button Sweater
1 Complete wool uniform
1 set leggings and rough out boots
1 GI issued watch

Note: The D Day Ranger impression would
include the "Ranger Diamond" shoulder patch on left shoulder of Jacket and Wool Shirt.
2nd Ranger Battalion "Scroll" patch would not apear until Autumn of 1944.

The rear of the M! Helmet would be painted with an orange diamond approximately 3 inches wide by 1-3/4 inches tall with a black "2" painted inside.

1 M1 Garand Rifle (with blank adapter)*
1 M-38 Cartridge Belt
1 M-28 Haversack w/ meatcan pouch
1 Complete mess Kit
1 M-1910 T-hande E-Tool
1 Canteen and cup w/ cover
1 M1 bayonet (10 or 16 inch variation)
1 First aid kit
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Advanced

1 M-5 Assault Gas Mask
1 M-7 Rubberized Gas Mask Bag
1 US Navy issued M-26 inflateable Life Belt
1 Wire cutters and pouch
1 Compass and pouch
1 Thermite grenade (inert)
2 Fragmentation Grenades (inert)
1 Smoke Grenade (inert)
1 GP bag
1 Map Case (Senior NCO or officer)
1 1911 pistol
1 1911 Holster
1 pistol belt w/ magazine pouch
1 Musette bag
1 Set m-1936 suspenders
1 Satchel Charge (inert)
1 Poncho or raincoat

Folks,
As some of you know, LTC (retired) Robert Page Gary is a friend of mine and is an honorary member of Fox Co. along with Darby Ranger PFC Noel Dye.
For those of you that don't know, he is also known as PFC Robert Gary, Able Co. 2nd Rangers (Rudder's Rangers).
Gary hit the beach at Omaha, June 6th , 1944. He was hit by machine gun fire right after dropping of the ramp of the Higgins Boat. He managed to make it all the way to the seawall before passing out. After recovering from his wounds in England, he rejoined his unit to fight with the Rangers until the end of the War.
I asked him, via his daughter about the boots and uniforms worn by the Rangers on D-Day. I think you will find the answer very interesting!
SGT Colman
Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you, trying to catch my dad between naps and appointments isn't always easy.. He said can only speak for A Company, and that Company A chose to wear their low top boots with leggings as they were just issued the new paratrooper high tops and wanted to keep them nice as they knew they would be getting them wet in the water. (I found that very cute and very optimistic, considering what they were up against once they landed). He knows that some of the companies chose to wear the new boots anyway.
The uniform as he remembers he wore was a "treated" uniform. Treated to protect them from possible gas attacks by the Germans and thinks it might have been made of something other than wool. He did say they issued them wool uniforms which they did wear in combat, but he is not real sure what the fabric was on D-Day but thinks it may have been some sort of fatigue. He does remember it was treated but lost its effect as soon as it got wet