1980's dpm set

[onecat]

I was wondering if any anyone had a set of the canadian made dpm combats.  Issued in the 1980's.  If so and you have a set that will fit a 44' chest and 34 " waist i would be interested in buying them.

thanks.

 

[Bartok5]

Radiohead,

The once plentiful mid-1970's DPM Combat Uniforms have become increasingly difficult to locate.  And when you do run across them, they tend to be in "Size 4" (medium regular) and faded/frayed condition.  Your best bet is to search eBay "Collectibles, Militaria" on a weekly basis using the search words "Camouflage", "Camoflage", "Camo", "DPM", etc.  They occasional set turns up for sale there.

There was a mint condition shirt for sale at "Westley Surplus" in New Westminster BC for $50 when I visited this July.  They may still have it on the rack.  I was tempted to pick it up as a spare trade item, but had higher priority purchases at the time.  Try Canada 411 for their number, as they don't have a web-site.  You may have to give the owner a link to the "North America" page of web-site so that he sends you the correct item rather than some generic Brit DPM.

Do a search on this site under "Para Smock", and you should find a lengthy past discussion regarding the development and use of the Canadian DPM Combat Uniform.  I covered its history in relation to the Canadian DPM Para Smock.  The uniform was produced by Peerless Garments for the Tanzanian Army circa 1975.  It underwent wide-spread trials in the Canadian Army during the mid 1970's, but was rejected as a result of inadequate performance in comparison to the existing OG combats.  Canadian surplus stores were full of mint condition contract over-run uniforms in the late 1970s/early 1980s, but unfortunately those supplies have long since dried up. 

Good luck in your quest.

Cheers,

 

[Loachman]

The uniform was produced by Peerless Garments for the Tanzanian Army circa 1975.  It underwent wide-spread trials in the Canadian Army during the mid 1970's, but was rejected as a result of inadequate performance in comparison to the existing OG combats.  Canadian surplus stores were full of mint condition contract over-run uniforms in the late 1970s/early 1980s, but unfortunately those supplies have long since dried up.

Okay, I haven't done the search yet, but there are two Canadian DPM combat uniforms of which I am aware.

One was issued for user trials in Gagetown in 1979. It was made from the Brit tropical DPM fabric and had flat chest pockets. I never saw any of that in surplus shops.

The second was made by Peerless and was mostly identical to the version of combat clothing current at that time. The fabric was the same, but printed in DPM of course. It had the mag chest pockets, although they lacked the nylon lining and the hip pockets lacked the mag loops/pockets. It was quite common in surplus shops, as was the plain olive green version which also lacked the nylon pocket linings. I never saw this version issued for trials and as far as I know was produced solely for the surplus market - the lack of nylon lining and brand-new condition in OG or DPM would tend to support this. The fabric was used by a Gagetown rigger to make FMP covers, though, so that was either available in the system or he'd purchased it.

I have a set of the Peerless DPM stuff, but no, I'm not willing to part with it.