680th Glider Field Artillery uniforms.

did the glider field artillery soldiers wear a field uniform more similar to the infantry or the paratroopers?

i tried a search but didn't really turn up any answers.

forgive my ignorance as i'm pretty new here.

thanks.

 

also curious what color piping they would've worn on their garrison caps.

 

Infantry.

EM - light blue

EM Badge = dark blue roundel edged in red - white glider (aligned right to left) over white parachute

Steve W.

 

so, they'd have likely worn a standard M-1 helmet as well?

 

Sorry, it's been a long day! I was thinking of gliderborne infantry. If you look in the photos in The Last Drop you'll find several examples of what your Grandfather would have worn in the field.

Steve W.

 

thank you (again).

apologies for so many questions... i'm very anxious to learn as much as i can about his service history, etc. and really appreciate the insight.

 

Infantry. One of the big gripes the glider troops had with uniforms was they didn't get the "jump boots" but were instead issued shoes and gaiters like the rest of the Army.

 

By late '44 they were wearing double-buckle boots.

Steve W.

 

That would be the short boot with leather or canvas short gaiter. Same thing. The glider troops felt slighted because they didn't get the high topped boot like the paratroopers who got to blouse their trousers instead.

 

in re-visiting this thread / thought, i have a pic of my grandfather wearing a garrison cap with a patch like this one:



well, at least similar in design but, i'm not sure of the exact colors as i've seen this in blue with white stitching listed as 'infantry' and red with white stitching listed as 'artillery'...

 

For early artillery and engineer glider units, the cap badge should be a white glider within a white circle on red background. The piping for the garrison cap should be red ( arty ). Depending if he's an officer or an EM, the cap should be worn on one side or another of the garrison cap, the glider always facing front. The late para glider badge ( glider over white parachute ) appeared, if I remember well, around 1943 in various versions, but you'd better stick to the colors of artillery : White on red background.

 

You can't tell, you'll need to research the 680th. It all varied from unit to unit.