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Post by horsesoldier176 on Dec 2, 2010 0:32:12 GMT -5
The following picture was sent to me, and identified as Soviet Penal Battalion conscripts. The first thing I noticed was that their telogreikas are not quilted, I then noticed that they are wearing a non-standard ushanka. I forwarded the picture to another friend, and he said at first he thought they might be Finnish troops, but did some research, and did not find any reference to a version of the telogreika in Finnish service. He then concluded that they may be, as identified, Penal troops, who got the stuff that didn't pass inspection for regular service, or that it may have been purposely made different so as to easily distinguish them at a distance. What are your thoughts? Boridin  |
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Post by ashgld15 on Dec 5, 2010 9:08:51 GMT -5
No, they are most likely not Finns.They might be Penal or even a militia of sorts.The items they are wearing didn't fail any QA test, they just appear to be intentionaly sub-standard or at least simply "economised"(is that a word?).I think I've seen things like this being worn in other photos.I can possibly research into something that might be available to me and let you know.
Eric
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Post by horsesoldier176 on Dec 6, 2010 13:41:15 GMT -5
Tovarisch Erich;
That is part of why I accept the "suggestion" that they are, or could be Penal Battalion troops.
Boridin
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Post by sovietsvt on Dec 10, 2010 15:32:56 GMT -5
I think they are factory/worker militia.
SVT
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Post by horsesoldier176 on Dec 11, 2010 16:31:34 GMT -5
I think they are factory/worker militia. SVT ...and that is certainly a possibility as well. Boridin |
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Post by crazydima on Dec 13, 2010 23:29:32 GMT -5
Tovarischi,
If I had to venture a guess based on the limited information I too would lean towards militia or factory workers.
I like the look ofthe coats!!!
Sincerely,
Dima
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Post by horsesoldier176 on Dec 14, 2010 13:46:08 GMT -5
Tovarischi; Part of the reason this came up, is that one of my guys bought the telogrika set offered by Sportsman's guide a couple years back, and it is non-quilted. He was going to throw them away, but I talked him into holding on to them, for now. I have been hunting through pictures to see if, and how common the non-quilted ones were. So far, the answer seems to be pretty rare, and not very many in regular Red Army units, but they do seem to have been issued to penal troops, and other "irregular" forces. Any input will be appreciated. Boridin Tovarischi, If I had to venture a guess based on the limited information I too would lean towards militia or factory workers. I like the look ofthe coats!!! Sincerely, Dima |
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rmli
Penal Battalion Conscript
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Post by rmli on Jul 24, 2011 1:39:56 GMT -5
Has anyone come up with an answer yet? I have a set of non quilted telogreika bottoms from The Sportsmans Guide, too. One individual informed me that they were Afgan War issue.
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bef
Junior Sergeant
In Mother Russian, A Big Man has a Big Hat.
Posts: 93 
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Post by bef on Jul 25, 2011 10:18:20 GMT -5
Has anyone come up with an answer yet? I have a set of non quilted telogreika bottoms from The Sportsmans Guide, too. One individual informed me that they were Afgan War issue. A Declassified Image of the Garment would assist Comrade, it sounds like Winter Work Uniform of the 1970-80's, does it have a collar?. |
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rmli
Penal Battalion Conscript
Posts: 7
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Post by rmli on Jul 25, 2011 12:25:08 GMT -5
Kind of hard to find a collar on a pair of pants. But considering that they came from Sportsmans Guide, I wouldn't be surprised if they were from the 70's - 80's. At least they were cheap, so I'm not out much cash.
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Post by horsesoldier176 on Jul 25, 2011 13:19:49 GMT -5
I would say that you could use them, regardless. Unlike most of the rest of the armies involved in the war, the Soviets relied far more on cottage industry, and as such, the acceptance standards for issue items was far lower. Keep in mind if Collective A was making Vatnie Sharovari (the padded pants for the telogrika set), and they ran low on thread, rather than not produce anything, they might just reduce what they stitched, so as to at least continue to put something out.
Boridin
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rmli
Penal Battalion Conscript
Posts: 7
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Post by rmli on Jul 25, 2011 18:51:25 GMT -5
I like your theory. But is there anything solid so that the stitch commisar will not eat me up?
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Post by horsesoldier176 on Jul 29, 2011 11:46:24 GMT -5
I like your theory. But is there anything solid so that the stitch commissar will not eat me up? The only thing to permanently prevent such verbal assaults, is to assassinate your Commissar. There is plenty of precedent for it. Boridin |
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