Jungle Trousers

The trousers are made of all cotton poplin or rip-stop poplin in olive green army shade 107. They have two front pockets, two hip pockets, and two bellows cargo leg pockets. A small pocket inside the left cargo pocket was designed to carry a survival kit. The trouser legs have draw cords at the bottom.  

There are 3 standard patterns

1st Pattern: This had exposed buttons, leg ties in thigh pockets, small loops in crotch for the leg ties and came in Poplin only.
2nd Pattern: This had concealed buttons. The rest was the same as 1st Pattern.
3rd Pattern: This had concealed buttons, no leg ties or loops, and came in Poplin or Rip stop.
The ERDL jackets and trousers were the same as 3rd Pattern Jungle Jackets and Trousers. Some trousers have a slide fastener fly (zipper) others with a 5 buttoned fly. Sizes range from small to extra large. Larger sizes are hard to find.. Rip-stop poplin trousers appear at around 1968, but there are some early 1967 prototypes around.  These pants are cool and comfortable, but have a tendency to rip, especially at the knee.  Be sure to check for the small inner pocket in the front left hand cargo pocket, this is a sure way to date jungle trousers, since the post war ones didn’t have this feature. Also check the rear trouser pockets. There should be a single button. If there are two then you have a post war copy. Check the drawstring at the bottom of the trousers. This should be a ‘rope’ string as opposed to the modern ‘tape’ string.  Accuracy is important for the reenactor, care should be taken to get it right.



1st Pattern



3rd Pattern


First Aid Pocket – Inner Pocket in Front Pants Pocket

Hip Pocket

5 responses to “Jungle Trousers

  1. Jim Brown

    I had a pair of these, I think would be second pattern. They had buttons on the inside, if I recall correctly, that seemed to be for a liner. Would this have been a VN item!? I would be surprised to find it got that cold there, but maybe in the highlands…. Anyway, I’m just a bit of a history buff and have been really getting a lot from your website. Thanks

    • m151dave

      Thank you for the positive comments on the web site. I have heard of these pants, early on being there, but they were really pretty heavy and not something that a troop would want in the heat. They were the standard issue field pants for almost everywhere not jungle. The buttons are for a winter liner.

  2. Jim Brown

    Thanks, they definitely were heavy. I used them for hiking and climbing and geology field work and they were great, although a bit on the hot side. Do you happen to know the designation? I would like to find another pair, sized for my more elderly self, but am having trouble since I don’t know what to call them.

    Anyway, thanks for a fascinating website. I have sent it to others who I feel would appreciate it.

    Have a great Thanksgiving.

    Jim Brown

    • m151dave

      Kim,
      I am pretty sure we are talking about M65 field trousers. They had the button in liners. Heavy as hell.
      Here is one place I found that sells them
      http://shop.dansdepot.com/Olive-Drab-Vintage-M-65-Field-Pants_p_58434.html?gclid=CLzo8r_9gLsCFUMV7AodtQ0ATA
      I am sure there are others.

      Thank you for your support of the web site. Positive comments like yours make it all worthwhile! Thank you for sharing the site with your friends.

      If you are on Facebook be sure to check out the following pages:
      Kansas Gun Truck
      Kansas Museum of Military History

      You will love them. The M151A2 you see in the pictures (with the M60 on board) is my personal vehicle.

      • Jim Brown

        I may have sent this already, sorry if you get it twice.
        I appreciate the heads up on the lead. It makes sense that it would be m65, the jacket also had a similar liner. I have looked but, not knowing what to call it, had trouble finding it. Or at least being sure as to what I found.

        Thanks again

        Jim

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