Super cool, OP!

Welp, she's done!

Neat! Looks great.

Thanks for documenting your build. This isn't something we see every day.

Thanks!

I agree. Great work, OP, and thanks for sharing it.

That is a well made piece of gear! Nice work.

Fantastic job, OP!  I really enjoyed watching your progress and admire your handwork.

The leg bag and H-harness were a result of both British and American paratroops trying to find the sweet spot to jumping individual and mission equipment without having to separate stuff into door bundles which they knew they'd never see again.

The British Denison smock was intended to cover anything hanging off a para from entangling with his parachute -- considering it was not British practice to jump a reserve into combat.  Americans went more to exposed but lighter(?) loads, as they normally did.  Grenada was the first exception due to the low jump altitude of 500 feet AGL in daylight.

Some historical photos:

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WWII re-enactor:

Wow. Great work, OP. thanks for sharing the process.

The British smock has always made sense to me. Looking at pics of American airborne troopers, they had stuff hanging off of them willy nilly. It's amazing they didn't lose more stuff than they did.

No problem, I enjoyed it.

Snipped from another site reference the Corregidor jump in the Philippines:

"I was in 2-503rd when it was reactivated in Italy back in 2001, and we had two WWII vets come over for the ceremony (plus a boatload of Nam vets) and unveiling of a Dietz print, etc.

"One gentleman was very reserved and didn’t say much, but the other vet shared lucid details of that jump and said that surface winds were blowing like hell, and around P+1 or so the Japanese came boiling out like fire ants. The drop zone was a dust bowl littered with broken and splintered trees, and several dozen paratroopers suffered puncture wounds.

"One thing he remembered clearly was the incessant smoke obscuring their field of view for quite awhile. Not sure if that was in support of the amphibious assault or... I asked him to sign the program for our Ball that night. I will have to look up his name as it escapes me.

"Cantankerous old guy who’s sure to have passed by now, but was also asked to provide James Dietz feedback on his sketch before painting, and he tore into it; 'We didn’t wear any goddamn netting on our helmets, and we stopped jumping leg bags in training...'. Great experience meeting those men."

I can imagine they wanted to be quick and light upon landing in the PTO. Didn't really have to deal with much armor, much more difficult terrain than the ETO, and a quicker, stealthier enemy to deal with. A different type of warfare.