A British classic, and one of the most recognisable piece of vintage clothing! The denison smock's history lies in the early part of WW2. Having seen the success of the German's airborne forces in Norway, Churchill ordered Britain's parachute regiment to be formed and expanded quickly. Initially the British copied the German parachute oversmock, called a knockensack, but soon developed their own large overfitting garment known as a denison smock. The first iteration was introduced in 1942, and whilst there would be small changes, remained largely unchanged into the late 50s.
In 1959 the Parachute Regiment issued a new specification, known as the '59 pattern'. This retained many of the features of the WW2 garment, but now included a full length zip, and made the size substantially more suited to wearing. The camouflage would change from the earthy toned brushstrokes, to a yellow/tan led colour, with green and brown strokes.
This particular version was made by Belstaff from a distinct variation of brushstroke camo known as 'banana' - so called for the brown striation through the print that look like a rotten banana! These were well known for being worn by the Paras during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, particularly on Bloody Sunday.
Condition
Used but good condition, the zip had been popped out for couple ended opti - I've actually seen a few with this modification which leads me to believe it may have been done on a base in Germany.
Size
- Tagged a size 3, fits a perfect modern large
- Pit to pit 25"
- Shoulder to shoulder 20"
- Shoulder to cuff 25"
- Collar to helm 29"