I lost my beloved field jacket

Irrelevant old guy anecdote alert:

I borrowed my dad’s green M65 he brought back from Viet Nam a few times in the 1980s, as a teen. The liner was newer - a fleecy thing that made it very warm.

They were never issued in the Australian army but some units would turn a blind eye to privately purchased kit in the field, as long as it didn’t look out of place. In the mid 1990s I bought an M65 in regulation DPCU camo made in Hong Kong and had a local tailor make-up a wool liner for it. Never got to wear it because I was sent to a unit that enforced uniform standards very strictly before the next Winter.

 

I've owned around 3 Australian army M65's, I wonder what year they were issued. Used to be able to get them for $20.

 

If you ever see an M65 with broad arrow stamp and an NSN, I'd love to see a pic. As far as I know, they were never official issue. There were some legit smocks (based on the Brit model) that were sort of similar and only issues to para and commando units.

 

I wish I kept them. Don't recall the white labels details except that it was in English was called a field jacket and I am pretty sure it said the jacket was made in Australia. Love to know more because I was under the impression we didn't use these here too. Mitchell's Disposals had dozens of them in large cardboard boxes for sale cheap in around 2000.

 

Dunno. I’m no expert, which is why I’m curious. Might have been for school cadets, but then the sizes would be smaller.

 

Yep - they were all tall, big sizes.

 

Hey there. I think the model you’re looking for is the Alpha Industries M65 CW. I think it’s the “CW” that makes the difference.

Here’s one I found, but there also seems to be one available in Germany (saw the store last night, so I could probably find it again).
https://www.bennevisclothing.com/product/vintage-m-65-cw-olive/

 

Ah, here’s the one in Germany.
https://www.stylefile.de/en/alpha-i...r_P.KJ13L09101_color=01&cgid=1040010040020000

 

The sucks. I didn’t check to see if they were truly in stock or not. At least I think you’ve got a positive ID on the jacket. It’s an Alpha Industries M-65 CW. The model number is 178114-142. That might be enough to continue the search.

Good luck!

 

The CW must matter because that Alpha jacket is 100% cotton while Alpha's "normal" M65 jacket is 50% cotton 50% nylon.