The trick was to have two men join their shelter halves to make a pup tent. With the earlier
war ones, they had onley one fly and the late war had two flies. The men overcame the open end by throwing
their poncho or their coat over the open end thus closing the gap. Another method was to get four men
and join them to make a long tent.
The poles were either a folding pole or a 3 section
pole that fastned together. The 3 section pole is still used today. The pins were a wooden spike with
a groove in the top for the line to hook on to. These pegs were used in WW1 and WW2 and Korea. For the
Viet Nam war they changed them to an alluminum stake. On the sides of the half there were three pins
lines about 3 inches long. That held the tent down. The tent could be fastened in a weird way with maybe
10 to 20 shelter halves to make a huge tent.
The early war ones were khaki with buttons.
The mid war ones were light OD with buttons. The late war ones were dark OD with a double end closure
and buttons. Do not buy the post war type, SNAPS!. Most reenacting groups want you to get the early war
one since it was used from 39 to 44.
The half requires 1 pole, 5 or 6 pins and one line. For two halves,
you need 10-12 pins 2 poles and 2 lines. (For the closing end) If you want to carry more pins, GO AHEAD!
Remember, they may break!
This tent can be expensive. The best deal that I have come along
on is 15 dollars for 10 pins, 15 dollars for the folding poles and 9.99 for two sets of the sectioned
pole. 2 dollars for the guy line and about 25 for the shelter half. Look for deals. They are your best
bet! Especially closeouts! The groupings are the best. I had just bought a Pup tent for 40 dollars and
I got 12 pins, 4 ropes, 2 folding poles and 2 shelter halves.
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