WWII

Dress it up or beat it down: HELM Vanuatu dive watch

The HELM Vanuatu is a named after an island in the South Pacific famous for its coral reefs and a WWII shipwreck. HELM does not hold back from describing this piece as a beater watch. Other sites have referred to it as chunky. Turns out they are all correct. One thing is for sure, this […]

A brief history of bulletproof vests and armor

The evolution of the firearm is an interesting one — from the unknown Chinese origins of gunpowder, to the fire lance, and the slow development of handheld tubes that use gunpowder to force a projectile outward and into an enemy target. By the 1300s, what we consider guns today were well along in development, and […]

Customizing the Browning Hi Power

Want an interesting gun that has some history behind it? Check around for a used Browning Hi Power. With a few upgrades, you can make it a sweet shooter.

Introducing the new Blue Force Gear Tracer Pack

We were really excited about this one during Day 1 of SHOT Show. It’s official, the Jedburgh Tactical Backpack is getting a big brother. Meet the Tracer Pack. Like the Jedburgh, the Tracer Pack is named for an Allied deception operation during WWII. Designed to add additional capability in a “day pack” sized format, Tracer has features […]

OSS weapons ingenuity: The secret gear of America’s WWII spies

General Donovan motivated the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) research and development branch to fabricate weapons in-house for officers in the field. These weapons ranged from the amazingly complex to the remarkably fundamental. OSS guns and blades were intended for simple but effective use. American servicemen going into harm’s way had a variety of ingenious places to hide small, even miniature, compasses for […]

Origin Watch Company merges modern watchmaking with historical field watch roots

Trench and field watches played a vitally important role beginning with the first and second World Wars. Pilots, infantry officers, artillerymen, and many other military service roles relied on accurate timepieces to help them coordinate precise attacks and maneuvers. Considering the technological advances that we now have the luxury of, there is less of a […]

Marine Raiders and Gear of WWII

The Marine Raiders are said to be the first United States Special Operations Forces to see combat in World War II. They struck fear into the hearts of their enemies around the Pacific.