Yugoslav People's Army (JNA)

Maskimo Modelo Letnje 68 (M68 MOL):

The M68 suit was a sniper suit used by scout, border troops and airborne units of the JNA. The suit is worn over a conventional uniform. The pattern has also been used on non-uniform items such as combat vests and webbing. There were also full white winter versions of these suits for use in winter. The suits were first issued in 1968 and some survived until even after the war in Kosovo (as late as 1999).

I personally wear this suit as it was relatively inexpensive and you can opt to not wear items under it for comfort. The suit includes a hood, gloves and usually comes with a matching camouflage storage sack.

JNA Paratrooper, 1984:

This uniform was assembled to represent how unique and reliable some of Yugoslavia’s military equipment was.

The beret I wear is a reproduction, worn in traditional Yugoslav fashion. The star is a genuine one, made in Zagreb. I also have an M59 helmet that would be worn if paratroopers were deployed on the ground. For chemical protection, I also have an M1 gas mask, which is a copy of a US M9. The rifle here is the Zastava M70B1, a stamped-receiver copy of the Russian AK-47 produced in what is now Serbia.

The setup here is for a Paratrooper in the 1970s, wearing the MOL 68 camouflage oversuit and R-120 paratrooper webbing system. The helmet is a designated one for paratroops. The rifle, the German StG 44, was adopted by Yugoslavia after WW2 and remained in use with the paras for many years.

Here, a paratrooper operates a Zastava M53 (a postwar continuation of the German MG 42, made on original tooling supplied to Yugoslavia by the USSR as aid) with a soldier in regular, late Cold War-era wool uniform acting as a loader.

Around my neck I would wear an authentic set of Yugoslav dog tags, along with a makeshift scarf made out of spare camouflage material. As you can see, I have a M68 MOL suit, with markings of the 63rd Parachute Brigade and I have for identification a national flag patch. From my wrist buttons hang sniper gloves.

My webbing consists of a leather belt kit with a holster for the M84, a mess kit and a medikit bag. On my back is an R-120 backpack, used by Yugoslav paratroops and based on the Soviet equivalent. 

My secondary prop is a mockup of a CZ-M70 pistol, which is also a cap gun. I also have a mockup of a cz. 61 Skoprion SMG, which built in Yugoslavia by Zastava as the M84.

I also have a small collection of mock explosives. These are M75 hand grenades. The real things are plastic explosive devices that contain 3000 steel balls.

- Luke