Original Item: Only One Pair Available. The rapid deterioration (4–5 weeks) of the stitching on the sole of the conventional 1st pattern Tropical Combat Boot in the jungle environment led to the development of the Direct Moulded Sole. The DMS jungle boot was first issued to Special Forces in Southeast Asia in August 1960 and featured leather and nylon duck uppers, vulcanized directly on to the Vibram pattern outsoles, which had originally been designed for mountaineering. The top stay and backstay were reinforced with leather and a pair of screened brass drainage eyelets were sunken into the inside arch.

These boots are dated 1963 and are offered in near mint condition, almost as if they were never issued. There is some creasing in the leather, so they do show signs of being worn, but in moderation. The eyelets retain almost all of the black original paint, but there is some chipping on a few of them. The boots are clean, inside and out, without any damage to either the laces or the actual boot. This is a first for us here at IMA and we will probably never come across another pair like this again. The original tags are still present and easily visible on the inside of the tongue:

BOOT, COMBAT, TROPICAL
DIRECT MOULDED SOLE
DC & TSC
DSA-1-3437-64-E
8430-889-3580
7R

The top leather stays still have the original manufacturer’s stamp visible as well:

7 R [GY] 11-63

The bottom of the soles are marked:

(7R) (C.I.C)

Jungle Boots in this condition are a rarity in themselves, but a pair of 2nd pattern Jungle Boots in this condition is unheard of. Do not miss your opportunity to add these to your collection!

History of the Jungle Boot
Jungle boots are a type of combat boot designed for use in jungle warfare or in hot, wet, and humid environments where a standard leather combat boot would be uncomfortable or unsuitable to wear. Jungle boots have vent holes in the instep and sometimes a canvas upper to aid in ventilation and drainage of moisture.

The use of "jungle" or "hot weather" boots predates World War II, when small units of U.S. soldiers in Panama were issued rubber-soled, canvas-upper boots for testing. Developed in conjunction with the U.S. Rubber Company, a pair of jungle boots weighed approximately three pounds. Adopted in 1942, the design of the jungle boot was based on the idea that no boot could possibly keep out water and still provide sufficient ventilation to the feet in a jungle or swamp environment. Instead, the jungle boot was designed to permit water and perspiration to drain, drying the feet while preventing the entry of insects, mud, or sand.

In 1942, fused layers of original-specification Saran or PVDC were used to make woven mesh ventilating insoles for newly developed jungle boots made of rubber and canvas.vThe Saran ventilating insoles trapped air which was circulated throughout the interior of the boot during the act of walking; moist interior air was exchanged for outside air via the boot's water drain eyelets.vIn cold weather, the trapped air in Saran insoles kept feet from freezing by insulating them from the frozen ground; when walking, the insoles circulated moist air that would otherwise condense and freeze, causing trench foot or frostbite.

The new M-1942 canvas-and-rubber jungle boots with Saran mesh insoles were tested by experimental Army units in jungle exercises in Panama, Venezuela, and other countries, where they were found to increase the flow of dry outside air to the insole and base of the foot, reducing blisters and tropical ulcers. The Saran ventilating mesh insole was also used in the M-1945 tropical combat boot.

Positive reports from users in the Panama Experimental Platoon on the new lightweight footwear led to M-1942 jungle boots used by U.S. military folks for tropical/jungle environments, including U.S. Army personnel in New Guinea and the Philippines, and in Burma with Merrill's Marauders, the 1st Air Commando Group and the Mars Task Force (5332nd Brigade, Provisional). This style of footwear wore faster than the standard Army Type II field shoes, so they were often carried as a back-up footwear for use in soft mud.

In 1944, the Panama sole developed by Raymond Dobie uses angled lugs to push soft mud from the soles, clearing them to provide better grip in greasy clay or mud. However, M-1942 (Jungle) and M-1945 (Combat Boot, Tropical) boots used Vibram soles. After the conclusion of World War II, American interest in jungle equipment lay dormant until their next tropical engagement in 1965, so an 'improved' jungle boot used Dobie's Panama sole.

Although taller, British military forces used a variant of the American jungle boot. Special Operations Executive Force 136 personnel were issued these boots during operations in Burma 1944–45, then were used in the Malaysia Emergency.

In the early years of the Vietnam War, some U.S. Army soldiers used the 'M-1945 Tropical Combat Boot'. 1965, newly-developed footwear was developed using developments since the end of World War. The Second for American people in the tropics was adopted by the U.S. military as the 'M-1966 Jungle Boot', jointly co-developed by the Natick Laboratories in joint co-development with the shoe industry. In the newly-developed 'improved' footwear, the upper was cotton, leather comprised the toe and heel, with improved nylon reinforcements around the throat. That 'improved' footwear used a Vibram-type lugged sole co-joined to the leather toe and heel. Water drains in the form of screened eyelets in the canvas top near the bottom were intended to drain moist mud from the inside of the boot using a hastily-modified version of the Bernelli Principle. To use up old stock, the 1942 version of the removable ventilating insoles of fused layers of Saran plastic screen were issued with the 'improved' jungle boot.

1966, although the weight increased, after American foot injuries from punji stake traps, their jungle boots used a stainless steel plate inside the boot's sole to protect the wearer from punji stake traps and nails around construction sites. Later jungle boots used nylon/canvas uppers instead of cotton duck. The footwear received 'improvements', including Dobie's mud-clearing outsole and nylon webbing reinforcement on the uppers. Vibram-soled Jungle Boots continued to be issued to troops in 1969.

The US military jungle boot's popularity extended beyond Americans. Poorly-equipped Australian Army and New Zealand Army soldiers traded for a pair of jungle boots from American troops to use alongside their standard-issue black leather General Purpose Boots (GP Boots). After the 1st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) co-joined the Americans in The Republic Of South Vietnam alongside the US Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade in 1965, many Australian troopers were willingly traded their worthless Army-issue "slouch hats" for a pair of jungle boots from the Americans since the boots Australian troopers were issued were World War II vintage tropical-studded ankle boots and their footwear were poorly-suited to the conditions in the country. Australian and New Zealand Special Air Service troopers used American jungle boots during their involvement against the Vietnamese, and they were very popular with SAS troopers. Until the replacement of the GP Boots for the Terra Boots in 2000, Australians wore American footwear with their uniforms; the boots remained popular with Australian soldiers post-Vietnam.