I would bet that there was not much increase in weight in between the wars either. The army field manual on foot marches fm 21 18 which has not been updated since 1990 does not take into account individual body weight.
The Overweight Infantryman Modern War Institute
Average height and weight of wwii soldier. Only the male chart is used. Millions of minors served in the military. Exceeding army body fat standards soldiers who exceed the maximum weight shown on the charts below during an exam will be measured for body fat content. I would have thought german males today would be taller than an average of 585 i believe they are the second tallest race in the world with the dutch being tallest. According to military records the average union soldier had a height of 5 825 and a weight of 1437 pounds. According to the armys special operations command the average height and weight of an army ranger are 69 inches and 174 pounds.
It was found that the average male inductee was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 144 pounds. This chart ranges from 58 inches tall to 80 inches tall. A dutch friend told me the average height of dutch males 16 21 is 61not a reliable source i know i do not think the germans would be far behind. The same marine corps study determined the average weight of a marine male was 169 pounds and the average females was 130 pounds. This page claims 58 as the average height of us soldiers in ww1 as well. This would put their combat loads at 56 pounds and 42 pounds respectively.
Not much has changed in 70 years average height is still about 510. Today the average height of an adult british caucasian male is about 59. In 1914 their average height was 52 though a member of the upper class stood about 56 these findings shamed the government into providing subsidized health care for common people. In the us army during wwii logs were kept by the quartermaster corps of what sizes of clothes were issued for supply purposes as well as by the medical corps for statistical purposes. In 1900 men were maybe an inch shorter. An inch taller and eight pounds heavier than his great war counterpart.
Rangers must meet the standard army weight requirements which vary by height and age. Soldiers are weighed at least twice per year usually in conjunction with the army physical fitness test to ensure they meet army standards for weight and fitness. As of 2012 only men could become army rangers. There is no other data except that the smaller city boys from the national army divisions began arriving later in the war ie. The initial deployment of aef were even bigger.
Gallery of Average Height And Weight Of Wwii Soldier
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