Italian cloth (green) M44 jacket (Gefreiter) for review

**PaulW** · 06-03-2016, 06:06 PM

Hi all, I previously showed 2 x M44 feldblusen on another thread here:-

2 x Heer M44 jackets for opinions

I went for the Italian cloth one and hoped to focus on this one to avoid confusion. It arrived the other day and I have taken my own pictures.

I would be grateful for any feedback. The eagle does not go through the lining and I've been assured by a collector that has great experience of these, that while that is unusual it is an accepted variant (like the back-seam sometimes seen etc).

Regards, Paul

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 06-03-2016 06:06 PM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**PaulW** · 06-03-2016, 06:09 PM

The olive green thread used to attach the eagle is also seen in the button-hole thread. The light grey thread used to attach the collar litzen can be seen as well in the button-hole bar-tacks at the front of the blouse.

**PaulW** · 06-03-2016, 06:13 PM

2

**PaulW** · 06-03-2016, 06:16 PM

The RB number is a Leipzig maker:- 0/0350/0015

The number is faded and doesn't show well in a photograph, but can be seen in daylight. I'm 90% + sure the last 2 digits are 15.

**PaulW** · 06-03-2016, 06:19 PM

The collar tab application is the type flipped at the bottom and machine sewn at the sides and top. I've seen this on at least one other M44 from a good source and wartime pictures.

**harryamb2** · 06-03-2016, 06:40 PM

it looks a very nice tunic.

**Adrian Stevenson** · 06-04-2016, 07:08 AM

Very nice. Well done.

**PaulW** · 06-05-2016, 02:20 PM

Hi Harry and Adrian, I appreciate the feedback. These M44 tunics are not easy (for me at least), so many variations even before you approach the M45 (collector term) further simplified models sometimes with 5 button fronts, only one inside pocket (or none) etc! The shoulder boards have the 'basket-weave' type rayon piping sometimes seen on M44 boards, though I have recently noticed it on a pre-war Heer Waffenrock posted elsewhere. I wonder if this piping was actually from pre-war stocks, used as necessary (where available) towards the end of the war when the supply network started to break down?

Regards, Paul

**JPhilip** · 06-05-2016, 07:05 PM

Hello,
I'm wondering about this chevron on the left sleeve. Is it supposed to be a Gefreite chevron ?
The Feldbluse itself is OK. Same for the Litzen and the Hoheitsabzeichen. Concerning the latter, between 1935 and late 1943, the norm was to sew the eagle underneath the lining...so there's nothing unusual if one sees this feature on a Feldbluse 44. The fact that some manufacturers applied eagles thru the lining from late 1943 does not mean that all manufacturers have done it....
Thanks

**PaulW** · 06-06-2016, 06:44 AM

Hi JPhilip, the Gefreiter chevron on the left arm was referred to by the seller as an "M44 pattern" Gefreiter chevron. It's not something I've heard of before, and it appears to have Luftwaffe pattern tress on (though not unheard of on Heer uniforms). I've been scouring the web to find any reference to it and the nearest I've come to identifying it is one or two references to it being a pre-war insignia. I suppose if they couldn't find a standard pattern, anything available would do.

Thanks for the comments/ reassurance concerning the eagle under the lining. I suppose anyone wanting to replace the eagle (had it been removed), could easily have sewn it through the lining and no-one would have been the wiser (if done carefully). Having it beneath the lining, it seems likely to be originally applied!

Best regards, Paul