Article about: Looks like a good original tunic to me, and no signs that it has been pimped. you do sometimes see these type of clips to hold on the buttons, though not often and the British used them as w
So if the members on the WAF forum say its ok, it is OK William?
I did not say that the uniform was bad, I simply said that in my opinion the collartab buttons were very unprofessional sewn on,
it could just be a poor tailor. I thought this could be related to the eagle`s position as well. Have never seen such a big pin to fasten
a button.Would have expected to find the usual "S" shaped button pins or something, this one looks like it's the size of a hairpin.
Strange that a professional tailor, who received an order from a major, would use such a solution with a large button pin (have never
seen this type before). This would probably stick to everything, and would not be that comfortable to wear. The collar tab buttons were
also usually sewn so that they were hidden. Here they have sewn through the collar, in a unproffesional manner IMO.
Yes of course there will be variations in these private purchase tuics...
Nice photos BTW, thanks for sharing!
I do not know anything about this veteran that supposedly brought this uniform back with him, and the story has nothing to do with this tunic
being original or not. Why is it so unlikely that this tunic had its insignia sewn post-war? Many uniforms have gotten their original insignia removed
and then re-sewn later with the original inignia.
Just giving my honest opinion
Buy the item, not the story..
Have never seen such a big pin to fasten a button.Would have expected to find the usual "S" shaped button pins or something, this one looks like it's the size of a hairpin.
Strange that a professional tailor, who received an order from a major, would use such a solution with a large button pin (have never
seen this type before). This would probably stick to everything, and would not be that comfortable to wear.
no, because it is under a flap that buffers the tunic buttons to the undershirt of the wearer as to not snag. This proves that when this tunic was tailored it was designed around the use of these exact buttons. Also including a shot of the pocket button showing it is identical.
The collar tab buttons were
also usually sewn so that they were hidden. Here they have sewn through the collar, in a unproffesional manner IMO.
Yes of course there will be variations in these private purchase tuics...
Nice photos BTW, thanks for sharing!
As stated, other insignia came with this grouping, both Luftwaffe Medical Officer and very early pre war DLV insignia. The wearer must have been a NCO in the DLV and finally rising to the rank of Oberst in the Luftwafe.
The tunic buttons are sewn under the collar, what you are seeing is what the Major himself (or his wife) did to attached insignias after being promoted. Rather than buying additional private purchase "male" buttoned collar tabs, the Major had these sewn on. The thread you see is from this process after promotion.
The tunic was originally tailored with hidden collar tab buttons as we would expect to see on a private purchase tunic.
no, because it is under a flap that buffers the tunic buttons to the undershirt of the wearer as to not snag.
This proves that when this tunic was tailored it was designed around the use of these exact buttons.
The flaps are normal, just expected to see a different type of fastener, like the normal "S" pin or something.. The type you show here I unfortunately have no experience with.
There are probably other members on the forum that might know more..
The tunic buttons are sewn under the collar, what you are seeing is what the Major himself (or his wife) did to attached insignias after being promoted.
Rather than buying additional private purchase "male" buttoned collar tabs, the Major had these sewn on. The thread you see is from this process after promotion.
Yes, and this is what "worries" me about this tunic..
If he did not bother to at least buy additional insignia with the right "male" button system, or at least attach the male buttons from the old tabs to the new tabs,
witch is easier and nicer to do than sewing through the collar. Firstly, he's a Major with the medical dep so he might even be a doctor or surgeon, and they had pretty
good status at the time (and they still do today). I dont think it would cost very much to get this done by a professional. It's also a summer jacket, and summer does
not last a whole year. It's not a jacket you use every day, and this tuic was apparently not used very often, especially when a white jacket still looks this nice and clean.
So with the seasons in mind he had plenty of time to deliver it to a professional. Even I can sew better than that! Second, most departments in the Wehrmacht had their
own shoemakers, carpenters and tailors (etc) that fixed broken equipment and other things. If they did not have their own people with noted professions from before, there
was at least enough of them in service. When the war broke out, a lot of soldiers that were drafted continued to use their former profession as an advantage, making money
or getting ekstra rations by fixing equiptment. This was seen especially later in the war, when older men were drafted and had to leave their profession, many took on the
task as a shoemaker or another profession within the platoon or company etc. So it was not impossible for the Major to get them to fix this. I would not have done as this Major,
if I was a Major. You have certain responsibilities and reputations to live up to, at the same time a duty to look decent, something that was important to the Germans.... At least for the officers.
and see, the sewn collar tabs in my opinion actually "help" the tunic as 100% wartime rather than postwar assembled. Not only do I know the tunic has been in the US since 1946 when the GI came back from the occupation forces of Germany, but the tunic wasn't "dressed-up" like it could be. You could add any collar tabs your want, and any shoulder boards as long as you have a pair of "male" collar tabs. If I were looking to swindle somebody out of their hard-earned money with a postwar restored piece, and try to hide it, I'd throw flight insignia on this thing and start adding award loops left and right; I'd make this thing sexy as hell!
I think it is completely logical that a promotion was earned and rather than trying to procure hard-to-find/special order summer insignia to purchase privately, this Major simply had his wife sew on and extra set of on-hand tabs. The thread used to sew on the tabs is "period"
A person trying to restore a stripped tunic would have enough sense to put summer collar tabs on it, as just taking two seconds to pin on a pair would be easier than having to get out a needle and thread and taking the time to sew these on.
Just my opinion as well, but when you look at the DLV/Luft grouping this came in (i.e. RESERVE pulled into active service and promoted to Major) along with knowing the providence of the piece for the last 67 years I guess I've just made an exception to this one. You can't sit here and tell me that in this hobby everything that is authentic is 100% textbook and here are several period photos showing this; sometimes the wrong eagles were used, sometimes a metal skull was used instead of cloth, and sometimes "on-hand" collar tabs were sewn on instead of pinned on.
rank has nothing to do with it, and here is a MAJOR using ENLISTED collar tabs in a period photo:
Sorry to butt in but I have been reading this thread and learning alot as I go along, the back and forth has been like a tennis match, I wish every item in my collection had this much knowledgeable discussion about it, hell if I had the money I would buy it right now! the only thing I can add is I bet it smells great!!
all1knew you have a lot of good points there..
I have a uniform that belonged to a Major in the Infantry, which has a regular M36 Bevo breast eagle (it was quite popular among offisrer to use this on field uniforms)..
Everything is possible, and I gave my honest opinion on the tunic from what I saw. It is obvious that you are the owner of this tunic, and I think you have defended
the originality of it well (a good thing ). You clearly know more about the history and origin of this jacket than me, who only saw a few photos... But please look at it from
my point of view, with just a few photos and little or no info.. Of course you will get questions about everything on a object that does not follow the "book", if it is not what
one would expect to see on a normal item. For me, the story of the object would not have any influence on my potential purchase, because you can never rely on the story on its own.
Would you buy an SS officer's hat with a regular army eagle (M36 Bevo) which was sewn on very badly, just because the seller says it was brought home by a veteran etc?
I think it's a great original tunic, which I have mentioned several times as well as in my first post. My only concern about this tunic was and still is as i said, how the tabs are sewn to the tunic.
Original thread can be bought.. but so we can say about everything...
We'll probably never know for sure...
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