Earth-brown SS-VT uniform

[Friedrich-Berthold]

with its brethern. The contrast in colors here is useful for our seekers of deeper truths. The SSVT cap contrasts to the SSTV one as concerns colors. But who of us can say for sure, as there is only a small number of human beings today who has seen a range of authentic material, and I do not count myself as one of them.

I collect black uniforms.

One also sees a range of field grey, especially with the model 1940 SS cap im Fliegerschnitt for the officer and enlisted troop.

The Shea Beaver book has a lot of such soft caps in their number and variety of which I am not really familiar.

But here is a range of authentic pieces and their shades and hues.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

More of the field grey cap of the SSVT

The Jaeger images which show an SSTV unit on the march through Kufstein at the time of the Anschluss in March 1938 reflect this very color.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

On the theme of the SSTV, this from an Ausgehuniform. Where the man's edrbraun Uniform remained.....no man can say.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

An image from the fall of 1938, notice the color of the grey SS uniforms here. This is field grey and not some "dove grey." The color is actually quite similar to the first field grey peaked cap I posted here, although in this signature Shea image the real color is muted.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Himmler in September or October 1939 in Warsawa. This color is also field grey in the hue of the era, contrasted to the polict green of one of Heini H's police officers. The KuK army of the Habsburgs had a Hechtgrau uniform, of course, as one of the endless greys that are like the endless reds and greens that are maddening to us in the present.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

I am sure someone else of our readers has something of merit to note.

As regards colors, notice all the variations of brown shirt among the potentaes....this for those of you interested in standardization.

We in the 21st century are too dominated by what Aldous Huxley called at the time "Fordism" and the fact that a McDonald's french fry is the same the world round.

The early 20th century was a different place, of course. I suppose that subtle variations make life more interesting for some, but also much more confusing for others.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

An SS general's cap of unknown date of make---as concerns field grey or whatever grey. This piece was greatly assaulted by the internet know-it-alls, but today resides in an advanced collection somehow turning out actually to be an SS general's cap. See posts 34 and 35 in this connection.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi FB, wonderfull images as always. I am very taken with the pile of Feldmutzes.

These are excellent points you have made about colours, standardisation (or lack of) and the trap of failing into "modern" thinking and applying it to these caps etc.

Cheers, Ade.

[d'alquen]

The "A' collar patch in photograph is post #11 does indeed indicate SS members attending one of the National and Group Schools of the SA. The colour of uniform being worn is, to further confuse the thread, the olive green/brown of the SA. The piping on the caps was, or should have been, red and white and the cap itself was known as an "Uebungsmuetze".
The courses were primarily in 1934 and 1935 before the SS set up its own training infrastructure.
SS men usually wore a plain silver button with the cap but their officers applied a skull as can be seen from the attached photo of men from 'Deutschland' attending one of these institutions.
D'Alquen

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Thanks to Adrian and Derek for their kind aid with this thread. Derek kindly posted many pages from the SS general orders for promotions in which the role of the SA Ausbildungswesen emerged, at least for me.


The process of scooping up images each day for years on end must have some purpose. But the flood of pictures on the internet only makes sense if you have read the books that are the foundation of knowledge, otherwise it is all a blur.

It is also interesting from the perspective of a historian as how to new comers learn about this material versus the plodding drudgery of the past.

When I first read Huxley's Brave New World
I had no idea what he meant by Fordism, but as a grown up I figured it out.