U-boat 8x4 bridge coat with 1940's grey to brown dye job?
I obtained this unusual U-boat deck coat recently and thought it'd be good to share it with the forum. It was sold as a motorbike coat obtained from a house clearance but I recognised the distinctive 8x4 design immediately. As part of a different interest I've owned several of the post-war civilian jackets that often get mistaken for uniform and the leather on this this feels (and smells) significantly older. I was wondering what people made of it and thought it might be worth?
One thing that makes it possibly unique is that although it was clearly made in the standard grey leather it has been overdyed brown, hard to reach areas like inside the inner pocket are still grey, however I have some experience with dyeing leather and from the patina it’s clear this dyeing is contemporary with the era it was made in. From the research I've done, it seems uniform regulation was more relaxed on these ships. It was not hugely uncommon to see crew wearing private purchase pieces with significant differences to standard uniform. I have seen monochrome pictures of some U-boat personal wearing darker versions of these coats (either brown or black) so it might be possible that this was a way in which the owner personalised his own jacket? Or maybe a way to demilitarise it once the war had ended?
The buttons look like they're from the the same era too. They haven't been sewn through the lining as is common on post-war civilian leathers, so either they're original or have been professionally sewn on by opening up a seam in the lining to get inside then stitching it back together afterwards. It looks like some of the pictures have been uploaded sideways for some reason, not sure why that is:
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