Heer 2nd pattern tropical service blouse, maker "H. Buckow" (F42)
Article about: I recently picked up a 1st pattern tropical feldbluse after a very long wait, and no sooner had I done so this popped up... Having a 3rd pattern already, a 2nd pattern would of course 'compl
Heer 2nd pattern tropical service blouse, maker "H. Buckow" (F42)
I recently picked up a 1st pattern tropical feldbluse after a very long wait, and no sooner had I done so this popped up... Having a 3rd pattern already, a 2nd pattern would of course 'complete the series' (collector issues...)
Seeing this example I realised it would be difficult to upgrade, ticking the usual boxes, i.e factory applied insignia, reasonable size, legible stamps with makers mark, no damage, and light wear as a bonus. Thanks as ever to the Virtual Grenadier for excellent service and communication.
It had an added bonus of a little history with the blouse, kindly conveyed from the consignor after the sale. It was acquired by the consignor in the 1980's from a source in England with the current shoulder straps in place. The seller at that time informed the consignor that he understood it to be a "Tunisia pickup".
Interestingly, (and only adding this as a point of interest) the consignor added that he had an almost identical 2nd pattern tropical NCO tunic (also F42 - Frankfurt Depot 1942) that he acquired from the late advanced collector Charlie Hinz that was an NZ veteran bring back from Tunisia, coincidentally also with (NCO) transport straps.
"Pleasing used Heer M42 tropical service blouse for an EM of the Nachshubtruppe, standard issue M42 style constructed of olive colored cotton fabric, having partial lining components of a contrasting pale green colored ribbed cotton, the belt hook support straps are a grey colored web material, having size stampings in black ink and including the F 42 depot mark, the reverse button concealment placket has the maker information stamped in black ink and this appears to read H. Buckow, the insignia is factory applied with the Litzen collar patches being straight machine sewn stitched along all edges and the late pattern woven Heer tropical pattern national emblem is applied in the 'zip and flip' style - machine stitched across the top of the eagle's wing, then flipped over and the lower portions being straight machine stitched with the wreath section overlapping the upper pocket flap edge sewn by hand, included are a pair of slip on shoulder straps having hellblau colored synthetic piping, the shoulder straps differ from one another in certain details but appear to have been worn as a pair, they match in that the upper cotton twill panels have a more sage green color, the lower panels are tropical overcoat materials, the tongue reinforcements are the same light tan colored cotton and the buttonholes match, the piping of one strap is lighter than the other and the twill tongues are different shades, the worn painted pebbled buttons are held with S rings, the shoulder strap buttons are sewn into place, dark grey colored small pressed paper buttons are used for the bandage pocket and the split cuffs and each cuff is missing its outermost button, the blouse itself has not been shortened or altered in any way, it is evenly worn overall with an attractive and desirable degree of fading, there are minor scuffs light stains from wear but the blouse is absolutely free of holes or repairs, just a great example."
The lining and general build is much heavier than either my 1942 dated late 1st pattern tropical tunic:-
It might be made with the earlier type heavier cotton twill material and reminds me of a 1st pattern tropical blouse I owned for a few years in the late 80's / early 1990's. I think the maker stamp had washed out, but I remember how heavy and solidly made that example was. Both this example and the 1st pattern I previously owned some years ago are actually lined with the same heavy cotton twill that the blouse is made with (though with different colours), rather than the much more common lightweight flat cotton more usually seen, hence the heavy and solid feel to the tunic.
The maker is "H. Buckow FFB", not 100% sure that a B follows the FF, but I think it is, it's slightly smudged. If FFB is a location as might be typical for a pre-RB Number (i.e pre-June 1942) maker mark, i.e the maker followed by a location, it might stand for Fürstenfeldbruck, a town 30km west of Munich and sometimes known by this abbreviation. For maker stamps, Berlin or Breslau might be OK but 'Fürstenfeldbruck' would be a lot of ink and IMHO an abbreviation would be plausible. If that is indeed the location, you might expect it to be sent to the closer Munich Depot rather than the Frankfurt Depot. Perhaps it was intended for troops stationed/ forming up closer to Frankurt? In 1942 transporting goods within Germany would be a lot less of an issue than later in the war.
This maker is not one I can find anything about, sometimes there is a great deal, or a little, or absolutely nothing. Germany is well known for it's SME's (small and medium-sized enterprises) and some will have ceased to exist even in WW2, perhaps out of business, or destroyed by fighting/ bombing with all records of their existence lost, all we have left is a few items of material culture. However, if in the future anyone recognises the maker please do add information if you have it!
Regarding the pattern (2nd pattern tropical type) it seems that the current thinking is that this type appeared in the Crimea/ Kuban pocket from the summer of 1942 (an area of interest for me), but later in Tunisia (Nov/ December 42?), although it might be plausible that a replacement soldier arrived earlier. Of note, I recently saw a picture from the Fotoarchiv für Zeitgeschichte showing a 3rd pattern feldbluse being worn in Tunisia dated 16th February 1943, suggesting that the 2nd type was likely already well established there.
Some Virtual Grenadier pictures (again in case the link is deleted one day, and Mike takes much better pictures than I do...), and then I will add a few of my own.
The shoulder straps, in an earlier type sage cotton twill and with the earlier type brown wool underlay. The Waffenfarbe hue is quite varied, something I've noted before, but I think still transport, Medical cornflower blue is quite different IMHO.... I think the VG description is very sensible, they look like a pair to me despite the Waffenfarbe hue difference. In daylight I would say the difference is not as noticeable.
Heer 2nd pattern tropical service blouse, maker "H. Buckow" (F42)
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