Luftwaffe Uniform - Karl Heisler?

[PizzaKaiser]

Hello,
Here's a very strange looking uniform... marked for Karl Heisler. I no very little about Luftwaffe Uniforms and haven't been able to find much information at all on this... I know that Heisler produced helmet liners and private purchase uniforms but I've not seen one similar to this. Very strange pocket designs.

The liner is mostly satin, the wool is very heavy, almost like a Feldbluse. I'm very skeptical about the collar tabs and shoulder boards.

It's dated 1943 inside. The color looks a bit gray in the pictures, but in person it is very much a blue-gray, similar to other Luftwaffe tunics I've seen.

Any help with what this is, or if it's real is greatly appreciated!

[Bob Lyons]

I don't know what that is supposed to represent.... but WW2 Luftwaffe it is not...

[Kohima]

I’ve seen one other tunic like this, with the oddly inverted pocket pleats, though it had the cuff turn-backs removed and was devoid of any markings.
As Bob says, not a Luftwaffe type, though (apparently) a legitimately produced item for another branch, and not necessarily wartime. I’ve been searching for a match since seeing the unmarked example, but nothing yet.
If cheap enough (and I mean really cheap), it may be worth securing - just in case something can be found... Tricky one.

[TWS]

There are a lot of strange features and it would not be one for me. I would advise you to pass on it unless extremely cheap as Kohima stated.

If you are looking to get your first Luftwaffe tunic, I recommend getting a much more textbook example.

[PizzaKaiser]

Thank for for the responses! I found this one on the forum, that has pockets with a slightly similar design... but that's about where the similarities end: wehrmacht medic unteroffizier summer tunic help

I had actually acquired this a few days ago (yes, for an extremely low price, thankfully) since it was such a mystery. At first, I thought it may have been a postwar tunic from another european country that was reworded for a reenactor, but upon further inspection I have not been able to find many (if any) alterations, aside from the shoulder boards and collar tabs (which may or may not be original to the tunic). The condition is very, very good overall, which is generally a red flag for me... but the little bit of wear it does have seems "right".


Can anyone suggest where I could start my research? Any resources anyone can recommend to learn more about the manufacturer perhaps?

Possible explanations for this:
-Post-war theatrical or reenactor made piece?
-Original one-of-a-kind private purchase tunic?
-Prototype tunic from a manufacturer?

If anyone else has an idea, I'd love to hear it.
I greatly appreciate the help with this mystery!

[Bob Lyons]

Maybe some kind of civil defence organization, an offshoot from one of the Red Cross organizations perhaps.... Good luck on your hunt.

[paulscoot]

Many years ago a friend of mine had a black one of these that he wore down the pub (punk rocker) I got a little excited as ,being black, I thought it was a debadged allgemeine tuckrock! No such luck when I noticed the breast pockets. Any markings on the back of the buttons? Regards Paul

[PizzaKaiser]

Good suggestion, Bob. The pattern does seem to be similar to a few examples of DRK and Polizei uniforms…. Maybe even Luftschutz of some sort?

Paul, the buttons are marked T&G. I think they’re original to the coat but I’m not 100% sure.

[PizzaKaiser]

So far, the closest example I can find is the 1947 pattern Berlin Polizei (seen in the link):
Tschako 1945-1968 – Polizei – Historische Schutzleute Berlin e.V.



The above website says that the Berlin Police introduced their new pattern of uniform in 1947, but had been using older wartime uniforms for the previous two years.

It's not an exact match... but most of the features are very close. Differences are mainly in the color (although this is hard to tell) and cuff style - the cuffs on my tunic are more of an earlier military style. The date of mine is stamped "1943" in two places... so it's a good 4 years earlier than this early postwar style of uniform.

It seems that Karl Heisler company was based in Berlin, and mainly produced higher-end items for the Luftwaffe (flightsuits, etc.). Could this possibly be a very late war Berlin Police uniform, or perhaps some sort of special Luftschutzpolizei, or maybe even some sort of factory guard uniform? So far I've not been able to find any exact matches in any photos yet... but maybe someone will know of one out there.

The hunt is still on!