Tropical service blouse for a Kriegsmarine NCO - opinions welcome

[PaulW]

Hi all, new to the KM and looking at this unissued tropical tunic at the moment, opinions are welcome!

The buttons are all marked "A & S 40" and are attached with S rings.

Best regards, Paul

[PaulW]

A few more pictures:-

[PaulW]

Couldn't resist this in the end! Tried it on a Webster torso mannequin with a matching cap and belt (shirt, tie are just "fillers"). The wartime pictures I've seen so far with KM tropical uniforms in wear seem to show that the black leather belt and steel buckle was by far the most common belt type worn, and I have seen pictures with an open shirt collar, and also the black KM tie being worn on more formal occasions.

The photograph is a recent German E-Bay pick-up. As in most wartime pictures, the tropical blouses don't seem to be worn with trade patches (apparently they exist but are ultra-rare and almost never seen in wartime pictures), and often seem devoid even of awards, almost as though this dress was seen as some kind of work-wear?

The rank is Obermaat (Leading Petty Officer/ Feldwebel equivalent), and according to one source the 'Cornflower blue' tress was introduced from 1942. The RB number also suggests that the jacket might have been made from 1942 onwards. In my original post I stated that all the buttons were marked "A & S 40", however on closer inspection some are marked "FBB 40", or "FBB 41", but I suspect at the manufacturing stage they just grabbed a handful of buttons and didn't worry too much about matching makers...

All in all, I'd say it was a high quality well-made garment.

Thanks to Mike Davis of Virtual Grenadier for the tunic. Great to deal with as usual.

Regards, Paul

[Adrian Stevenson]

Looks great!

[PaulW]

Thanks Adrian!