Tiroler Standschutzen (Static guard) tunic

[Alex Ciavaglia]

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[Alex Ciavaglia]

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[Craig W.C. Brown]

Alex: Like the Vs proper there seem to be any number of oddities in connection with Ss uniforms. I still suspect that there are regulations of one kind or another to be found somewhere but so far if anybody has found them they aren't saying. I have a hunch - and it is only that - that there may have been two sets of "regs" for tabs: one for the very short period before which the Ss were absorbed into the Vs and another applicable according to Vs regs. I repeat that this is purely a hunch.

Nick G: I have a couple of similar tunics (although unmarked) with full Ss insignia applied as well; they have regular metal buttons; with one came a an M43 cap similar to yours with wood buttons with Wehrmacht metal cap eagle attached; they are supposed to have been worn by the same Ss-mann.

I'm preparing to update my posting on Ss OoB; haven't found any documentation on it but have an approach using complete tunics which
may tell us something if my methodology is correct.

I have had no luck in finding either Ss dogtags or verifiable Soldbuchs. A purported Ss Soldbuch was posted on the WAF recently but it contains no entries; a usually reliable informant tells me that he has seen at least one Ss Soldbuch and that it was bilingual - German and Italian.

Action reports/accounts also remain elusive; the few I have found are buried in broader narratives and not especially informative.

[NickG]

As an aside: it is often stated that the Ss wore an Edelweiß on their caps; this makes a certain amount of sense in terms of Austrian tradition but so far I have seen no original photos where such is the case.

I believe these are examples of the cap edelweiss insignia worn by Tyrolian Standschutzen. Note Army Gebirgsjager officer with (bearded) Standschutzen troopers!
Note also MG34!

[Craig W.C. Brown]

I think I've seen this before and the image is too fuzzy for me to make out what is there. That fellow with the beard must have had a good PR agent; he shows up in at least two other photos; in one he's wearing the Spielhahnstoß/Federschmuck stuck on the side of a Pol cap and in another he's wearing some sort of M43 cap (probably Pol) w/o the feather. I'll bet he was a WWI vet showing the new boys how they did it then. In WWI and through 1938 the Austrians wore the feather (with or without the Edelweiß) stuck in a special pocket sewn on the side of the mountain cap, with different styles of Edelweiß, frequently with the stem to the front, and I've seen a photo of Gen. Feuerstein w a WW2 vintage Bergmütze w the Edelweiß worn in the same way. It wouldn't surprise me at all to find out some of the Ss wore them reversed to Gebirgsjäger regs.
For some good images of the Ss, including the bearded one, see Kaltenegger, Spezialverbände der Gebirgstruppe 1939-1945, German or English eds.

[Alex Ciavaglia]

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... I have a couple of similar tunics (although unmarked) with full Ss insignia applied as well; they have regular metal buttons; with one came a an M43 cap similar to yours with wood buttons with Wehrmacht metal cap eagle attached; they are supposed to have been worn by the same Ss-mann.

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Hi Nick,
in the middle of the 80's, when a tons of this stuff came out from the 'city who rework the rags' in Italy, the most of these tunics where already stripped or stripped then (!) and remounted with SS insigna or whatever insigna to grew up their importance and conseguenthly the prize on the market by some idiot. After all, nobody knew this kind of tunics because there wasn't the knowledge of today; infact there isn't any tracks of the eagle on the breast, the collar patches leave a typical SS squared shadow on the cloth etc..
In my cap, lay some thread who held some badge on the left, maybe a methallic edelweiss and nothing on the front side.
Alex

[NickG]

Hi Nick,
in the middle of the 80's, when a tons of this stuff came out from the 'city who rework the rags' in Italy, the most of these tunics where already stripped or stripped then (!) and remounted with SS insigna or whatever insigna to grew up their importance and conseguenthly the prize on the market by some idiot. After all, nobody knew this kind of tunics because there wasn't the knowledge of today; infact there isn't any tracks of the eagle on the breast, the collar patches leave a typical SS squared shadow on the cloth etc..
In my cap, lay some thread who held some badge on the left, maybe a methallic edelweiss and nothing on the front side.
Alex

True Alex...these mill rag finds can easily have been transformed and upgraded to something more exotic. Not sure if the SS tunic depicted below is an example of that... (Standschutzen converted?) but appears to also have been made of Italian Olona khaki (tropcial) cotton material...
and made in a similar cut as the Standschutzen tunic that started this thread (en route to me from Italy...) and repeated in post 23.
My tunic was not messed with, just stripped. IT NEVER HAD ANY SHOULDERSTRAP PROVISIONS, nor SS sleeve eagle added/removed...The collar tab ghosts (basically SS shape) are for sure Standschutzen and the remnants on the Standschutzen sleeve diamond are further proof that is has not been played with...just stripped of valuable insignia). I'll inspect it further when it arrives!
This one does look similar... (perhaps also Italian made and SS restored? it does have provisions for musicians swallow nests...who knows?)

[NickG]

comparison

comparison (similar cut)...NO partial lining, NO cuff openings, NO belt ramp support holes...
A simple design with permanent (DAK style) open V neck, made of Italian tropical fabric. ("Olona" cloth)

[Alex Ciavaglia]

HI Nick,
what i meant was the tunics made with italian wool cloth (orbace). Sincerely, it's the first time i see a Standschützen tunic in Olona. Very nice!

[NickG]

Tunic again. Note sleeve (yellow arrows) = "Ss" Standschutzen diamond ghost! Need one!!!
+ temporarily pinned on "Ss" tabs...not a perfect match...too bad!

[NickG]

now with different lighting...appears darker...

[Dennis S]

Nick, Just spotted this thread. Nice unusual tunic. I wanted to show you my Hat in case you missed it before. My opinion is period applied from sleeve diamond.

[Dennis S]

liner.

[Dennis S]

I also picked this up and is most likely civilian , but it sure has a nice shape, super soft texture, kind of like a silky wool. I am not disregarding it until I am sure what it is.

[Dennis S]

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