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M42 Feldbluse, F43 Depot marked, combat worn.

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    M42 Feldbluse, F43 Depot marked, combat worn.

    Hi, this has already been reviewed elsewhere, when it was for sale on the E-Stand:-

    http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=874849

    but I've since bought it and wanted to show it in it's own thread with some new pictures. Something to look at and study, as that is what this Forum is for! Although I have a weakness (like many) for mint items, or items in excellent condition, there is no doubt that there is a feeling of a worn item having more history attached. I've waited a while for one with originally applied insignia, and I like to think that it follows that the wear on such an item that was not 'de-Nazified' has a very good chance of the wear being from wartime service, rather than from being worn post-war as 'army surplus', as no doubt many items were. I hope you like it as much as me!

    Also, in recent times I've become quite interested in the Italian Campaign, and it has something of an 'Italian connection'! I bought it from Italian WAF member Cesare Cornia (great guy to deal with ), who acquired it from another collector who bought it from the Italian dealer "Der Alter Art", who I discovered still has it on his website here!

    http://www.deralterart.com/site/germ...-gebirgsjaeger

    I contacted the owner of "Der Alter Art" (Stefano Borghi, who is also Hermann Historica's representative in Italy) to ask if he recalled any history with the tunic, as items with history are definitely my thing, and after all if you don't ask, you don't get... He recalled:-

    "Dear Paul, the tunic come from Germany, but unfortunately no history behind it.
    I buy every month a lot of stuffs from collectors and dealers, so I don’t ask the history of each.
    For sure is a very nice and untouched tunic.
    Best regards Stefano"


    so there goes the Italian connection , it was sourced in Germany. It was very good of him to reply though!

    I was slow to pull the trigger on this one as I had an M43 in my sights, and I can be quite obsessive when it comes to the next 'target' ! However, as stated in Jean-Philippe Bourg's and Laurent Huart's Feldbluse book, the 'M42' (modern collector term) with scalloped pocket flaps is not really seen in wartime pictures until the summer of 1943 at the battle of Kursk (unless more photos have been discovered since then?). It makes you wonder how accurate the term 'M42' really is, perhaps one day it might be re-christened 'early pattern M43' ! Of course with my latest Italian Campaign interest, this intoductory date of July 1943 fits in very well with the start of the Italian Campaign...

    Regards, Paul
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    Last edited by PaulW; 09-10-2016, 05:15 PM.

    #2
    The thread attaching the eagle and collar patches is identical to that used in the construction of the blouse.
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      #3
      The eagle front and back. Eagles sewn through the lining have of course been discussed many times on the Forum, such as here:-

      http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...&highlight=m43

      here:-

      http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ht=sewn+lining

      and here:-

      http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...&highlight=m43
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        #4
        2
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          #5
          The collar tabs are the less common zig-zag sewn application, similar to an M42 example in Jean-Philippe Bourg's Feldbluse book, and these two examples on the WAF, coincidentally also from the Frankfurt Depot (though not the same individual maker):-

          http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...&highlight=m43
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            #6
            Some interior pictures:-

            One collar liner button is missing, not too bad after 73 years!
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              #7
              Here and there, there are some repairs with a blue-black thread (see the collar loop). Perhaps post-war collector repairs, although the seam on one lower arm has come apart and has not been repaired, so who can say? I'll probably leave the sleeve seam as it is, as it doesn't show when displayed.
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                #8
                The sleeve seam that has pulled apart, and the tunic stamps. The tunic stamps are easier to see in the hand. The "F 43" (Frankfurt Depot, 1943) can be clearly seen, the stamps appear to be:-

                155 160 (i.e height range - 5'1" to 5'3" - so not for a big guy!)

                37 40

                90 (Chest size 35 - 36")

                65 55

                with F 43 at the bottom.

                Useful link for German tunic sizes:-

                http://www.dererstezug.com/GermanSiz...sExplained.htm

                The RB number is very difficult read however. It might be:-

                0/0760/0578

                or something similar....
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                  #9
                  The buttons appear to be originally applied, all are marked "JFS 40" (Josef Felix & Sohne, Gablonz presumably), except the bottom one at the front which has been replaced, post-war or wartime.

                  Anyway, I don't think I'll be losing any sleep over it!
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                    #10
                    More of the blue-black thread repairs. It's the same thread used on the replacement lower front button etc.

                    Also, in this shot you can see an example of the zig-zag stitching (this is under one of the lower pockets) used in the construction of the blouse, it's identical to the stitching on the eagle.
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                      #11
                      The boards that came with the tunic are interesting. The seller acquired the tunic with these boards, and of course there are wartime pictures of field promoted soldiers with this rank in particular, that have not yet had collar tress added by the unit tailor. However, when the tunic was at "Der Alter Art" it had Infantry EM shoulder boards on, so perhaps they were changed by the intermediate owner? After all these years, there is no telling how many times boards may have been changed! As there are no award loops on the tunic, and I suspect an Unteroffizier (especially Infantry) would have had at least an Infantry Assault badge for example, I will replace them with EM boards.

                      Nevertheless, I quite like these boards on their own! They are well worn 1936 types, one has been repaired (tongue replaced, and button-hole has been repaired). Notice also that one is wool-piped, and the other has the 'basket-weave' type piping sometimes seen on M44 boards and often assumed to be 'late-war'. However, I have seen basket-weave piped boards on a pre-war Heer Waffenrock, and I suspect it was just a (rare) manufacturer variation, used pre-war (at least), and re-issued late-war again when all available materials wer being utilised. Just my theory...
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                        #12
                        More pictures of the shoulder straps.

                        Despite the piping variation, they have the look of a pair that have been together for a long time, possibly a wartime matched pair?
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                          #13
                          The reverse, showing the replaced tongue on one of the straps.
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                            #14
                            The back of the collar is not cotton lined, it is stiffened with scrap wool. Another example of this shown in Bourg and Huart's Feldbluse book.
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                              #15
                              A front and back shot. Although it is worn, remarkably, it seems to have escaped the moths somehow!

                              (The belt-hooks are not original, it didn't come with any. I just added those for the mannequin shots.)
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