Camo Tanker/Sniper(?) coveralls

[Mike Pinkus]

a little help guys...double zipper very intricately made...pockets within pockets, zippers everywhere...was told it was SAS but initially thought tanker...now with the big pouch on the reverse i am not sure...probably post war , newby buttons (like on the denisons), and AMC marked zipper....many zippers with leather tongues throughout...way over enginneered...only markings i found were a big 22 in the inside by the neck...
any help appreciated...can get other pics let me know

[Mike Pinkus]

back side showing large interior pocket

[Adrian Stevenson]

SOE Jump smock

Cheers, Ade.

[Jack Dutton-Roberts]

Mike,

Yes, it's a post war tankers' coverall worth about $25

Seriously very nice SOE jump smock you have there

Jack

[seebee1]

Superb Special Operations Executive Jump Suit, great find Clive.

[JEROEN1944]

Like Jack sayed, worth $25.... Lot of us want to have it for 25$

[Mike Pinkus]

sweet....thanks guys for the help so WW2 then??
whats it worth ...i know about denisons but not these

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Mike, I have seen them sell for a wide range of values, depending on who is selling them. I have not seen one sell recently though, so a "guesstimate" of a fair collector price would be £1000/$2000.

Cheers, Ade.

[seebee1]

I agree with Ade's price range, it is a while since I have seen one for sale. The first one I bought, mid-late 1970's, cost £100 and this was thought at the time to be way too expensive. Just try to find the matching Jump-Helmet, I think I have only seen three for sale in 30 years! Regards, Clive.

[Paul Brennan]

Someone I know said that the jump helmets were mostly used by female SOE agents, male SOE agents prefered to use black painted para helmets. Has anyone heard of this being done?

Paul.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Never heard of that theory before Paul.

Cheers, Ade.

[Mike Pinkus]

Guys again; thanks....i came up with the same numbers as to rarity and what a "normal" jump smock would sell for and extrapolating...
i did notice the helmet was a part of this...but i can imagine those are a needle in a haystack type find...i guess sometimes it pays to be lucky
appreciate all the responses....best
mike

[seebee1]

The SOE jump helmets were worn by male and female Paul, there is no truth in them being favoured by women. Usually it was either this pattern of helmet or the black sorbo rubber helmet. I think it was not too often that the steel helmet was worn by an individual agent. The trip was one way and all the gear generally had to be hidden, much easier to hide something rubber or fabric than steel, also the latter would be more expensive and a waste for one low-level parachute drop. Regards, Clive.

[shadwell1944]

Yup, SOE Jumpsuit and a very nice example at that! Out of interest are the press studs all brass or are any Nickel plated? I had a look at a suit that belongs to a friend of mine which had been modified post-war and though it had Nickel plated press studs they didn't apppear to have been replaced at all so we were discussing the conventional wisdom that all wartime press studs had to be brass. I think Ade's value of $1000-$2000 as a fair collector price is alright, obviously you could E-Bay it and probably get more as anything SOE/Jedburgh/OSS related has really gone up in value over the last few years, not that it was ever really cheap in the first place

You can see the suit in use here:

http://www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk/Agent%20dressing.jpg

http://www.militarygnome.com/assets/images/SOE.JPG

It was intended to go over all other clothing, usually civilian and the pockets contained various useful items, a folding spade for burying the parachute equipment, knife for cutting parachute lines/webbing etc. and a number of internal pockets for documents, currency and anything else the agent might need.

[Mike Pinkus]

the press studs are silver colored so i am assuming nickel plated..

Yup, SOE Jumpsuit and a very nice example at that! Out of interest are the press studs all brass or are any Nickel plated? I had a look at a suit that belongs to a friend of mine which had been modified post-war and though it had Nickel plated press studs they didn't apppear to have been replaced at all so we were discussing the conventional wisdom that all wartime press studs had to be brass. I think Ade's value of $1000-$2000 as a fair collector price is alright, obviously you could E-Bay it and probably get more as anything SOE/Jedburgh/OSS related has really gone up in value over the last few years, not that it was ever really cheap in the first place

You can see the suit in use here:

http://www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk/Agent%20dressing.jpg

http://www.militarygnome.com/assets/images/SOE.JPG

It was intended to go over all other clothing, usually civilian and the pockets contained various useful items, a folding spade for burying the parachute equipment, knife for cutting parachute lines/webbing etc. and a number of internal pockets for documents, currency and anything else the agent might need.