Help with tunic..

[juoneen]

What years did the west germans start using the berets that were the similar type to the early pre war berets....like a hard hat?

[RodneyO]

Aloha Jens,
Wow!! if I knew that the early BW stuff would become harder to get than the TR stuff, I should have picked up more of the tunics that was here !!. Most of them had the "A" inked stamp on the insides, some with insignias some without. I remember seeing a rack of them back in the late 70's early 80's. My first thought was to convert them into WW2 SS officer's uniforms....glad I didn't do it with this one.

Steve, I'm don't collect West German Militaria but wanted one for my collection to show what post-war Germany had for military uniforms. I also have a gas mask canister w/mask that looks exactly like a WW2 M38 model. Has an "A" and Auer/Berlin on the lid.

[Collectinsteve]

juoneen,

The Panzer beret (brown wool with hard liner) was used in the early 1960s. I don't know if it was introduced in 1959 along with the uniform or later.

RodneyO,

There are a number of different gasmask containers from the post war period. Some are nearly identical to WW2 types, some are distinctly different. Very few of the total types are actually Bundeswehr. The others are BGS, Polizei, or the various disaster relief organizations. Some are very similar to each other. With a couple of pictures a good West German collector can most likely tell you what it isn't, probably tell you what it is.

Steve

[RodneyO]

Aloha Steve,
Here's my West German gas mask set, didn't know there was a difference, BW, BGS and Polizei.
The one on the left is WW2 and the one on the right is the West German set.
WW2:BW.jpg
WW2:BW (t).jpg

[RodneyO]

Here's the gas mask: Left WW2, Right West German
WW2:BW Gasmask.jpg

[Asbjoern]

Finding piping on its own very difficult. It's not fun to sew back on either. Which is why it's better to search out, find, and pay a little extra (if necessary) for a complete jacket.

Steve

Steve, I was lucky to acquire the leftovers of a tailors shop two years ago ... beside lots of unfinished shoulderboards - it seems as if the guy was very bussy in changing jackets from pointed to round boards - there were some meters of different piping material ... including coloured cloth piping! So this problem could be solved also...

Jens

[Collectinsteve]

Jens,

But the question is... can you find that box without risking an avalanche?

Rodney,

I'll give some feedback on your masks in the new thread you started, though it seems my comments will be mostly redundant.

Steve

[Asbjoern]

Rodney,
Here is an appropriate visor cap to go with your uniform. Currently on eBay.de
http://cgi.ebay.de/Bundeswehr-Mannsc.../300527521369?

This is defientely no Artillerie red visor ... as I hoped reling on the pictures turned out to be an mint corall red Flak visor ... SO I´m only missing a white piped one for the musicians and a goldyellow one for the recce-guys ...

Jens