Heer Wachmantel

[Gordon Craig]

Gentlemen,

I pursuit of buying a BW Wachmantel, which has not been successful, I have discovered that there are two slightly different models. Both made during the 1956/1962 period. They are both lined and have hoods. Leather over the shoulders and chest. The general opinion on the multiboard is that the ones without shoulderboards were the ones made first. Possibly in the 56 to 59 time period and the ones with shoulder boards in the 60 to 62 period. This is based on the dates of labels in a limited number of these coats. They strongly resemble the WWII Wehrmacht Wachmantel.

The pictures are of one with shoulder boards. The hoods is detachable as it is held on with buttons. The photos are of the one bid on unsuccessfully that sold for euros 91.

Regards,

Gordon

[Gordon Craig]

#2,
I'd like to add more photos but trying to upload pictures to the WAF right now is painfully slow or doesn't work at all.

[uscob]

Nice Coat. Saw the last one maybe 15 Years ago.
About 20 Years ago, nearly every Surplus Store in Southern Bavaria had them, but mostly Kid's Sizes.

[Gordon Craig]

Nico,

They are hard to find now and as you can see from the auction price they are getting expensive.

Regards,

Gordon

[Asbjoern]

By luck I now (since almost a week) own both versions... here some pictures showing the most possible older version without teddy fur lining...

Jens

[Asbjoern]

The shoulderboards are definitely not removed ... and there is no lining !

[Asbjoern]

Backside

[Asbjoern]

And for comparison some shots of the second version...

[Asbjoern]

more

[Asbjoern]

At the moment I only have a picture of the younger label...

[Collectinsteve]

Many years ago Sportsmans Guide had a bunch of them. I already had two so I bought a third because neither one I had was in good shape.

I can't lay my hands on one of them, but from the two I just checked:

1960 -> liner is matching wool with the sleeves being lined with the sort of striped fake silk that one finds in the jackets.

1964 -> fake fur (Teddyfutter) throughout. Has rank loops and buttons. I'm pretty sure my missing coat is of this type.

I can not say for sure if the 1960 had rank loops/buttons or not. The reason is when I got it the vinyl was extremely brittle, cracked, and falling apart. So I removed it all and use the coat occasionally. I once used it to watch a friend trial at Lake Placid and IIRC it was -10f (-23c) that day. I've also worn it to a couple of winter solstice parties (outside) with temperatures down around that low. Not only did I stay very warm, but the pockets are plenty big for a pint of Schnapps

One of the three coats came with thick wool button on epaulettes. I figure that since these coats were often worn by many different soldiers within the same week, or perhaps even night, that the wool epaulettes were there for neutrality.

Steve

[Collectinsteve]

Heh... I see Jens and I cross posted

Now that I see his pictures I should mention my wool epaulettes are rounded, so they probably were on my 1964 coat.

I am pretty sure that my 1960 coat did not have shoulder rank. Jens' pictures, I think, confirm that his earlier type is no later than 1960.

Steve

[Asbjoern]

@ Steve : One of the biggest finds in the big hoard was the navi version of this coat in my sizeand with already removed vinyl ... so no bad thoughts of misusing a rare collector item AND it looks much "better" that way ... a very stilish winter coat ....

Jens

[Gordon Craig]

Jens,

Thanks for the pictures of your new coat.

Steve,

Thanks for your additional comments aas well.

Regards,

Gordon

[Gene T]

Is anyone still looking for one of these coats?

I stopped by at Major Surplus in LA today and saw half a dozen of these on a rack at the front of the showroom. Major carried these years ago, the last handful of which were buried in a bin and remained forgotten until a recent inventory check. All of the examples I looked at are in fine (virtually unworn) condition, except for the vinyl shoulder yoke, which is in various states of disintegration, just like the ones Steve had. They are dated 1959 through 1961 or 1962. None was made with a provision for shoulder straps, but one example is teddy-lined, so this combination did exist.

I bought the smallest of the bunch, a 170/104, so these are at least adult-sized.

At $50 apiece, I think they are cheaper than what Sportsman's Guide had sold them for, though the last batch Sportsman's Guide carried appeared to have been a naval version: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/produ...black?a=490262

Anyway, these are the last ones Major will have for the foreseeable future (unless their next inventory check turns up more; which they told me is highly unlikely). Such coats are completely useless here in California, but I reckon some of you on the other coast might actually benefit from wearing them right now.