60's BGS Camo Jacket

[Ron P]

While visiting War Relics Shop in Delaware yesterday and saw this jacket. I'm guessing 60's issue? The original insignia had been removed but a BGS bird was found in one pocket and I placed it on the sleeve for the picture. Any opinions welcome. Ron.

[Ron P]

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[Klaus1989]

"2nd model" BGS jacket, was introduced 1967/68 and used up late 70s (in some cases early 80s), when camo was abolished. Label is from 1971 contract actually. Only need the shoulderboards and buttons and a small size arch, which stephan.de sell and sometimes appear on ebay.de also. Otherwise nice condition, these are frequently cut in various places to demilitarise them for civilian market.

Regards
Klaus

[Collectinsteve]

You got a very nice one, Ralph! Great condition and not murdered by BGS razor blades. A bonus is the fairly hard to find camo backed shield badge.

As Klaus said all you need is a BUNDESGRENZSCHUTZ arc for the top. These were added sometime around 1971/72 (not exactly sure when) and were retro fitted to older jackets. It's extremely rare to find one without this modification.

The arc is simple stitched with green thread along the inside of the edge of the arc. The shield is sewn with zig-zag stitching, which is a royal pain to do in my experience. Obviously you have the old thread and holes to see that for yourself

If you're interested in an arc, buttons, and rank send me a PM and I'll set you up with what you need. I've only seen one type of arc on these jackets so it's easy to match. I only need to know the inside measurement of the shoulder rank loop (i.e. where the strap fits through). Around 1971 they went from the type used since the early 1960s to a broader strap type used until the 2000s.

Steve

[Ron P]

Thanks guys. I didn't buy it as camo's not my field anymore. So it is 70's issue. Thanks, Ron.

[Klaus1989]

the arch was introduced 1970 by order of the Interior Minister Genscher. I would guess it could take until 1971 or later to update all older uniforms, but anything made after this date, such as your jacket, always had one.

Regards
Klaus

[Collectinsteve]

the arch was introduced 1970 by order of the Interior Minister Genscher. I would guess it could take until 1971 or later to update all older uniforms, but anything made after this date, such as your jacket, always had one.

Regards
Klaus

Thanks for the reminder that the order was in 1970. I can never remember if it was that or 1971, with the usual 1 year overlap between new and old. So yes, as you say uniforms made in 1971+ should have it factory sewn and earlier ones retrofitted.

I've had maybe 20+ of these jackets in my hands, all but a few with the arm pocket still in place. If I had to guess I'd say only one or two didn't have signs of the arc being sewn on, despite the range of ages from 1967 through 1975. So it seems they did a pretty good job keeping the older stock in service and updating them.

Steve

[Collectinsteve]

Thanks guys. I didn't buy it as camo's not my field anymore. So it is 70's issue. Thanks, Ron.

If it was under about $30 you could turn a good profit fully restored. I've pretty regularly got $65-$85 for rebadged examples in this condition or even worse.

Quick aside... one of the first 10 camouflage jackets I ever bought was a pretty beat up 2nd Model jacket with the arm pocket sliced off. I got it in a shop in Fulda in 1992. Even though I've had so many in my hands since then I kept it to wear around. I even managed to repair the arm pocket using one of 10 sliced off pockets with badges I bought from stephan.de ages ago. I'm such a sentimental guy

Steve