WW2 Soviet Russian tunic - gymnasterka for Lieutenant of artillery

[militaria.no]

Hello guys

I have just bought this “WW2 Soviet Russian tunic - gymnasterka for Lieutenant of artillery” from aboutww2militaria.com.

http://www.aboutww2militaria.com/Dec...mnasterka.html

“WW2 Soviet Russian tunic - gymnasterka for Lieutenant of artillery, good worn condition. Red piping on the cuffs. Some period repairs. Some buttons are missed, but we can add them by your wish”.

I have planned to take some pictures on a mannequin with my m36 helmet and WW2 officer belt. A friend saw the pictures of the jacket and told me WW2 Russian uniforms are rarer than German SS uniforms. As these WW2 Russian uniforms are not my main field I hope you can give me some feedback on this gymnasterka. He asked if there are any stamps or labels but I don’t think so. Are there any characteristics that separate a WW2 jacket from a post-war jacket?

[militaria.no]

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[Wesley's Dad]

I would give this one a . The materials and construction, plus the degree of wear and tear for an officer's tunic would lean me to agree with the seller that this one is a wartime made piece in all likelihood. However, there is a bit of an art to this and shirts made from 1943 into the late 1940s can be stitch for stitch identical in all regards.

Soviet militaria is not like German. That is they didn't stop making it in May 1945. Generally speaking, once you get in the 1950's there are some obvious standardization of materials, button types etc that allow a easy and definitive distinction. With a shirt like yours, it is often not so easy.

[militaria.no]

Thank you for your time and feedback Michael. The guys at aboutww2militaria.com are serious and have one of very few militaria websites with ww2 soviet items. I have planned to take some pictures of the gymnasterka on a mannequin together with this m36 helmet and WW2 Soviet officer belt. I will post them as soon as they are ready

[Wesley's Dad]

Soviet Militaria

Thank you for your time and feedback Michael. The guys at aboutww2militaria.com are serious and have one of very few militaria websites with ww2 soviet items.

You are welcome. Well, hopefully after this exchange, you have also discovered mine.

[STEBALIN]

I don´t like the shoulderboards. They may be modern replicas since they show almost no wear and the buttons seem to be late Cold War era. Can you check the reverse of those and see if there are any markings?

[militaria.no]

You are welcome. Well, hopefully after this exchange, you have also discovered mine.

I have sent a pm

[militaria.no]

I don´t like the shoulderboards. They may be modern replicas since they show almost no wear and the buttons seem to be late Cold War era. Can you check the reverse of those and see if there are any markings?

Modern replicas? If the red wool on the shoulder boards had been different than the red wool around the wrist this could have been a possibility, but the wool is exactly the same! So I don’t think the shoulder boards are modern replicas. I will check them for markings and post pictures here when I receive the jacket.

[Wesley's Dad]

Shoulder boards

I disagree that they are modern reproductions. Unissued boards are easier to find than used examples. The exact shade of red tends to vary a bit. I would say that the boards are likely not original to the shirt, but this is not a factor or liability in this genre of collecting, it is the normal. The buttons in shoulder board size with the rim around the edge are totally appropriate. Granted the buttons do look new or unused so even if they are undated on the reverse they could be postwar made, but impossible to know for certain . However, they are a correct style. Were it mine, I'd probably find a set of buttons with some patina and change them.

In this photo, the entire thing including the boards looks to be made of U.S. mustard wool which was supplied to the U.S.S.R. under the Lend-Lease agreements.