NVA Para Uniform

[tony james]

hi john
the womens beret has no ventlation eyelet holes and had no sweat shield or diamond or ties .also the costruction is inferior.albert i sent you pm.

tony

[Albert]

Hi guys,
The pants are definitely issue. The straps are factory sewn, not an added feature that is.

And here is the beret.

Best regards,
Al

[Rev462]

I'm a little late in picking up on this thread - hope someone is still paying attention!

Anyway, the beret in the photo looks like a womens' beret. Para berets have gommets on the sides for ventilation, and should have a diamond-shaped sweatshield. If the beret is used the sweatshield may be gone, but there should be evidence of it having been there. Also, Para berets have extra padding in front to help retain the shape - womens' berets don't have this padding.

[Mike G.]

Hi all,

The NVA Fallschirmjager Beret (grey service and orange parade) were fashioned very similarly to that of the Soviet Airborne and Naval Marine types. They were better constructed than the female NVA beret, had two ventilation holes on either side, and had ties in the rear to adjust the fit. The NVA Service (Gray in color) Fallschirmjager Beret also is of a greener shade of gray than that of the NVA female Beret, which is charcoal gray in color. The NVA Fallschirmjager Berets as previously mentioned, had diamond shaped plastic sweatband protecting the size insignia inside the liner. The NVA female Beret does not.

If I am successful in my endeavor at posting my first photo examples, following are photos representative of the Russian Berets to which I made reference, followed by the NVA versions.

[Mike G.]

Soviet Airborne and Naval Marine Infantry Berets

Soviet Airborne Berets upon which the NVA Berets were based.

[Mike G.]

NVA Female Beret vs. NVA Fallschirmjager Berets

Forward looking examples of the Female Beret in comparison to a Service and Parade NVA Fallschirmjager Beret.

[Mike G.]

Ventilation Holes

Sidewise examples of the Female Beret in comparison to a Service and Parade NVA Fallschirmjager Beret showing ventilation holes.

[Mike G.]

NVA Berets - a look inside

Inside views of the Female, and two Fallschirmjager Berets. Note the ties at the rear of the Para Berets for adjusting the fit and the omission of this on the female beret. Also, there is a diamond sweatband in the Parade Para Beret. The Service Beret is missing the plastic cover but you can see the visible outline. There is no sweatband in the female beret.

[Rev462]

Hi Mike.

Thanks for the great photos of the berets.

One additional note on sizes - the ones with the adjustable ties, sized 1,2,3 were the last pattern Para berets, introduced in 1986 I believe. Prior to this, Para berets were non-adjustable and sized like visor hats, i.e., 53, 54, 55, etc.

[John F.]

Mike:

Very Nice!

John

[Mike G.]

Pre 86 Para Berets

Hi John and Rev462,

I'm not happy with the photos - still got to get the hang of posting pics on this forum. (Each Forum is different). I shoulda cropped them. My dad blamed "Photography Studio" (Back Yard) is visible (LOL).

I hear ya on the pre 86 "No Ties" thing. That's why I'm here, to learn. One thing though - the enlisted Service Beret is stamped inside 53, but still has ties. Is this an odd ball one that got through somehow? That's the problem with the uniform changes in the DDR/NVA I guess - there was always some overlap during each uniform transition period. Oh well, keeps one on their toes I suppose.

[PaulR]

Does anyone have any photos of the old para uniforms with the double bar litzen to show? It would be great to have some of these on line to compare to.

Thanks
Paul REck

[Mike G.]

Dark Collar Fallschirmjager Tunic

Hi Paul, I stole this picture off ebay. Not sure how well it will post. I think the color is off and what is orange will appear red. But it will give you an idea. The Tunic by the way, if I'm not mistaken, now belongs to one of the Communist Bloc Board members.

[olivyaya]

hi john
early officer para tunics ( dark collar) were gaberdine material and were piped in white for parade and staff service and unpiped for field and service.the first open collared service tunics were unpiped when first issued .i don't know how long they manufactured the unpiped open collared service but i think maybe 1969/70 and after that both service and parade were piped in white.


tony

This would explain my tunic
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...highlight=para

[olivyaya]

hi john
as far as i know the paras always wore the tapered pants for parade and
service.its possible that the white piped pants would have been worn for walking out purposes.photographic evidence is whats needed in cases like this.

tony

So when were keilhose worn by EM and officers exactly ? Does anybody know ?