Last of the last. "M44-M45" jacket?

[Ben]

This is my newest find. The jacket was recently found and it has been undisturbed since the war.
It is a pretty interesting jacket in that it has some very late war features that I have seen before and some I haven't. It is made out of a rough gray wool mix and here is no internal lining. The eagle has been attached with a straight factory stitch on it. The odd part is that it has no (and never had) loops and/or button for shoulder loops but it does have the button holes on the chest pockets. The buttons are made out of some sort of wood with a gray wash/paint on it. The only marking inside is "48".

Has anyone seen or handled one of these before.
How common are these tunics?

[Ben]

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[Coco]

The jacket

Hi Ben,

IMO is it a late war Italian WWII jacket (at least the wooden buttons in this form and the typical lining confirm this). Of course, it might have been used by the Germans but I do not think it is a 'standard issue'. I have in my collection a very late 44 jacket being a really late one and missing the entire system for belthooks and specific closure of the arms. Strange is the fact that this one is dated '44' and not '45'. I once had a similar '45' jacket - dated 1945 - which I traded years ago with a collector in Deventer (you know who this is....he might still have it...okay?

Best regards,

Coco

[Ben]

Hoi Coco,

were these jackets ever made and/or used by the Germans?
Are there any pictures known of anyone (Italians or Germans) wearing them.
Also, do you know if these Italian jackets had no provisions, like this one, for the shoulder boards?
Truly would appreciate your help on this one.

Groetjes,
Ben

[derspiess63]

Hoi Coco,

were these jackets ever made and/or used by the Germans?
Are there any pictures known of anyone (Italians or Germans) wearing them.
Also, do you know if these Italian jackets had no provisions, like this one, for the shoulder boards?
Truly would appreciate your help on this one.

Groetjes,
Ben

Hi Ben,
this is not an Italian Army(RSI) jacket by any means,but it's 123% identical(apart from the Italian wooden buttons for trousers)to a M44 jacket I posted last year!My jacket was made without inner pockets,cuff slits/buttons,belt hooks provisions and had insigna original to it which was APPALLINGLY hand-stitched(sewn is too much!) on!While my Jacket had "german" buttonholes,yours has Italian-style ones,the very same buttonholes that could be found on a pair of very late-war,Italian-made M43 trousers which one of our fellow members posted on the e-stand lastr month and which came straight out of yours truly's humble collection.
It had no markings apart from a big 3 on the inner back,which was the very late sizing method;"Yo half-pint... size #3 will fit you...make it last!".
Very late M44s are a collecting field in their own right and if your hasn't been finished imo(lack of shoulder boards loops would suggest that!),remember that there are very late M44s which lack pocket flaps' buttonholes or even the pocket flaps themselves!Some have only 5 buttons and other are simple tunics without a trace of lining whatsoever(I've seen one last September in Milan.....it belonged to a very advanced collector I know...it was without insigna and it was so "minimalist" we all fell in love with it!).
Many M44s were produced in Northern Italy,Austria and Southern Germany with seized Italian materials,and many remained undisturbed were they had been stacked due to the lack of transports.
Many "strange" M44s surfaced in Tuscany a few years ago when collectors started searching thru the huge piles of rags coming from Germany,Austria and Italy,which would have been turned into fabrics or paper, by the many Tuscany's paper and textile factories!You wouldn't believe what has been found inside those rags depots...it would make any "Vet BB" blush!In fact many collectors/dealers have made boatloads of money with their finding,especially so with WSS camo!
I've posted a few of those findings myself,and at least a dozen went to a few members.The saying that goes"What goes around comes around"is true....Italian made M43 and M44 tunics and trousers have been found by the hundreds and many M44s were so beautifully "odd" that they should be seen to be believed!
This is all I can say about these M44s at the moment, but if you do a quick search you'll find the thread I started about them....sorry but the pictures are long gone!
Hope that helps
Manny

[derspiess63]

Ben,
I've just found a few pictures of the M44 I was referring to in my previous post...write me a PM !
Manny

[TONY Q.W.]

Very interesting info, dear friend Manny! In these huge piles of rags were they also any finds of mint Luft tropical tunics??

Great Regards

[Ben]

Hi Manny,

many thanks for your great story on these M44/M45's.
Mine was found in Germany and hasn't been in collectors hands befoe as well.
There were some interesting other items with this find as well.
I went through the Mike Beaver books and found a jacket in there that is nearly identical to mine except for the shoulder straps and the collar tabs.
MB's doesn't seem to have the button holes in the top pocket flaps, like you mentioned. The lining, or whatever is there, is identical to mine.

One can almost see a young kid or an old man running around with a Panzerfaust in one of these.

PM'd you for your pictures.

Below, the example out of the MB book.

[Ben]

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[Ben]

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[Ryan94]

At Germandaggers was also a thread about these "late-war M44" tunics...
http://daggers.infopop.cc/groupee/fo...776#4873055776

But what wonders me about that field police tunic is, the "lining" at the inside of the collar...