I’m sharing with you another very nice vet coming from the Italian War Front;this time a salty Mod 42 HBT tunic for a Panzer Unteroffizier.It's nice to think of this tunic as a tunic worn by say,the gunner of a Panther tank,but I'd rather keep my feet on the ground and take into consideration that he could have been a PaK gunner,a mechanic or whoever may have worn pink-piped boards!
It comes from somewhere near Padua and the shoulder straps have been with the tunic forever.The piping looks darker in the pictures,nearly red,while in fact is a very faded pink,and a moth bite which makes the hidden part of the fabric of the piping visible is clearly pink...will try to take better pictures this afternoon!
The collar has no tresse and no signs of having it ever applied but pictures often shows Unteroffizieren,especially late in the war wearing their rank’s straps on tunic whose collar was devoid of NCO tresse.
The eagle is zig-zag sewn in a way often seen on tropical M41 and M42,i.e. it’s been straight machine sewn on top when it was reversed,then flipped over and zig-zag sewn for the rest of the emblem.The mose gray litzen are neatly zig-zag sewn as well.
The lining is made of some sort of stone-gray thick cloth and the tunic itself is much heavier than your ordinary HBT blouse…at first I tought it was just an illusion,then I compared weights with other HBTs in my collection and yes…it’s heavier!
Cheers
Chris
It comes from somewhere near Padua and the shoulder straps have been with the tunic forever.The piping looks darker in the pictures,nearly red,while in fact is a very faded pink,and a moth bite which makes the hidden part of the fabric of the piping visible is clearly pink...will try to take better pictures this afternoon!
The collar has no tresse and no signs of having it ever applied but pictures often shows Unteroffizieren,especially late in the war wearing their rank’s straps on tunic whose collar was devoid of NCO tresse.
The eagle is zig-zag sewn in a way often seen on tropical M41 and M42,i.e. it’s been straight machine sewn on top when it was reversed,then flipped over and zig-zag sewn for the rest of the emblem.The mose gray litzen are neatly zig-zag sewn as well.
The lining is made of some sort of stone-gray thick cloth and the tunic itself is much heavier than your ordinary HBT blouse…at first I tought it was just an illusion,then I compared weights with other HBTs in my collection and yes…it’s heavier!
Cheers
Chris
A real looker
?He took a great risk for he may as well be sent to the front 
!
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