Army Dress Tunic from Vet's Daughter

[Skip Pickett]

Hey guys:

Last week I had one of those "this has never happened before" calls. I bought this tunic from a woman who was 4 years old when her father "walked home from a Russian prison camp dressed in rags at the end of the war".

Her Dad died back in the 90's but her Mom just died recently. She and her husband went to Berlin and packed up everything in her Mom's apartment and this jacket was in the lot.

She said her Dad never spoke of the war other than saying he was a "signal man" in the Army. Also, when a fellow POW died, they took his close before they buried him.

I'm guessing this tunic was left at home when he went off to the Russian Front and then he kept it upon his return. She also said he was one of 5 boys to survive the war. 3 of his brothers are "still in the Atlantic" as she said... they were killed in U-Boats.

The tunic is kinda common I know, but I love the honest wear and how the eagle is applied too. I've bought a lot of stuff "out of the woodwork", but this is one of very few uniforms I've ever gotten, much less from a German woman who lives less than 1 mile from my house!

Skip

[Skip Pickett]

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[Skip Pickett]

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[panzer224]

Beautiful tunic! I love the wear on it and it sure is to me a unique piece of history!

[airborne_steve]

I have never seen a parade tunic with so much wear? The cuffs have lost their litzen as well. I wonder if this was used as a combat tunic at the end of the war or if it was used as a work jacket. Neat to see so much wear. Steve

[keifer kahn]

Certainly looks like the standard style flatwire eagle was replaced with a combat tunic eagle.

The visible stitching through the liner certainly suggests that.

So perhaps recycled as a combat tunic.

Nice.

[NickG]

Based on the eagle its been altered but not a full conversion (from pre-war Waffenrock to Service tunic),
as it still retains parade rock piping and collar tabs, but the cuffs have been stripped of litzen...

Here period photographic examples of more recycled waffenrocks (full conversions) as per the regulations;
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ted+waffenrock

As a possible combat tunic, very unpractical as it lacks pockets but the Volkssturm did used these on occasion (stripped down)

[Bond]

Maybe reissued to the Volksturm?

Regards,

Jerry

[Kengir]

Very nice tunic Skip, congradulations! Really do love the wear on this one; and what a great story to go with it.

-Jeremy

[afrikasandman]

Very cool jacket! Looks to have been modified to a walking out tunic from a waffenrock. I have an altered waffenrock that was modified for a walking out tunic by the pz knacker LT. Killer piece and anyone of us would love to have it. Matt

[Amsterdam]

Hello everyone,

They say you can only make one first impression. So I'm taking a bit of a chance with my very first post here....

But isn't the eagle applied to this tunic a cut-out one? I believe to see remnands of the former jacket around the zig-zag stitching. And the stitching going trough the liner seems to be a straight line. Either way nice history to it.

Anyhow, I hope to be able to contribute to this great forum. And I would like to thank all the members who's posts I've enjoyed to read and have learned from as well.

regards,

Bas

[Bond]

Eagles applied to dress tunics often have a backing of fabric between the eagle and the tunic, which is what I think is visible, but if you have it in the hand and it looks like a cutoff, then you are probably right!

Regards,

Jerry

[Amsterdam]

Eagles applied to dress tunics often have a backing of fabric between the eagle and the tunic, which is what I think is visible, but if you have it in the hand and it looks like a cutoff, then you are probably right!

Regards,

Jerry

Idon't have it in my hands, not my tunic. But this is an eagle from a combat tunic. You suggested volkssturm, my suggestion can add to that theory. Litzen removed from the cuffs and an eagle from a damaged tunic added, instead of a more flashy one or a removed one.

[Sammler]

What appears to be the case with this waffenrock as a late war possible reissue is the cuff litzen were just removed and a field quality breast eagle was zig zag applied over the proper flatwire eagle. You can see the backing of the orig breast eagle and I would bet the other eagle is underneath it.

[Amsterdam]

What appears to be the case with this waffenrock as a late war possible reissue is the cuff litzen were just removed and a field quality breast eagle was zig zag applied over the proper flatwire eagle. You can see the backing of the orig breast eagle and I would bet the other eagle is underneath it.

Maybe, but I don't think so.
It looks to me as if the straight stiching is actually on top of the zig zag stitching (in some places). Besides the fact that the zig zag doesn't go trough the lining and the other stitching does.

Perhaps something for the owner to inspect from closeby.