Does anyone have a photo of a Whermacht soldier in an m40 during the Invasion of Poland? I am just curious because I have an m40 tunic that is dated 1939. I have never seen a photo of an m40 tunic during the Invasion of Poland either. Thank you!
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Can you post photos of the tunic and collar area? That is very rare to see. Many early tunics were refurbished later in the war and the collars on "M36" tunics were replaced with field gray.Originally posted by sauron249 View Post -
That would be interesting photo....Comment
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Originally posted by Johnny R View Post
I posted this tunic a very long time ago, but I only got one response. I bought it off of Time Traveler Militaria about a year or two ago. This is the only m40 I own and the collar doesn't look to be replaced. The collar tabs and most insignia if not all were replaced. The tunic is very worn, but it is one of my favorite tunics I own. I like the fact that I know it was heavily used in war, the only downside to me is that the insignia were replaced.
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The refurbishing was done by factories and the new collars were machine sewn. It can be very hard to tell. Most collectors/authors do not think they started to produce the "M40" until the Spring of 1940 but we are not sure. Based on the photos i would say it probably was replaced.Comment
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Thank you very much. I am just wondering why did the factories take the time to replace the collars on tunics?Originally posted by Johnny R View PostComment
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When soldiers were killed or wounded and could not return to service all of the issue clothing was collected and sent to centers to be recycled and refurbished and then reissued to other soldiers. Also damaged clothing was turned in for repair. Minor repairs we done at unit level but many of the items were sent back and often re-sized etc. It is fairly common to see pockets, collar and even sleeves replaced on issue tunics. Sometimes the repairs are so well done it is very hard to see but the reissue and new size stamps are in the jackets.Comment
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Uniforms collected from battlefields, from clothing drives (from families of fallen soldiers), or that had been turned in as unserviceable were sent to facilities to be recycled. Garments that could be repaired were reworked for issue, a worn-out collar might be replaced with a new one, uniforms were resized, etc.Comment
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Thank you very much for this information!Comment
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If you see a 'M40' tunic in pictures of the Invasion of Poland it is most likely the pre war M33/M34 tunic with matching feldgrau collar.Comment
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