Luftwaffe greatcoat opinions?

[PaulW]

Hi, grateful for any opinions on this one?

The collar seems too small for an M42 but it's dated 1942. I'm assuming it's an M40 pattern, with post 1940 (wartime) painted buttons, and that M42 (large collar) mantels came out late 1942 or 1943 which might make sense? Then again I don't know a great deal about them!

The bottom hem also seems to be raw edged?

Regards, Paul

[PaulW]

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[PaulW]

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[PaulW]

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[STUG III]

Luftwaffe overcoat

Very nice original, large size, and clean mantel!

[werner]

Hello,

As you said, it's a M40 mantel produced in 1942.

Nothing wrong with it.

Werner

[PaulW]

Thanks Stug III/ Werner! Sadly missed the boat on this one, it came up on the E-Stand and I hesitated just a little (as I've never owned a mantel and was a little unfamiliar with them) and someone else took it first.

So much for the E-Stand/ militaria being slow these days! I think unissued/ mint/ unmessed with items often seem to sell OK? This one ticked a lot of boxes for me in terms of pattern/ condition and size, not as keen on the Wachmantels or M42 larger collar pattern (suddenly I'm an expert - too late!). I like the M40 pattern as it shows off the boards better and the post Oct 1942 lack of collar patches means that there is great scope for portraying numerous branches and ranks simply by swapping the boards around.

Lessons will be learned...

Regards, Paul

[PaulW]

Just a little Mantel / greatcoat related FYI. Found this picture on this article:-

http://elinorflorence.com/blog/berlin-bombing

Some (abridged) text from the article:-

Gerda Kernchen ...... was born on December 1, 1927. In 1942 I finished my eighth year of school, and applied for an apprenticeship, sewing uniforms for the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force. I remember how nervous I was when I went for my interview. I knew how to use a treadle sewing machine, but when they asked if I could use an electric machine, I lied and said yes.

They gave me a piece of paper and said: “Show us.” I sat down at the machine and pressed the power and the needle took off like a rocket, sending the paper shooting across the room! But I got the job anyway.

These old photographs show a German uniform factory operated by Peek & Cloppenburg, a well-known department store in Berlin. Gerda said the photos are similar to the factory where she worked. (Photo Credit: Uniformen und Soldaten, by Curt Ehrlich, 1942).

My boss noticed how cold I was that winter without an overcoat. To save my pride, he gave me some black fabric used for making Panzer tank division uniforms, and said: “As part of your training, I want to see if you can make yourself an overcoat.” I did, and wore it for several years.


Note the last sentence - had it survived it would give collectors a headache no doubt - an ultra-rare black Panzer overcoat!

These coats appear to be M40 type with pre-Oct 1942 (I would guess machine sewn) factory-applied collar tabs and (sew-in?) factory applied boards. I'm assuming that the LBA (Luftwaffe Bekleidungs Amt - Clothing Office) must have given fairly precise requirements (ref branch of service) to the factories that were awarded clothing contracts. Once the collar tabs and sew-in boards were dropped it must have made them a lot easier to produce.