tropical tunic

[mr bridger]

trying to get info on the tropical tunic worn in corsica searched the forum but cant seem to find one that i want the info on, the one i have seen for sale has no pockets top or bottom the tunic in question can be found at the treasure bunker. sorry for not posting a link to their site i just dont know how to do it.
any info or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Ian Hulley]

http://www.treasurebunker.com/acatalog/info_798.html



Try searching 'Sahariana'

Ian

[mr bridger]

Cheers Ian

[Scott A. Hess]

This jacket lacks the lower pockets and also any provisions for slip on shoulder boards, which strikes me as a bit unusual, any comments?

[Felix]

Eagle is of course real. No surprise there.
What on earh is a camo rank insignia doing on that tropical Sahariana jacket?

[dhunter93]

Looks too new, Austrian cut? , post war applied insignia..

[Luca Ongaro]

I'd like to see better pictures but honestly I have not a good feeling with the tunic itself.
Luca

[frank savage]

The tunic should be good, but the insigna are for sure re-applicated. The lack of pocket and shoulder boards loops means a post war use. Long long time ago lots of pocketless SS saharanias became on the market. Lots of those were found among the 'rag' of Prato. The 'tale' talked about a penal colony ...
Also, the use of the special rank on its sleeve, is IMHO not proper to this kind of jacket... A stuff that wouldn't in my collection.

Cheers!

[mr bridger]

thanks guys, i will pass up on this one

[NickG]

The tunic should be good, but the insigna are for sure re-applicated. The lack of pocket and shoulder boards loops means a post war use. Long long time ago lots of pocketless SS saharanias became on the market. Lots of those were found among the 'rag' of Prato. The 'tale' talked about a penal colony ...
Also, the use of the special rank on its sleeve, is IMHO not proper to this kind of jacket... A stuff that wouldn't in my collection.

Cheers!

I agree with Frank. Original and either post war modified or just unfinished if it lacks stitch holes in those areas...

The ones I heard about that surfaced in the Czech republic came from a Waffen SS warehouse in mint unissued condition and later used by the Czech police early post war
(with altered buttons I assume) and perhaps even with modifications to the pockets to make these look less German, less military?

Here's an early post liberation image of Prague (which Petr posted earlier) showing Czech freedom fighters all donning SS tropical gear which were found in a warehouse and recycled for their own use! (even piths taken off the shelves). Lots of this inventory was recycled in early post war Czechoslovakia.

[Ian Hulley]

The RBN stamp and cammo rank patch sealed it for me.

Ian

[kenny andrew]

Hi guys,

I've just noticed this thread.Always hard to make a call on an item without actually holding it in your hands but I confirm as Frank and Nick have said there is nothing wrong with this tunic.It is in excellent condition and has all the original china buttons which are marked 19 R.K.G. 43.The eagle is text book example and correctly stitched to the tunic.

It is unusual that it has no shoulder straps or lower pockets and has never had any with no traces of stitch holes in those areas.In my opinion this is because it is a high ranking officer and made to his specifications.

The use of special rank insignia would fit in with the above as the tunic has no shoulder straps and this would be the only way to determine rank.Special rank insignia was not only for Camo uniforms but any uniforms which had no provision for shoulder rank insignia.

There are no problems with this tunic if you held it in your hands you would agree.

Hope this helps

Kenny.

[Ian Hulley]

The tunic was contract made ... hence the RBNr, so how can it have been ...

a high ranking officer and made to his specifications.

Ian

[kenny andrew]

Hi Ian,

most German uniforms were RB numbered then altered by the company tailor this is what I meant rather than private purchase. This is only my opinion as I have spent a long time researching this tunic trying to find another with a similar configuration so far to no avail. The tunic does not appear to be unfinished either but designed like this.

The post above was primarily to clarify that the tunic was not a copy.I have said in the description of the item that it is unusual but remember until recently people thought Sahariana tunics should not have SS collar insignia until some turned up in photos.

I would like to know more about this tunic too,but the important thing is that it is not a copy.