M44 Recon Tunic - opinions please

[Bob Coleman]

With a tunic, judgement just by photograph is impossible. If the insignia is fraudulent, that is always a bad sign. In the case of this piece, the insignia all appears to be original and period applied. As to the tunic itself, only a hands on inspection will tell the tale. Peter is a repected dealer and not known to deal in fakes. I have had several business dealings with him and have never had a problem.

Bob

[WWIIBuff]

M44 Tunic

Hi guys,

Thanks for the responses. Pete the extra information you added per John Pic's suggestion was great. It made for a better discussion and critique of the tunic.

It is so difficult to buy this stuff from pictures on a web site. Therefore there is always some element of risk involved. That is why I would only buy this type of item from a dealer with a good reputation and a fair return policy. Even the best dealers are human and can make mistakes. I look forward to handling it and making up my own mind at that time. In the meantime I apreciate the input from all of you.

John Klein

[John Pic]

Re the coveralls,interesting stuff your pointing out there.Makes you wonder about tunic survival. I am always willing to accept new ideas and this is one not thought of in a past post I did trying to find out why so many tunics are being found and survived. How does one tell if insignias are period applied by a picture.The fact is you couldnt even tell unless you had scientific testing as to the threads age.Un-badged M44 style tunics survived the war.Every insignias if properly applied to a tunic look period sewn in pictures its not until you examine the little details that the truth surfaces.WW2 thread can be bought by the case if needed.I just bought a bunch of collar hooks because this piece breaks often on brittle tunics and original ones are hard to find.
Re Peter,no ones trying to slam him nor sing him praise,the thread is about a tunic being offered not the dealer.Im not trying to be rude but these threads take on an almost sales pitch tone when we add dealer rep to the discussion. I think your Idea John is a good one.

[Fritz]

The coveralls were brought in by pete. He reported from his own army experiences. We provided proof that SPW crews and many other branches have worn the coveralls. In my personal opinion I believe that more smocks than coveralls were worn by rec. units. Still the effect on a tunic is the same. Me personaly I don't consider the item in discusion as mint but rather as worn. I have seen a couple of tunics that came from a dump (without insignia) that were in a similar shape. Though the mass of those that came from such places were in poor or very poor shape.

As for handling the item. All top dealers offer a good return policy. Buy the item let them send it to you and handle it for one week. If you don't like it simply send it back. Usualy you will only need to pay for the shipping costs and get the rest of your money back. Furthermore the better dealers offer a lifetime guarantee on authenticy... So does PvL.

I am not clollecting "feldgrau" nor insignia. So I can't comment on the item itself. But so far I have seen nothing that has been brought into conversation that really says "it's bad". Just the fact that it is not a roten piece of *rap or that coveralls were "mostly" worn by tank crews doesn't turn it into a "bad thing" I think.

Cheers

Fritz

[John Pic]

Hands on inspection cannot be replaced with public consensus. Ive had tunics where photos showed them to be "textbook" and other people examining them found nothing wrong.But on my own close exam found tiny pieces of thread from removed insignias and very faint shadows things in places many dont look.I have bought more than 8 tunics from overseas without seeing and holding them first.I am speaking from experience when I say use caution.Look at the tunics in the Beaver books.

[SJP]

In Remy Spezzano's Kursk:1943 vol 1, you have what appears to be a TK panzer grenadier Hauptsturmfuhrer wearing the coveralls (pages 82 and 90); in vol 2 on page 91, you have what appears to be a SPW infantryman or reconnaisance soldier wearing the coveralls. My sense is that these coveralls were widely worn by personnel from many different units..

Mike

Your right ,these combinations were very popular and highly coveted after their initial issue in 1943.Cheers Steve