Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a very nice early pattern German WWII Heer Army Panzer Armored Hauptmann Officer's Tunic, which is in the longer Pre-War Reichswehr Cut, significantly longer than those preferred during wartime, which also features internal pockets. It was most likely made early in the 1930s, but it is always possible that an officer who saw Reichswehr service may have wanted to indicate this by wearing an older style tunic. The tunic shows moderate wear from service and is in very good display condition, offered complete with original breeches.

The tunic is made from lovely "whipcord" weave wool gabardine, in the standard Heer feldgrau (field gray) color. It features four pockets with scalloped flaps and pebbled buttons, which look to be made from pebbled stamped non-magnetic alloy caps on magnetic bodies and eyelets. The front closure features six of the same buttons on the right breast flap meeting an equal number of reinforced buttonholes on the left flap. All look to be faintly marked on the rear, and the buttons are sewn directly to the fabric, which does make them a bit more prone to tearing off, however these all look to be original. There are also two hook and loop collar securing fasteners, which are fully functional.

The interior is lined with with a very nice light green gray colored rayon cotton blend twill fabric, while the sleeves are lined with patterned rayon or cotton. There is a horizontal slash pockets on the inside of the left chest, which does not have any markings inside, and we were not able to see any maker marks anywhere on the interior. This means it is most likely a bespoke item made for this particular officer. It has the correct large eyelet opening into the left waist pocket for attachment of an officers dagger, which has some leather reinforcement below. We do not see any major repairs, just the usual wear and staining from service.

It is adorned with the usual rank and branch insignia used on German tunics. The attractive Army breast eagle is an early war pattern officer's silver bullion machine embroidered silver flatwire type on a dark green background, and is stitched to the outer layer of fabric only. The collar is wrapped in flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) wool, and has officer's field litzen collar patches on each side, which are woven from silver bullion thread with dark bottle green backgrounds matching the collar. It is in good shape, though there is wear around the top edge, which is usually one of the first places to show damage from use.

The colored bullion stripes on the litzen are colored Rosa (Rose-pink), which was the Waffenfarbe (corps color) during WWII for the Panzers (Armored Troops) and Panzerjäger (Tank Destroyers). The “sew-in” style company grade officers schulterklappen (shoulder boards) of this tunic are constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping and have the correct rose pink backing, which shows around the edges. There are two rank "pips" installed on both, indicating the rank of Hauptmann, equivalent to a U.S. Army Captain. There are also number 2 cyphers on the shoulder boards, probably for the 2nd Panzer Division or Regiment.

Condition is very good, showing staining and wear from use, and there are stains, small holes, and tears on the exterior consistent with use in service. The insignia also show wear and age toning, as to be expected.

The included breeches are in very good condition, made from lovely "doeskin" weave steingrau (Stone Gray) wool fabric. They have a button fly closure with four hidden buttons under a hook and loop fastener at the top. There are suspender buttons on the inside of the waist band, and all 4 front and 2 rear buttons are present. There are adjustment straps on the sides of the waist band as well. They feature two slanted waist slash pockets with another button secored slash pocket on the right seat. The bottoms of the legs have five button closures to fit inside boots, and overall they are in lovely condition.

A very nice German Panzer Armored Corps Officer's Uniform Set, ready to outfit with awards and display!

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 9.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 25”
Shoulder to shoulder: 15"
Chest width: 21”
Waist: 20.5"
Hip: 23"
Front length: 33.5"

Pants:-
Waist: 16"
Inseam: 28"

Field Tunic (Feldbluse) Model 1936
Terms such as M40 and M43 were never designated by the Wehrmacht, but are names given to the different versions of the Model 1936 field tunic by modern collectors, to discern between variations, as the M36 was steadily simplified and tweaked due to production time problems and combat experience.

When the NSDAP came to power in early 1933 the Reichswehr, the armed forces of the Weimar Republic, were near the end of a two-year project to redesign the Army Feldbluse (field-blouse). Beginning in that year the new tunic was issued to the Reichsheer and then the rapidly growing Wehrmacht Heer, although minor design changes continued to be made until the appearance of the standardized Heeres Dienstanzug Modell 1936. The M36 tunic still retained the traditional Imperial and Reichswehr uniform color of grey-green "field gray" (feldgrau) wool, but incorporated four front patch pockets with scalloped flaps and pleats (on Reichswehr tunics the lower pockets were internal and angled). The front was closed with five buttons rather than the previous eight, and the collar and shoulder straps were of a dark bottle-green instead of the Reichswehr grey. Compared to the Weimar-era uniforms the skirt of the feldbluse was shorter and the tailoring was more form-fitting due to Germany's adoption of mechanized warfare: soldiers now spent much time in the confined space of a vehicle and a shorter jacket was less likely to pick up dirt from the seats. It also included an internal suspension system, whereby a soldier could hang an equipment belt on a series of hooks outside of the tunic. These hooks were connected to two straps inside the lining, which spread the weight of equipment without having to use external equipment suspenders. The M36 was produced and issued until the very end of the war, though successive patterns became predominant.