Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Heer Army artillery officer M36 field tunic tailored in Paris by L. Vincent and named to Von Düsterloh. The interior order label is dated 11 / 11 / 40, while the shoulder boards carry gilt 42 cyphers for Artillery Regiment 42 and no rank pips, indicating the rank of Major. Constructed from fine field gray Feldgrau whipcord wool, the tunic remains in very good service used condition with strong color and attractive original insignia.

The tunic follows the M36 style and has four front pockets, with pleated breast pockets and scalloped flaps above square flapped hip pockets. The pockets and five button front are secured by matching pebbled magnetic buttons with olive painted finishes. The buttons are sewn directly to the tunic and show light service wear, with evidence of some period or later stitch repairs around several buttons and buttonholes. No maker markings were observed on the reverse of the buttons.

An internal hook on the left front engages a corresponding loop along the right closure, while the collar retains its two functional hook and loop securing fasteners.

The interior is lined in green rayon satin twill, with striped white rayon faux silk sleeve linings showing some staining and wear. Both sides of the inner chest have diagonal slash pockets. At the left waist is the correct large eyelet opening for suspension of an officer dagger, accompanied by an internal hanger strap secured along the left side seam.

The original tailor label remains sewn into the rear neck and reads:

Vincent
3. RUE DU COM'T RIVIÈRE . PARIS

Inside the right breast pocket is an original L. Vincent customer label bearing the name:

Mr Von Düsterloh

The label also retains an older address line that has been struck through:

L. VINCENT
10, Rue des Wallons, PARS 13e.

and is completed with:

No. 227
Date 11 / 11 / 40

The crossed out address likely reflects an earlier tailor location predating the 3 Rue du Com't Rivière address used on the neck label.

The tunic is adorned with the usual rank and branch insignia used on German tunics. The attractive Army breast eagle is the correct early pattern officer's silver bullion hand embroidered type on a dark bottle green background, and is stitched to the outer layer of fabric only. There is just a bit of oxidation on the eagle due to age.

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 very good shape, and is usually one of the first places to show damage from use, however in this case it is free from holes, though the fuzzy "nap" of the fabric is partly worn away. There are three attachment studs for a collar protector, but none is prsent.

The colored bullion stripes on the litzen are colored Hochrot (Deep Red) wool, the Waffenfarbe (Corps Color) during WWII for Artillery, as well as General Level Officers. These do however show fading towards orange due to age and light exposure. The “sew-in” style Stabsoffizier schulterklappen (Field-grade Officer shoulder boards) of this tunic are constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping, which are plaited together to form a loop around the buttonhole. They are in very good condition, and have the correct red bases for artillery. Both have no rank "pips" installed, indicating the lowest staff officer rank of Major, equivalent to a U.S. Army Major. They also both have lovely gilt number 42 cyphers, indicating the 42nd Artillery Regiment.

Above the left breast pocket are five vertically oriented thread loops for a ribbon bar, which is no longer present. Additional holes in the pocket indicate that another award or badge was once mounted there.

Overall condition is very good, with strong color retention and moderate wear consistent with wartime use. The olive painted buttons retain most of their original finish, while the principal condition issues are light staining and wear to the sleeve linings, minor oxidation to the bullion eagle, fading to the Artillery branch color, localized nap wear to the collar, repaired stitching around several buttons and buttonholes, and the missing collar protector and ribbon bar.

With its 1940 dated Paris tailor label, named Von Düsterloh customer tag, Artillery Regiment 42 cyphers, Major rank shoulder boards, original bullion insignia, and officer dagger suspension arrangement, this is a particularly well identified Heer artillery officer field tunic. It would fit especially well in an Artillery Regiment 42, named officer uniform, French tailored German uniform, or advanced Heer collection.

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 10"
Shoulder to sleeve: 22.5"
Shoulder to shoulder: 18"
Chest width: 18"
Waist: 18"
Hip: 22"
Front length: 27.5"

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.

SS field uniforms were of similar appearance externally but to fit their larger patches had a wider, feldgrau collar, and the lower pockets were of an angled slash type similar to the black or grey SS service-dress. The second button of an SS Feldbluse was positioned somewhat lower, so that it could be worn open-collar with a necktie. Due to supply problems the SS were often issued army uniforms.