Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Heer Army M36 officer’s tunic configured for a Major of the Feldgendarmerie military police, constructed from field gray whipcord weave wool gabardine and showing substantial service wear. The tunic retains its officer collar tabs and field grade shoulder boards with orange yellow branch color, while the Heer breast eagle and left sleeve cuff title have both been removed.

The tunic has four exterior pleated pockets with scalloped flaps and pebbled buttons, along with a six button front closure, which is missing one button. Some buttons are magnetic and others are not, and the reverse maker markings vary, suggesting that at least some were likely replaced during service. All buttons are sewn directly to the fabric rather than attached with removable metal clips. The collar retains its hook and loop closure hardware, which remains functional.

The tunic is adorned with the usual rank insignia used on German tunics. The collar is wrapped in flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) "badge cloth" wool, and has officer's litzen collar patches on each side. These are actually the dress style, which are woven from silver bullion flatwire thread on Orange-gelb (Orange-yellow) badge cloth bases, the Waffenfarbe (corps color) used by both Feldgendarmerie Military Police as well as Recruiting and replacement (Wehrersatzwesen) troops.

The “sew-in” style 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 have the correct orange-yellow bottoms and edges matching the litzen. There are no rank "pips", indicating the rank of Major, a rank equivalent to a Major in the U.S. Army. We noticed some thread loops over the left breast pocket for a ribbon bar, and two pairs on it for other awards, which are not included.

Brown thread remnants on the lower left sleeve are consistent with the former location of a cuff title and support the Feldgendarmerie interpretation, though the removed cuff title itself is no longer present. The right breast Heer eagle has also been removed, with the former stitching still visible in the fabric. On the left breast are thread loops for a ribbon bar above the pocket and two additional pairs of loops on the pocket for awards, none of which are included.

The interior is lined in light gray brushed cotton, while the sleeves are lined in white brushed cotton with blue stripes. There is a hanger loop at the rear collar and two smaller loops near the upper sleeve seams. The tunic does not retain an internal dagger suspension strap, though the large eyelet opening into the left waist pocket remains present, along with horizontal slash pockets on the inner left side.

Condition is very good but clearly service worn. The exterior shows fraying along many edges, scattered small tears and holes, heavy wear along the right front edge beside the buttons, and wear along the front collar edge. The shoulder boards show rubbing to the Russia braid, while the collar tabs have moth damage, particularly on the left. Internally there is staining from wear, especially toward the sleeve cuffs, stitched repairs around the collar, and areas where the lining seams have opened enough to expose the underlying insulation. The left side also shows separation where the collar and lining meet, and the collar is somewhat rumpled from long use.

With its M36 officer construction, field grade Major shoulder boards, orange yellow branch color, officer collar tabs, removed breast eagle, and surviving lower sleeve stitch evidence consistent with a former Feldgendarmerie cuff title, this is a compelling service worn Heer officer tunic. The removed insignia, edge fraying, moth damage, lining repairs, opened seams, staining, and scattered holes are all fully disclosed. It would display especially well in a Heer officer uniform, Feldgendarmerie, military police, M36 tunic, or advanced German WWII uniform collection.

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 10"
Shoulder to sleeve: 22"
Shoulder to shoulder: 17"
Chest width: 16"
Waist: 17"
Hip: 19.5"
Front length: 29"

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.