Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice original German WWII Heer officer’s summer white service tunic for a Leutnant serving with the Pioniere, or combat engineers. Constructed from lightweight white cotton with a soft twill weave, the tunic is fitted with black-backed Pioneer officer shoulder straps, a removable metal breast eagle, and the characteristic unlined construction of a warm-weather uniform.

The tunic features a lay-down collar with an ornamental buttonhole in the left lapel. The front closes with four plated steel buttons with pebbled aluminum faces, each corresponding with a reinforced buttonhole on the opposite side.

There are four exterior pockets, one on each breast and a larger pocket at each side of the waist. Each pocket is constructed with a decorative central pleat, scalloped flap, and pebbled button.

Most of the buttons are retained from the reverse by metal split rings, as commonly encountered on washable summer uniforms. The shoulder buttons are attached differently. The tunic is completely unlined and has no interior pockets. There is also no opening from the interior into the left waist pocket for suspension of an officer’s dagger.

Above the right breast pocket is a silvered metal Heer eagle. Rather than being permanently sewn to the uniform, it is secured through two vertically arranged thread loops, with an additional horizontal loop engaging a hook at the bottom. This removable arrangement was practical on a white summer tunic that required frequent laundering.

As appropriate for this type of summer uniform, there are no collar tabs fitted.

The shoulders retain their original button-attached Heer officer shoulder straps, or Offiziere Schulterklappen. They are constructed from two rows of fine silver flatware “Russia Braid” around the buttonhole and mounted on black cloth bases.

Black, or Schwarz, was the Waffenfarbe associated with the Heer Pioniere, including combat engineers and related engineer branches such as assault, armored, fortress, and railway engineer personnel.

There are no rank pips fitted to either shoulder strap, identifying the wearer as a Leutnant, the lowest commissioned officer rank and broadly equivalent to a U.S. Army Second Lieutenant.

Overall condition is very good and shows the honest wear expected from a white summer uniform that saw considerable use. There is noticeable fraying to the fabric along portions of the lower edge and around the rear collar area. The tunic also shows the softened and slightly age-toned appearance consistent with having been laundered numerous times during its service life.

Despite the wear, the tunic remains very presentable, with its original officer shoulder straps, removable breast eagle, buttons, and Pioneer branch identification all retained. The lightly aged white cotton gives it an especially attractive period appearance.

This is a particularly nice example of a German WWII Heer summer officer’s uniform, identified to a Leutnant of the Pioneer combat engineer branch and retaining the features expected of a washable white service tunic.

Approximate Measurements:

Collar to shoulder: 9 1/2 inches
Shoulder to sleeve: 23 inches
Shoulder to shoulder: 13 inches
Chest width: 19 inches
Waist: 17 1/2 inches
Hip: 19 inches
Front length: 28 inches