Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a very good, well-used and named original German WWII Heer M42 HBT Drillich tunic configured for a Medical Corps Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier, an NCO-grade officer candidate. Constructed from green herringbone twill, the tunic retains its Medical branch shoulder straps, NCO collar Tresse, Heer breast eagle, EM/NCO collar Litzen, original size and depot-style markings, and an interior name label reading W.G. Warsch. The combination of Medical Waffenfarbe and the two additional silver officer-candidate strips on the shoulder straps gives this example a particularly identifiable personnel configuration.

The German Army had employed simple HBT, or Drillich, work uniforms since the prewar period. The original 1933 pattern was an undyed two-piece working uniform with a simple unlined two-pocket jacket. A green version replaced it in 1940, and in 1942 the design was substantially revised into a four-pocket jacket patterned more closely after the wool Feldbluse and intended for broader field and summer use. This example is of that later four-pocket configuration, with a six-button front and four square unpleated exterior pockets with scalloped button-down flaps.

The painted pebbled buttons are magnetic and appear to carry maker markings. They are retained by steel split rings or circlips beneath internal fabric flaps, allowing the buttons to be removed for laundering. The tunic is essentially unlined, as expected for this type of summer HBT garment, with reinforcement material used only at structural points and a bandage pocket fitted inside the lower right side.

The large flap on the inner right size is also stamped with the original size information, but the year and depot information underneath is now too faded to read. The size markings read:

49 43
9
33(?) 67

The tunic is outfitted with all of the insignia usually seen on the field uniform. The upper right chest features a BeVo machine embroidered Wehrmachtadler Eagle, which is the correct shape and gray on green color introduced in 1940, and not replaced until 1944 with a triangular version. There are EM/NCO wool litzen collar patches sewn directly to each side of the collar, which are woven from gray and green threads. They have Corps Color stripes, an interesting detail as in 1938 they were removed from EM/NCO collar insignia to save time. Even though these are later style litzen, they still have the corps color inside. It is possible they were retained from an earlier uniform. The stitching on the litzen is pulled and weak, likely due to the difficulty of stitching wool to HBT. There is good silver NCO Tresse around the edge of the collar.

The button attached style Unteroffiziere Schulterklappen (NCO shoulder straps) are the correct material, with Medizinblau (Medical Blue) piping, the Waffenfarbe (corps color) used by the Heer Army Medical corps. They feature silver colored NCO tresse diamond weave piping around the entire edge. There are two attached silver strips with no rank "pips", indicating the rank of Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier (Cadet Under Officer), an Officer Aspirant rank equivalent to a corporal.

There is a nametag stitched to the interior lining, reading W.G. Warsch. This provides a potentially useful starting point for further personnel research.

Overall condition is very good for a field-used HBT tunic, with moderate service wear, scattered scuffing, discoloration, and age-related wear across the fabric. The collar insignia stitching is weak in places, while the remainder of the principal insignia and shoulder straps survive substantially intact. The wear is entirely consistent with a garment that saw repeated use and laundering.

This is an especially interesting M42 HBT tunic because its surviving insignia defines a fairly specific wearer status. The Medical blue Waffenfarbe, NCO collar Tresse, Unteroffizier shoulder straps with two officer-candidate strips, faded issue markings, and W.G. Warsch name label combine to identify it as a named Heer Medical Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier uniform. Its moderate wear, weak collar-patch stitching, and faded depot information are important condition points, while the surviving rank and branch insignia preserve the features most useful for further research.

Approximate Measurements
Collar to shoulder: 8"
Shoulder to sleeve: 23.5"
Shoulder to shoulder: 15"
Chest width: 18"
Waist: 16"
Hip: 18"
Front length: 29"