Original Item: Only One Available. This is a high quality tailor made earth brown RAD Officer Field Uniform tunic with a fine whipcord weave wool exterior shell. It features a four button front closure with a chocolate brown lay down collar. Tunic has two pleated breast pockets with straight edged button down flaps and two slanted hip pockets with rounded button down flaps. All of the buttons are maker marked and look to be pebbled non-magnetic aluminum, sewn directly to the fabric. The left waist pocket has the large eyelet near the top for use with a dagger / hewer, and the tunic's reverse features a vertical tail skirt vent.

The interior is fully lined in a gold/tan cotton rayon blend, and the sleeves are lined with blue striped white cotton. The lining has a horizontal slash pockets on the inner chest of both sides, and there is a tailor label on the reverse that reads as follows:

Ferd. Kunze
BREMEN
DOVENTORSDEICH 20

We checked the pockets, but unfortunately there was not any name tag installed. Condition of the tunic is very good, with only light wear, and no major tears, mothing, or other damage.

The left sleeve has a lovely machine embroidered aluminum bullion RAD shovel logo on a black brown background, which has a red 177 / 5 unit marking inside. Below this is an early war felt NSDAP armelbinde (armband) with a multipiece rayon swas on a white moire material circle. This has been hand stitched to the arm with red thread along both edges. Additionally, there is the ribbon for a War Merit Cross Second Class KvKII, a typical award for a member of the RAD, as it is a non-combat award.

The collar is wrapped with chocolate brown wool, and has matching silver wire woven RAD Officer style Kragenspiegel collar tabs, somewhat similar to Heer Litzen, which have a hand embroidered silver bar, referred to as "double filling" on them. The velvet and aluminum type of collar tab was used by ranks Unterfeldmeister (Oberfeldwebel) through Oberstfeldmeister (Hauptmann). The tabs have a black velvet plush material background, the branch of service color for "General Service" in the RAD.

The "sew-in" style schulterklappen (shoulder straps) are constructed with a double row of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping with black chevrons woven in, with both rows going around the button hole on the other end. There are two gold rank "pip" devices present, indicating the RAD rank of Oberstfeldmeister (Colonel Field Master), equivalent to a Heer Army Hauptmann (Captain). The bases of the shoulder straps have the same black plush material on them for "General RAD" as well.

This is a well-preserved tailor-made RAD Oberstfeldmeister’s field tunic retaining its matching collar tabs, rank shoulder straps, unit-marked sleeve insignia, NSDAP armband, and War Merit Cross Second Class ribbon. The Ferd. Kunze of Bremen tailor label, high-quality whipcord wool construction, complete maker-marked buttons, and very good overall condition give the tunic considerable collector interest. Although no name tag remains in the interior pockets, the surviving insignia and fittings present a cohesive example of an RAD officer’s uniform for the rank equivalent of a Heer Hauptmann.

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 8"
Shoulder to sleeve: 23.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 14.5"
Chest width: 16.5”
Waist: 15.5"
Hip: 20"
Front length: 27.5"

The basis of the RAD, Reichsarbeitsdienst, (National Labor Service), dates back, at least, to 1929 with the formation of the AAD (Anhalt Arbeitsdienst) and the FAD-B (Freiwillingen Arbeitsdienst-Bayern). Shortly after AH’s appointment as Chancellor in Jan 1933, the NSDAP consolidated all labor organizations into the NSAD (Nationalsozialist Arbeitsdienst), a national labor service, under the control of Reichsarbeitsführer Konstatin Hierl. It served as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarize the workforce and indoctrinate it with NSDAP ideology. It was the official state labor service, divided into separate sections for men and women.

On June 26 1935 the NSAD was officially re-designated RAD, and from then onward, men aged between 18 and 25 may have served six months before their military service. During World War II compulsory service also included young women and the RAD developed to an auxiliary formation which provided support for the Wehrmacht armed forces.

In April 1934 Hierl had developed a uniform, including the distinctive "Robin Hood" style service cap. The design of the cap was based on a cross between a traditional style peasant cap and the traditional hunters cap. Originally the caps were issued with rank distinction piping with black piping for the EM/NCO ranks of Arbeitsmann to Truppführer, silver piping for company and field grade Officer’s ranks of Obertruppführer to Oberstarbeitsführer and gold piping for General Officer’s ranks of Generalarbeitsführer to Reichsarbeitsführer. In 1940 the use of the black piping for the EM/NCO ranks was discontinued but the silver and gold Officer’s piping remained in use until the end of the war.