Original Item. Only One Available. This is an exceptionally complete German WWII Sumpftarnmuster, or Swamp Pattern, winter camouflage uniform consisting of a non-reversible parka, matching non-reversible trousers with original suspenders, and a separate reversible camouflage-to-white hood. The parka and trousers share the same camouflage coloration, gray rayon lining, button style, and matching RBNr 0/0448/0172 markings, while the hood is maker marked by Uniformwerke E. Reitz of Antwerpen-Merksem.

Sumpftarnmuster, also known among collectors as Swamp Pattern or Tan Water camouflage, appeared on German Army winter clothing during the later years of WWII. The pattern combined irregular tan and green areas with characteristic darker rain-like streaks intended to break up the wearer’s outline in mixed vegetation and terrain.

Many parkas reverse from camouflage to white, however this example does not and has a lovely gray rayon lining. Both the hood and waist drawstrings are present and fully functional. The six front closure buttons are all present, as are the two buttons at the end of each sleeve. They are in very good shape without any serious chipping.

The camouflage side has some overall fading from age with some minor nips and overall wear. Still, this is one of the best we have seen, and does not look to have had any post manufacture repairs. The interior has a loop at the neck to hang the parka, and shows some light staining. On the underside of the buttonhole flap is a faint white ink-stamped RBNr number:

RBNr 0/0448/0172

The included pants are in very good condition, and match the parka completely in color and style. They have the same style buttons, and are lined with gray rayon. The buttons for the main closure and for the side pockets are all present, and are in good shape. The pants come with their original blue web suspenders, which attach to wooden dowels on the pants. They even have sewn on camouflage on the ends so that if the ends are seen, it does not ruin the camouflage profile. There is a later-added black tie string tied between some of the dowels. The bottom of the pants have a drawstring closure. Condition is very good overall, showing light wear, with some small tears and holes. On the interior is the same RBNr stamp as in the parka:

RBNr. 0/0448/0172
2

The 2 below the RBNr number denotes the size. The matching RBNr numbers on the parka and trousers are particularly interesting and indicate manufacture under the same Reichsbetriebsnummer-coded producer or production source.

The set is completed by a great Swamp Pattern Parka Jacket Hood, which unlike the parka and pants is actually reversible with white on the interior. The hood has two wool pads constructed at the ears for improved hearing. The good retains its tie strings, and is marked with a boxed maker’s stamp on the interior:

Uniformwerke
E. REITZ
Antwerpen-Merksem

The E. Reitz Uniformwerke was one of the biggest German uniform factories of the Third Reich. It was located in Merksem, a suburb of Antwerp, Belgium. So it was located outside the boundaries of the Third Reich's territory. In a former tobacco factory, the Germans installed a huge production unit for military uniforms used by the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe , Waffen-SS and Kriegsmarine.

German camouflage development during WWII encompassed several distinct families of patterns and garments. The Army had already adopted Splittertarnmuster, or Splinter Pattern, for shelter quarters in 1931, and later applied camouflage designs to specialized garments and winter clothing.

The winter uniform program expanded significantly as German forces encountered severe conditions on the Eastern Front. Reversible garments offered camouflage appropriate for both ordinary terrain and snow, while later non-reversible camouflage examples such as this parka and trouser set simplified construction while retaining the insulated winter format.

The matching RBNr 0/0448/0172 markings, size 2 trousers, retained blue web suspenders, wooden attachment dowels, complete drawstrings, gray rayon linings, and maker-marked reversible E. Reitz hood make this a particularly complete Sumpftarnmuster winter ensemble. The modest exterior fading and light lining stains are important condition details, but the survival of the parka, matching trousers, original suspenders, and compatible reversible hood together is especially noteworthy.

Approximate Measurements
Collar to shoulder: 12"
Shoulder to sleeve: 23"
Shoulder to shoulder: 21"
Chest width: 26"
Waist: 25.5"
Hip: 27"
Front length: 30"

Pants
Waist: 21.5"
Rise: 11.5"
Inseam: 24.5"

German World War II camouflage patterns formed a family of disruptively patterned military camouflage designs for clothing, used and in the main designed during the Second World War. The first pattern, Splittertarnmuster ("splinter camouflage pattern"), was designed in 1931 and was initially intended for Zeltbahn shelter halves. The clothing patterns developed from it combined a pattern of interlocking irregular green, brown, and buff polygons with vertical "rain" streaks. Later patterns, all said to have been designed for the Waffen-SS by Johann Georg Otto Schick, evolved into more leaf-like forms with rounded dots or irregular shapes. Camouflage smocks were designed to be reversible, providing camouflage for two seasons, whether summer and autumn, or summer and winter (snow). Distribution was limited to the Waffen-SS, ostensibly because of a patent, though variants were used by other units, including the Luftwaffe. Production was limited by shortage of materials, especially of high quality waterproof cotton duck.

The Reichswehr (Army of the Weimar Republic) started experimenting with camouflage patterns for Wehrmacht uniforms before World War II and some army units used Splittertarnmuster ("splinter camouflage pattern"), first issued in 1931, and based on Zeltbahn shelter halves/groundsheets. Waffen-SS combat units used various patterns from 1935 onwards. The SS camouflage patterns were designed by Johann Georg Otto Schick, a Munich art professor and then the director of the German camouflage research unit,[a] at the request of an SS Major, Wim Brandt. Brandt was an engineer and the commander of the SS-VT reconnaissance battalion, and he was looking for better camouflage. Schick had researched the effect of light on trees in summer and in autumn. These led to the idea of reversible camouflage clothing, with green summer patterns on one side, brown autumn patterns on the other. In 1937, the patterns were field tested by the SS-VT Deutschland regiment, resulting in an estimate that they would cut casualties by fifteen percent. In 1938, a reversible spring/autumn helmet cover, smock, and sniper's face mask in Schick's forest patterns on waterproof cotton duck were patented for the Waffen-SS. The patent is said to have prevented the Wehrmacht from using the patterns, which became a distinctive emblem of the Waffen-SS during the war. However, patterned uniforms were worn by some other units, including from 1941 the Luftwaffe, which had its own version of Splittertarnmuster, as well as the Kriegsmarine (navy), the Fallschirmjäger (paratroops), and the Waffen-SS. The 1945 Leibermuster was planned to be issued to both the SS and the Wehrmacht, but it appeared too late to be widely distributed.

Production of groundsheets, helmet covers and smocks by the Warei, Forster and Joring companies began in November 1938. They were initially hand-printed, limiting deliveries by January 1939 to only 8,400 groundsheets and 6,800 helmet covers and a small number of smocks. By June 1940, machine printing had taken over, and 33,000 smocks were made for the Waffen-SS. Supplies of high quality cotton duck, however, remained critically short throughout the war, and essentially ran out in January 1943. It was replaced by non-waterproof cotton drill cloth.

Reichsbetriebsnummer or RB number (also represented as RB Nr or Rbnr). Before the war, the Germans set up a system for registering and recording the factory information, the Reichsbetriebskartei. This was to help enable machine tabulation of facts and figures. It was from this that the Reichsbetriebsnummer came into being. The Reichsministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion (Ministry for Armaments and War Production) files survive today in the Bundesarchiv, however, these are only fragmentary. There is a holding file from the working group created by the Office of Machine Reporting in the Armament Office of the Reich Ministry for Armaments and War Production - their main focus was the operations of the industry group for which an economic interest was Armour production. This index provides information on the most important data of the companies covered by it, production profile, operating area, number of employees and the responsible operator.

As a prerequisite for the intended use of the punch-card method in the armaments industry, it was this system which gave rise to the Rbnr. The operating numbers were assigned by the competent local district offices of Machine reporting. (Bezirksstellen des Maschinellen Berichtswesens.) The index is in the form of index cards that are accessible numerically (approximately 14 meters of index cards!). Access to this register is only possible through the naming of this company, stating the place of production. The Reichsministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion files have multiple entries on the introduction of the factory and also the lot no.

The Rbnr code was used from 1943 onwards and replaced the makers name and address (or company logo) on government contract uniforms, caps and field equipment and knives. It is either rubber ink stamped on cloth or die stamped onto leather & metal items. It has been written countless times that this numeric code system was introduced as a security measure to help mask production locations. This was not the case but it was perhaps, a helpful by- product of the system. It is not unknown to find the Rbnr together with the maker’s info. Had it been a security measure, clearly this practise would have been banned.

So what was the Rbnr? It was a nine digit number and was normally represented thus: RB Nr: 0/000/0000.

The first prefix number could range from 0 through to 9. This number determined the membership of the various groups in the realm of Trade and Industry (Reichsgruppenleitzahl)

• 0 Industry
• 1 Crafts
• 2 Commercial wholesale trading companies
• 3 Banking
• 4 Insurance Companies
• 5 Energy (Electrical companies and such)
• 6 Tourism (Including Hotels, Wine and Mineral Water companies)
• 7 Traffic
• 8 Food Industry
• 9 Not otherwise mentioned groups