Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a lovely WWII Military Issue Model 1940 Blue HBT Fatigue Jacket, as issued to American troops during the war. While one might assume that blue would be for the U.S. Navy, these were utilized by all three branches. This jacket was reissued to an Axis Prisoner of War, most likely from Camp Joseph T. Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas, near where this uniform set was acquired.

As World War II raged on the other side of the globe, Allies, such as Great Britain, were running short of prison space to house POWs. From 1942 through 1945, more than 400,000 Axis prisoners were shipped to the United States and detained in camps in rural areas across the country. Some 500 POW facilities were built, mainly in the South and Southwest but also in the Great Plains and Midwest.

At the same time that the prison camps were filling up, farms and factories across America were struggling with acute labor shortages. The United States faced a dilemma. According to Geneva Convention protocols, POWs could be forced to work only if they were paid, but authorities were afraid of mass escapes that would endanger the American people. Eventually, they relented and put tens of thousands of enemy prisoners to work, assigning them to canneries and mills, to farms to harvest wheat or pick asparagus, and just about any other place they were needed and could work with minimum security.

The Prisoners of War sent to the United States were still clothed with their enemy uniform in which they were captured. Having to cloth Prisoners of War was yet another issue the U.S. Government has to contend with. Many had their original uniforms in poor condition, and were also not suitable for the locations they were being sent to. The solution was to issue enemy POWs with reissued GI garments, obsolete garments, or factory defect garments. These items were occasionally dyed a different color, or simply stenciled with “P.W” (Prisoner War) on the front and back.

This particular garment is a GI issue M-1940 Blue HBT Jacket reissued to an Axis Prisoner of War. The Jacket exhibits wear from use and features a large orange-stenciled PW on on the back, as well as a P on the right sleeve and a W on the left. The front side of the jacket also shows quite a bit more staining than the rear, possibly indicating that the wearer was on machinery of some sort, which protected other parts of the jacket from sun fading. These are seldom found items today, as most were destroyed at the end of WWII following the release of the prisoners.

Comes more than ready for further research and display!

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 10"
Shoulder to sleeve: 25”
Shoulder to shoulder: 19”
Chest width: 22"
Waist width: 22"
Hip width: 22"
Front length: 28.5"