Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very salty, combat worn tunic. There are various field repairs and stitching done throughout the tunic and they appear to be period original repairs. The tunic features four pockets with scalloped flaps and pebbled aluminum buttons, silver wire Lieutenant shoulder boards on white wool, both in very good condition. The attractive Army breast eagle is hand embroidered in aluminum bullion, and is very neatly hand stitched to the chest in a fashion typical of wartime German tailor work, unfortunately some of the silver thread has worn away and oxidation is present. The collar tabs are green piped, and are machine applied; there is no sign of previous tabs ever having been applied.
 
The only award that is present on this tunic is a wound badge. The badge itself is constructed out of a die struck, zinc-alloy base that has been silver washed. The oval badge depicts an embossed profile of a mobile swas, above an M35 pattern helmet, which is above two crossed broad swords. This then lies on a pebbled field and is surrounded by a laurel leaf and berry wreath which is tied together at the bottom with a bow tie. The reverse features a solid back and is maker marked with LDO-number 65 (Klein & Quenzer A.G of Idar-Oberstein) under the pin catch.
 
If you are looking for a genuine German combat worn uniform, you found it. This is the real deal and would look great in your Wehrmacht collection.
Measurements:
Collar to Shoulder: 9”
Shoulder to Sleeve: 22”
Shoulder to Shoulder: 16”
Chest Width: 14”
Waist Width: 15”
Hip Width: 19”
Front Length: 27”
 
Terms such as M40 and M43 were never designated by the Wehrmacht, but are names given to the different versions of the Model 1936 field tunic by modern collectors, to discern between variations, as the M36 was steadily simplified and tweaked due to production time problems and combat experience.
 
Field Tunic (Feldbluse) Model 1936
When the NSDAP came to power in early 1933 the Reichswehr, the armed forces of the Weimar Republic, were near the end of a two-year project to redesign the Army Feldbluse (field-blouse). Beginning in that year the new tunic was issued to the Reichsheer and then the rapidly growing Wehrmacht Heer, although minor design changes continued to be made until the appearance of the standardized Heeres Dienstanzug Modell 1936. The M36 tunic still retained the traditional Imperial and Reichswehr uniform color of grey-green "field gray" (feldgrau) wool, but incorporated four front patch pockets with scalloped flaps and pleats (on Reichswehr tunics the lower pockets were internal and angled). The front was closed with five buttons rather than the previous eight, and the collar and shoulder straps were of a dark bottle-green instead of the Reichswehr grey. Compared to the Weimar-era uniforms the skirt of the feldbluse was shorter and the tailoring was more form-fitting due to Germany's adoption of mechanized warfare: soldiers now spent much time in the confined space of a vehicle and a shorter jacket was less likely to pick up dirt from the seats. It also included an internal suspension system, whereby a soldier could hang an equipment belt on a series of hooks outside of the tunic. These hooks were connected to two straps inside the lining, which spread the weight of equipment without having to use external equipment suspenders. The M36 was produced and issued until the very end of the war, though successive patterns became predominant.
 
SS field uniforms were of similar appearance externally but to fit their larger patches had a wider, feldgrau collar, and the lower pockets were of an angled slash type similar to the black or grey SS service-dress. The second button of an SS Feldbluse was positioned somewhat lower, so that it could be worn open-collar with a necktie. Due to supply problems the SS were often issued army uniforms.