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U-122
Army Model 1936 Officer’s Service Tunic for a Smoke Troops Oberleutnant (1LT)
This interesting, approximate size 36 tunic is somewhat out
of the ordinary – all original - but a definite example of a privately
purchased, non-regulation variation on the Model 1936 pattern. The fabric is a
twill fabric that is a lightweight blend of other yarns than wool – perhaps a
rayon/wool blend, or rayon/cotton – it doesn’t have the usual scratchiness
of a straight wool fabric. The tailoring is first class – the tunic has a very
sharp, neat cut. The other non-regulation aspect is that the color is most
definitely grey, not field grey – though the collar is the usual dark
blue/green felt badge cloth. The exterior shows wear to the armpits, a repair to
the right waist pocket just below the edge of the flap, and some repairs to the
back side of the right cuff (and a small snag hole on the left), as a well as a
good bit of soiling - enough to shift the color somewhat toward a tan shade. The
original grey hue remains visible on the inner side of the French cuffs and
beneath the front closure overlap. The tunic is missing one front button. It is
set up for sew-in boards, and has a nice set in subdued aluminum braid, with the
bordeaux red branch color underlay of Smoke Troops (Nebeltruppen). The boards
are in good condition, with some light soiling, and a bit of wear to the top
button loop braid on the left board. Each board has one gold pip for the rank of
Oberleutnant (1LT), with some faint, whitish oxidation along the bottom edges.
The collar has a nice set of Officer’s hand embroidered bullion collar tabs,
which show normal wear – slight discoloration to the top edges, and a broken
thread on the left side tab. The breast eagle is a handsome, machine woven,
“flatwire” eagle (i.e. woven in aluminum thread) on a dark blue/green rayon
backing, mounted on a badge cloth (felt) contoured backing and very nicely
applied to the tunic. This type of eagle is commonly encountered on a NCO
tunic - though some Officers seem to have preferred them over the usual bullion
Officer’s bird. There are some loops over the left breast pocket for a ribbon
bar. The interior is fully lined in grey rayon, and shows a fair degree of wear
with some snags here and there, and browning to the top rear below the neck, but
no rips, or tears. Overall a well-worn tunic in a very interesting
configuration, for a very scarce branch of arms – Smoke!
$1,350.00
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Item U-122
