Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger Gefreiter's Four-Pocket Tunic
Very nice high quality issue blue/grey wool construction Luftwaffe four-pocket tunic (Service Blouse) as intended for an 'Gefreiter der Fallschirmjäger'. The tunic features a vertical, five-button, front closure. This type of tunic was introduced around November 1938 as a universal field tunic for the Luftwaffe with the intention to replace both the 4 pocket 1935 Pattern Waffenrock and the Fliegerbluse, though it never happened partly as it was too close to the war to start changing uniforms, and also because the flight blouse had proved very popular with the Luftwaffe. Production most likely ceased somewhere in 1940 so these 5-button front closure tunics have been produced for a very short time only. The right breast has a very nice quality machine-embroidered EM's type breast-eagle neatly hand-stitched to the tunic. A pair of yellow-coloured collar tabs, both having two aluminum rank-gulls attached, is nicely machine-sewn to the collar. The tunic is complete with a pair of sew-in type EM's shoulder-straps. The insignia are having the golden-yellow 'Waffenfarbe' indicating a Gefreiter within a 'Fallschirmjäger' (paratrooper) unit. A cloth paratrooper badge is nicely hand-sewn to the breast. The interior of the tunic is lined in grey cotton. The tunic is nicely size marked and dated 1938 (LBA 38). The tunic is in good used condition, there is some minor staining and there are a few minor moth damages, see photos. Rare original tunic in good used condition!