Original German WWII Heer Army 6th Division Signals Detachment Enlisted M43 Combat Tunic - Dated 1944

Item DescriptionOriginal Item: Only One Available. This is an very good condition lightly used mid-war pattern German WWII Heer Army SignalsUnteroffiziere mit Portepee(Senior NCO) M-43 Field Uniform Tunic, a simplified version of the M-40, which was itself a more rugged and simplified version of the M-36. These were often not official designations, just those that collectors like to use, and as the war progressed the Heer Army and other branches switched to uniforms intended for real combat use. Gone is the 'bottle green' collar, and the overall construction is more rugged, using a rougher weave feldgrau wool on the exterior, the interior is only partially lined.The tunic features four un-pleated pockets with square flaps and pebbled magnetic buttons, which are green finished on the tops, showing wear commensurate with service. The closure features six of the same buttons on the right breast flap meeting an equal number of reinforced buttonholes on the left flap, the correct number for the 'M-43' pattern. There is also a hook and loop collar securing fastener, which is in good working order. The buttons are not maker marked on the back, and the finish is very well retained, except around the edges. The interior of the tunic is lined on the interior front with rayon, with no pockets present, though it does look like there may have been back lining on this example, which was later removed. We also noted that there are no holes or straps for belt hooks.The interior still retains its maker & size markings on the right interior of the front closure:-166 17041 409070 58F44F44indicates issue by theFrankfurt Depotin 1941. The markings are clear and well-retained. The front rayon lining is still in very good condition, showing some staining, but no major damage.The tunic is adorned with the usual rank and branch insignia used on German tunics. The attractive Army breast eagle is an early war 1940 pattern BeVO embroidered type, gray on a green background, and is correctly and very neatly hand-stitched to the chest. The collar is plain feldgrau wool, correct for the M-43 combat pattern. There are EM/NCO litzen collar patches on each side, which are woven from gray and green threads, and are installed directly to the collar, without backgrounds. They do not have Corps Color stripes, as in 1938 they were removed from EM/NCO collar insignia to save time.The button attached style enlistedschulterklappen(shoulder straps) are the correct rough weave feldgrau wool material, withZitronengelb(lemon-yellow) piping, theWaffenfarbe(corps color) used by the Heer Army Signal corps, responsible for setting up and maintaining communication equipment. There are no silver bars on the shoulder straps, and no sleeve chevrons, indicating the lowest enlisted rank of eitherFunker(Radioman) orFernsprecher(Telephonist). Both have loops with a chain stitched yellow number6, indicating they were a member of the Signals Detachment of the 6th Infantry Division.Overall condition is very good, showing light wear with no major damage from use such as tears, and no repairs that we can see. The color is very well-retained throughout, and we do not really see evidence of any past mothing, and the metal components show very little rusting if there is any at all.A very nice and hard-to-find Late-War German WWII Signals Detachment Enlisted M43 combat tunic, ready to display!Approximate Measurements:-Collar to shoulder: 10'Shoulder to sleeve: 22'Shoulder to shoulder: 14.5'Chest width: 19'Waist: 17'Hip: 19.5'Front length: 30.5'Field Tunic (Feldbluse) Model 1936Terms 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.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.Shipping RestrictionsThis product is available for international shipping.Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or GermanyPayment OptionsNot eligible for payment with Paypal or AmazonLegal InformationDue to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.