Original Item: Only One Available. This is a fantastic German WWII Heer Army NCO's great coat or overcoat, dated very early in the war, and it looks like the owner was later promoted to an officer, but he kept the same great coat. NCO greatcoats were issued by the depots, and are much harder to come by than the privately purchased examples that officers would get during their service.
The coat is in excellent condition, and is constructed with an outer shell of heavy feldgrau (field gray) wool. The interior of the jacket is lined with olive light canvas, and is in excellent condition, showing no tears or major wear. The great coat matches very well with the M36 pattern, with a dark bottle-green (flaschengrün) "badge cloth" lay down collar and long cuffs at the end of the sleeves. The front features the correct 12 button front closure, featuring 6 pebbled aluminum buttons on each side. These are all marked on the back, and are sewn directly to the fabric of the greatcoat.
The button attached style company grade officers schulterklappen (shoulder boards) of this tunic are constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping, with no rank pips, indicating the Junior officer rank of Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant). They each have Weiß (white) piping around the Russia braid and on the underside, the Waffenfarbe (Corps Color) for infantry and motorized infantry The outer ends are only attached by thread loops.
It also still retains the complete size markings on the inside, which read:
115
Württ. Lazo(?)
46 70
96
128 51
N. 38
These markings indicate that this overcoat was issued in 1938, though we are not able to identify the depot markings unfortunately. There is also a maker marking in the size that indicates a company from Württemberg. The size markings should indicate the following:
Torso Length: 46cm = 18.1 in.
Neck: 70cm = 27.6 in.
Chest: 96cm = 37.8 in.
Total Length: 128cm = 50.4 in.
Sleeve Length: 51cm = 20.1 in.
Condition is just excellent, with the only real issue being some wear and soiling around the edge of the collar, which is the first place to show wear on these greatcoats.
This is a great example of a genuine German WWII NCOs wool greatcoat with Officer Insignia, which would display fantastically.
Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 10.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 28”
Shoulder to shoulder: 16”
Chest width: 20"
Waist width: 19.5"
Hip width: 27"
Front length: 52"
Following the invasion of the Soviet Union the Greatcoat was found to be insufficient for the Russian winter and they were replaced by more effective clothing.
Overcoats in various forms have been used by militaries since at least the late 18th century, and were especially associated with winter campaigns, such as Napoleon's Russian campaign. The full-length overcoat was once again popularized by the use during World War I of the trench coat.
Stereotypically, overcoats used by the army tended to be single-breasted, while navies often used double-breasted overcoats. Overcoats continued to be used as battle dress until the mid-1940s and 1950s, when they were deemed impractical. However, in colder countries, such as the former Soviet Union, they continue to be issued and used. When more efficient clothing and synthetic fibers became readily available, the overcoat began to be phased out even there.
