| SS “M36” Tunics |
| About 12 years ago I lucked into one of the rarest animals in my hoard. At small show in Tennessee I saw a greenish fieldgray tunic cuff with a horn button poking out of a Walmart bag being carried by another shopper. I knew it was an M36 but… |
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| As he pulled it out to show it to me, I saw the VA stamp and tried very hard not to have a seizure. The guy had sold it to another dealer who had later asked for his money back because the shoulder boards looked fake. (They were some awful WW2 LTD looking things from the 70’s.) Other than those, everything else was quite original. Over the past 40 years, the only other supposedly SS M36’s I have seen in hand are Heer tunics with SS insignia applied at some point in the past. Yes, the SS did sometimes wear Heer uniforms, but those are very difficult to vet. I’ve seen over a dozen original M37 tunics, some with bottle green collars added, but never another actual SS contract M36. The problem for most enthusiasts is that the differences between the SS and Heer versions of these uniforms are very subtle to most people aside from a tailor or a nut like me. Everyone wants a different number of buttons, fewer belt hook holes or a nice fat Buffalo Wild Wings stamp to tell them what’s what. |
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| There is only one actual pattern difference between Heer and SS Feldblusen of this type- the latter has a skirt and lower pockets that are 2-3cm shorter (depending on the uniform size (length)). The result is that the hip pockets on all SS tunics are about 20cm tall, meaning they’re basically square. In contrast, Heer pockets are 22cm tall and clearly rectangular. |
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| This length difference is clearly visible in the size stamps which do not deviate. An SS tunic can be distinguished by the numbers on the stamp alone. Despite this being clear as hell to me, it vexes most. This particular one does not have a wild wings (SS BW) stamp, but rather “VA” (Verwaltungsamt) which is common for early SS garments. SS-BW stamps are often a red flag as every faker seems to own several and they whack any and everything with them. |
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| Both made by G. g. Schwert |
| The contractor of this uniform is G.g. Schwert, a firm that also made Heer Feldblusen (shown), as well as Panzer and Luftwaffe tunics. It does have a horizontal buttonhole on the field dressing pocket, but not all SS tunics do. |
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| Original SS Feldblusen that I own or have owned. (The one at bottom left is an “M41” with green collar added.) Which one is the correct shade? |
| Color: There is no “SS shade” or color of fieldgray. That’s another reenactor faux fact/ pervy fantasy. I’ve owned several dozen original SS tunics and trousers over the years and they exhibit the same shade range of fieldgray that the Heer uniforms do. They likewise share the tendency to get more gray as the War goes on, but there are anomalies galore. Repros? Trying. We started this 2+ years ago and the contractor is just now making noises about starting production. No promises. |