Description
Physical description
Single-breasted jacket of olive drill, featuring an open collar, five button fastening down the front, detachable tropical pattern epaulettes with light green Waffenfarbe piping, pleated breast patch pockets with scalloped button flaps, pleated bellows skirt pockets with scalloped button flaps, concealed button cuffs, two rear metal belt hooks and a rear vent. All buttons are of the field grey stipple pattern, with the epaulette buttons bearing an Arabic number '6'.
Double litzen collar patches of the tropical pattern (light blue-grey on light brown) are sewn to the collar, while to the right breast above the pocket is sewn the tropical pattern Army National Emblem, embroidered in light blue-grey on a light brown backing. To the upper left arm is sewn the rank insignia of Obergefreiter, being two silver inverted chevrons on a dark green backing, while to the right cuff is sewn an Afrika Korps cuffband, being 'AFRIKAKORPS' embroidered in aluminium thread on a dark green backing with aluminium embroidered borders (this cuff band has been cut so that only the section with the wording remains and therefore does not go all the way around the cuff).
Label
The M1940 tropical uniform associated with the Afrika Korps and the war in North Africa was developed in Hamburg in 1940, clearly reflecting Imperial German forces' experience of colonial service in Africa and the Far East, and was introduced for service towards the end of that year. Echoing the style of the standard M1936 European dress worn by the Army, a tropical helmet, boots and special headdress, based on the mountain cap, were the main departures in terms of style. Initially made of olive-coloured cloth, frequent washing and sun exposure soon bleached the materials, improving the uniform's ability to blend in with the featureless desert landscape of North Africa. In an effort to simplify the jacket and cut costs, from late 1942 the pleats on the pockets of the jacket were discarded (M1942), and the following year pocket flaps were cut square (M1943). The final pattern very likely saw little to no service in North Africa, however tropical dress was known to have been worn by men posted to the Mediterranean theatre and also in southern Russia. Indeed many Afrika Korps veterans of the 21st Panzerdivision continued to wear their tropical clothing with pride in Normandy.
The jacket could be worn with either full-length trousers, breeches or shorts.
Inscription
43 95
73 64
F42