Original German WWII Heer Army Panzer Armored Corps Major Officer M41 Tropical Afrika Korps Uniform Tunic - Dated 1941

Original Item: One-of-a-kind. In early 1941, the German military began their conquest of southern Europe. Due to the warmer climates of these areas, the German Army needed to equip its troops with a more suitable form of dress, and replace the standard wool based feldgrau uniforms. The new "tropical" uniforms were lighter in weight, and dyed in colors ranging from light tan to dark olive.

This 100% authentic German World War Two Early M41 Heer Tropenbluse Tropical Tunic is in very good service used condition, looking to have seen a good amount of service. We did notice some thread repairs to some of the button holes, as well as possible repairs to the stitching on the insignia and shoulder board straps. We also believe that some of the insignia were re-attached post war, particularly the breast eagle. The tunic is made out of medium weight cotton twill weave denim-like material which has been dyed olive, and is definitely a bit stiff. It features four pleated front pockets with scalloped flaps, which identifies this as the early M41 model. The first model, the M41, had pleated pockets with scalloped flaps, the second model, the M42, had flat pockets with scalloped pocket flaps, and the third and final model, the M43, switched to square pocket flaps.

The tunic is unlined, though it does have reinforcements around the shoulder area, which go a bit down the sleeve, and also extend down towards the bottom of tunic. There are straps for belt hooks, with one aluminum belt hook present on each, and there is a bandage pocket on the inner lower right, which has a lovely 1943 dated bandage inside. Above this on the inside right of the front closure are complete maker and size markings:-

Kreisel
47        80
108
79          69
M41

The "M 41" at the bottom indicates processing through the clothing depot in München (Munich) during 1941.

The tunic features a lay down color with a five button front closure, and there are no buttons or hook and loop fasteners for the collar. The pebbled buttons are all installed through eyelets in the fabric, with post war split rings on the back. They are mixture of magnetic and non-magnetic construction, and most look to be maker marked on the back.

It is adorned with the usual rank and branch insignia used on German tunics. The right chest has a silver thread machine embroidered breast eagle on a black wool background, which is correct for a panzer officer, but usually we would expect to see these on a black uniform, not a tropical one. There is some fraying and wear to the metal threads.  The collar is reinforced, and made from the same material as the rest of the tunic. It has officer's field litzen collar patches on each side, which are woven from silver bullion thread with a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) background. It is in good shape, showing wear on the interior and around the edge from use.

The colored Mittelstreifen (median stripes) on the litzen are colored Rosa (Rose-pink), which was the Waffenfarbe (corps color) during WWII for the Panzers (Armored Troops) and Panzerjäger (Tank Destroyers). The button-attached style Stabsoffizier schulterklappen (Field-grade Officer shoulder boards) of this tunic are constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping, which are plaited together to form a loop around the buttonhole. They are in very good service used condition, and there are no rank "pips" installed, indicating the rank of Major, equivalent to the same rank in the U.S. Army. We also noted that there are multiple thread loops above the left chest pocket for a medal ribbon bar, as well as several pairs of loops on and below the pocket for the attachment of awards.

Overall condition is very good, showing wear from service, but no major damage or repairs. There is some fading in areas from exposure and use, but overall it presents very nicely. A fantastic Afrika Korps Panzer Armored Corps Officer M41 tunic in great service used condition. Ready for further research and display!

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 10"
Shoulder to sleeve: 26”
Shoulder to shoulder: 15"
Chest width: 20”
Waist: 20"
Hip: 23"
Front length: 31.5"

The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (Deutsches Afrikakorps or DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of their African colonies, the formation fought on in Africa, under various appellations, from March 1941 until its surrender in May 1943. The term "Afrika Korps" is pseudo-German (so-called "cod-German"), deriving from an incomplete German title. The German term referred solely to the initial formation, the Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK), which formed part of the Axis command of the German and Italian forces in North Africa. The name stuck, with both news media and Allied soldiers, as the name for all subsequent German units in North Africa. The unit is known for having been commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.