Original U.S. WWII 3rd Infantry Division M-1943 M43 Field Jacket with Extremely Rare Theater-Made 7th Infantry Battle Patrol Patch

Original Item: Only One Available. The Jacket, Field, M1943 was a standardized field jacket issued to Army soldiers in WWII. It was longer than the M-1941 jacket, coming down to the upper thighs. It was made in a light olive-drab OD7, later a darker OD9 cotton sateen. It also had a detachable hood (not included), drawstring waist, two large breast pockets and two skirt pockets.

The uniform was designed to be warm in winter by use of a separate jacket liner. The jacket liner was a separate cotton-shell jacket with two slash pockets and button and loop fastening, generally in a lighter shade of olive drab (OD3) than the main jacket but in practice rarely issued during World War II. In the ETO this was intended to be replaced by the M-1944 'Ike' jacket, or one of the generic 'ETO' jackets which could come in versions that were either near-identical to the M-1941 jacket, but in rough khaki wool outer, or versions almost identical to British Battledress, both versions being produced locally in the UK in several variations.

This example is offered in great service-worn condition with some field repairs. The left shoulder bears a great 3rd Infantry Division patch, and the right shoulder bears an astounding Battle Patrol patch, the first we have ever seen here at IMA. We tested it and it does not glow under a backlight indicating its pre-1946 manufacture. This was an extremely scarce patch worn by men of the 7th Infantry Regiment’s Battle Patrol. This was basically a combined weapons composite group, "shock troops" for lack of a better term. Any material from this small sub-unit is extraordinarily difficult to source. There is very little information about this unit & its patch online, making for a great research project.

The jacket retains the M-43 tag under the collar, as well as the maker’s tag in the pocket IDing the maker as Sigmund Eisner Co. with a date of March 1st, 1945. There’s also a size tag under the collar, 42R.

The insignia is all period-applied and there is a great stitching field repair over the bottom right pocket. There is some fraying of the material along the cuffs and bottom edge.

An outstanding Battle Patrol M43 jacket, ready for further research and display!