Original German WWII Kriegsmarine Tropical Tan Flugmeldefeldwebel Aircraft Warning Petty Officer 1st Class Field Service Shirt Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great WWII Issue German Kriegsmarine Navy Tropical Field Service Shirt, designed for use in warm climates such as North Africa and the Mediterranean area. The shirt is made of light weight khaki tan canvas of the type used for tropical uniforms, and looks to have seen light service during the war. These were very often used by the Kriegsmarine Küstenartillerie (Coastal artillery), as they were a land-based branch, and the color was often more appropriate. This example is however set up for a Petty Officer in the Flugmelder (Flight Detector) Naval Observer, or Aircraft Warning branch. These were responsible for observation to notice incoming aircraft, so it is definitely possible that they were attached to a Coastal artillery unit, though they also could have been ship based.

The shirt is a “pullover” style with long sleeves, common with service shirts used by the entire Wehrmacht, and features a four button collar closure with tan plastic buttons. At the bottom of the closure are some faded maker markings, though we unfortunately are not able to read them. There is also a small 44 marked in the back of the collar, however we do not know if this a date or some type of size marking. The shirt has breast pockets on either side, secured by non-magnetic olive painted Kriegsmarine “anchor” buttons, with matching buttons at the ends of the sleeves and on the shoulders for rank insignia. These are all retained by metal split-rings on the back. Over the right breast pocket is a lovely triangular BeVO machine embroidered Kriegsmarine breast eagle, made from gold and brown thread on a khaki backing.

The shirt is equipped with a very nice pair of tan Feldwebel Schulterstücken (Shoulder boards), which feature blue wide piping around the entire perimeter, and a single rank “pip” indicating the rank of Feldwebel, equivalent to a Petty Officer 1st class. Next to the pip is the Petty Officer rating insignia for a Flugmelder (Aircraft warning oberserver), which is crossed “lightning bolts” with a “gull wing” insignia in the single, all superimposed on an anchor. Their official title in German for this rank is Flugmeldefeldwebel (Aircraft Warning Petty Officer 1st Class), consistent with the ratings career path system in use.

Overall the shirt is in very good condition, though there is light overall wear from use and possibly from laundering. There are also scattered small stains that are brown or red, probably from exposure to rust or metal, not uncommon during service. There is some pilling on the fabric surface, but no wear through or major damage.

A really lovely example of this type of shirt, ready to add to your collection and display!

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 9″
Shoulder to sleeve: 23”
Shoulder to shoulder: 17”
Chest width: 24″
Waist width: 24″
Hip width: 24″
Front length: 29″

History of the German Africa Korps
The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (German: Deutsches Afrikakorps, 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.

The dry climate of Africa proved to be an issue with much of the standard leather field gear that the German Army usually used. It would dry out and crack quickly, and become unusable. To deal with this, the standard field gear such as belts, Y-straps, A-frames, bayonet frogs, and other items, were issued in special tropical web versions.