Original German WWII Heer Sturmartillerie Oberleutnant Officer’s Sturmgeschütz Wrap Uniform Tunic dated 1941 – StuG Wrapper Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great example of a highly desirable and iconic Heer Sturmartillerie (Assault Artillery) Officers “Panzer Wrap” tunic, in the correct Feldgrau color. These particular “StuG wrapper” uniforms were worn by troops who manned and operated the self-propelled Sturmgeschütze (assault gun or StuG) anti-tank / infantry support guns. The design of the panzer wrap over tunic was deemed as suitable for StuG crews but as they could be outside of the vehicle more or exposed than Panzer crews it was decided that the field grey color would be better suited. As the field grey color uniform was also the same color as the infantry uniform they blended in better when mixed in with the infantry.

The Sturmartillerie were officially part of the Artillerie branch and therefore wore wrappers with red Waffenfarbe. When assault guns were being developed, there was a struggle between the Panzer and Artillerie branches for control of this new weapon concept and Artillerie won. They were an integral part of the German “Blitzkrieg” strategy, which allowed them to overrun much of Europe in a relatively short amount of time. The sleek design of the wrap tunic combined with the colorful piping make them look great in just about any setting.

This example is made from the correct Heer Feldgrau (Field Gray) wool gabardine with a plush “doeskin” type exterior, and is really a great example of this type of StuG Wrapper. There are actually 7 plastic front closure buttons, two smaller ones farther to the left that attach to the interior, and 5 as part of the main closure. To preserve the streamlined look, the bottom 4 of these buttons are “hidden”, with only the top exposed. There are two additional buttons to use if the lapels are closed, but this was rarely done. There is also a “hook and loop” fastener for the collar. The buttons on the tunic are sewn directly to the fabric, not attached with metal circlips, and it looks like some may have been replaced, as they do not match and there are also repairs where they attach to the wrapper.

The interior is lined on the front and reinforced with olive brown twill fabric, which feels like a cotton / rayon blend. There are interior pockets on either side, as well as straps for the installed belt hooks. The left interior has a complete set of size markings, over a depot marking K 41, for issue in 1941. We have unfortunately not been able to determine which depot “K” stands for.

The tunic is adorned with the usual rank and branch insignia used on German tunics. The attractive Army breast eagle is the correct officer’s silver bullion hand embroidered type on a green background, and is very neatly hand stitched to the chest in a fashion typical of wartime German tailor work. It is only stitched to the outer layer of fabric, indicating installation when the uniform was made, so it has never been replaced.

The collar has officer’s field litzen collar patches on each side, which are woven from silver bullion thread with a dark green “badge cloth” background. The colored stripes on each are Hochrot (Deep Red) wool, the Waffenfarbe (Corps Color) during WWII for Artillery, as well as General Level Officers. As this is a company grade officer tunic, this is definitely for artillery. The collar is in good shape, though there is a bit of wear around the edges, which is usually one of the first places to show damage from use.

The “sew-in” style company officers schulterklappen (shoulder boards) of this tunic are constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware “Russia Braid” double piping and have the correct red piping around the edges. There is one gold rank “pip” installed on each, indicating the officer rank of Oberleutnant, equivalent to a U.S. Army First Lieutenant. There is also a metal unit number 218 over the pips, which would probably represent 218th Sturmartillerie Bataillon (Assault Artillery Battalion). There is also an EKII 1939 ribbon installed on the top button hole of the lapel.

Overall condition is very good, with light wear and staining consistent with service. There is a bit of light mothing in areas, but nothing major, and most damage we can see looks to be from wear and use. The officer’s insignia are made from aluminum bullion, which does show a bit of wear and oxidation. The colors are very well retained on this StuG Wrapper, and it really has a fantastic look.

This is a great chance to pick up a lovely example of a very rare and desirable StuG Wrapper, the first that we have ever had! In many ways these are harder to find than the Iconic Black Panzer Wrapper version. Ready to research and display!

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 10″
Shoulder to sleeve: 22.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 17.5”
Chest width: 19″
Front length: 25.5″