Original German WWII Kriegsmarine Tropical Coastal Artillery Short Sleeve Field Shirt – dated 1942 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great WWII Issue German Kriegsmarine Navy Tropical Short Sleeve 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. It looks to be unissued, with the only wear from storage and age. These were very often used by the Kriegsmarine Küstenartillerie (Coastal artillery), as they were a land-based branch, and definitely needed the extra ventilation these provided.

The shirt is a “pullover” style common with service shirts used by the entire Wehrmacht, and features a three button collar closure with olive plastic buttons. At the bottom of the closure is the marking K M / 1942, indicating Kriegsmarine use and that it was made in 1942. The shirts has breast pockets on either side, secured with the same buttons as the main closure, and the shoulders have the correct fabric loops and maker marked pebbled buttons for the attachment of shoulder insignia. Over the right breast pocket is a lovely BeVO machine embroidered Kriegsmarine breast eagle, made from gold thread on a khaki backing.

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

Approx. Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 9″
Shoulder to sleeve: 8.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 17.5”
Chest width: 20″
Waist width: 20″
Hip width: 17”
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.