APPENDIX 2
Wearing their special black Panzer uniforms the Panzertruppen were very distinctive from the German soldier wearing his field-grey service uniform. The uniform was first issued to crews in 1934, and was the same design and colouring for all ranks of the Panzer arm, except for some of the rank insignia and national emblems worn by officers and generals. The colour of the uniform was specially dyed in black to hide oil and other stains from the environment of working with the armoured vehicles. These black uniforms would symbolize a band of elite troops that gained notorie*ty across Europe and into Russia for spearheading the powerful Panzerwaffe.
The black Panzer uniform itself was made of high-quality black wool, which was smooth and free of imperfections. The uniform comprised a short black double-breasted jacket worn with loose-fitting black trousers. The deeply double-breasted jacket was high-waisted and was specially designed to allow the wearer to move around inside his often cramped vehicle with relative comfort. The trousers were designed to be loose also in order to enable the wearer plenty of movement.
The 1934 pattern Panzer jacket was only in production until it was replaced in 1936 by the second pattern. This pattern was popular and remained in production throughout the war. It was very similar to that of the first pattern. It had the short double-breasted jacket, which was normally worn open at the neck, showing the mouse-grey shirt and black tie, but it also had provision for buttoning and hooking the collar closed for protection against weather.
On the jacket the shoulder straps, collar patches and around the death head skull were piped in rose pink Waffenfarbe material. The rose pink piping was worn by all ranks around the outer edge of the jacket collar, but this design was discontinued by 1942. Members of the 24th Panzer Division did not wear the rose pink piping, their piping was gold yellow. This colour piping was purely for commemorative wear and had been originally worn by the 1st Kavallerie-Division, which was the only cavalry division in the German Army to be converted to a fully-fledged Panzer division.
The German national emblem on the double-breasted Panzer jacket was very similar to that worn on the German service uniform. It was stitched on the right breast in heavy white cotton weave, but the quality and colour varied according to rank. They were also manufactured in grey cotton yarn or in fine aluminum thread. For officers and generals of the Panzertruppen they were normally heavily embroidered in silver wire.
The jacket was specially designed so that the number of buttons worn on the outside of the coat was limited, although there were two small black buttons positioned one above the other on the right side of the chest. These were stitched into place to secure the left lapel when the jacket was closed up at the neck.
The trousers worn were identical for all ranks. There was no piping used on the outer seams of the trouser legs. Generals of the Panzertruppen did not wear the red stripe on the trousers, as they did with the German Army service uniform. The trousers had two side pockets with button-down pocket flaps, a fob pocket and a hip pocket. The trousers were generally gathered around the tops of the short leather lace-up ankle boots.
The headgear worn by the Panzer crews in 1941 was the Panzer enlisted man’s field cap or Feldmütze and was worn by all ranks. It was black and had the early type national emblem stitched in white on the front on the cap above a woven cockade, which was displayed in the national colours. The field cap had a pink soutache. For the next three years of the war the Panzer arm extensively wore the Panzer field cap. However in 1943 a new form of head dress was introduced, the Einheitsfeldmütze – the Panzer enlisted man’s model 1943 field cap. The M1943 cap was issued in black, but when stocks ran low troops were seen wearing field-grey field caps. Both colours of the design were worn universally among Panzer crews and the cap insignia only slightly differed between the various ranks.
The field-grey German Army steel helmet was also issued to the Panzertruppen as part of their regulation uniform. Generally, the steel helmet was not worn inside the cramped confines of a tank, except when crossing over rough terrain and normally when the crewmember was exposed under combat conditions outside his vehicle. Many crews, however, utilized their steel helmets as added armoured protection and attached them to the side of the tanks cupola, and to the rear of the vehicle.
Another item of headgear worn by the Panzer arm was the officer’s service cap or Schirmmütze. Although this service cap was not technically an item designed for the Panzer arm, it was none the less an integral part of the Panzer officer’s uniform and was worn throughout the war.
The Panzer uniform remained a well-liked and very popular item of clothing and did not alter extensively during the war. However, in 1942 a special two-piece reed-green denim suit was issued to Panzer crews in areas of operations where the climate was considered warmer than normal theatres of combat. The new denim suit was hard wearing, light and easy to wash, and many crews were seen wearing the uniform during the summer months. The uniform was generally worn by armoured crews, maintenance, and even Panzergrenadiers who were operating with half-tracked vehicles, notably the Sd.Kfz.251 series. This popular and practical garment was identical in cut to the special black Panzer uniform. It consisted of the normal insignia, including the national emblem, Panzer death head collar patches and shoulder straps.
Apart from the uniforms worn by the Panzer crews, a special uniform was introduced for both Sturmartillerie and Panzerjäger units. The uniform was specially designed to be worn primarily inside and away from the troops’ armoured vehicles, and for this reason designers had produced a garment that gave better camouflage qualities than the standard black Panzer uniform. The uniform worn by units of the Panzerjäger was made entirely from lightweight grey-green wool material. The cut was very similar to that of the black Panzer uniform. However, it did differ in respect of insignia and the collar patches.
The Panzerjäger uniform was a very practical garment. The cut was identical to that of the Sturmartillerie uniform, but was of a different colour. The uniform was made entirely of field-grey cloth, but again differed in respect of certain insignia. The collar patches consisted of the death’s head emblems, which were stitched on patches of dark blue-green cloth and were edged with bright red Waffenfarbe piping. Officers did not display the death’s head collar patches, but wore the field service collar patches instead. Also there was no piping on the collar patches.
Like the summer two-piece reed-green denim suit worn by Panzer crews, both tank destroyer and self-propelled assault gun units also had their own working and summer uniforms, which were also produced in the same colour and material.
Apart from the basic issued items of clothing worn by crews of the Panzer, tank destroyer and self-propelled assault gun units, crews were also issued with various items of clothing to protect them against the harsh climates. By the winter of 1942-43 the German Army had developed a new revolutionary item of clothing for the armoured crews called the Parka. The Parka was a well-made item of clothing that was well-padded and kept crews warm. Initially, the Parka was designed in field-grey with a reversible winter white. But by late 1943 a new modification was made by replacing the field-grey side with a camouflage pattern, either green splinter or tan-and-water. The coat was double breasted with the interior set of buttons being fastened to provide additional protection.