U-121 Army Unteroffizier’s
(NCO) Waffenrock, Waffengattung (Branch) Nachrichtentruppen (Signals)
The bright lemon yellow used by the Army as the branch color
for Signals Troops makes for a sharp-looking Waffenrock (parade dress tunic).
The tunic is made of very fine quality Trikot wool, but it has some moth
tracking, with assorted nibbles, a small hole above the eagle’s right wing (as
viewed) and a small hole on the front left upper breast, with a small hole in
the neck area of the collar. The top and front edges of the dark blue/green
badge cloth collar have the wide, aluminum cloth tape NCO tress, and each sleeve
has a single band of aluminum NCO tress along the cuff border and rear edge. The
collar’s front and bottom edges are piped in the bright lemon yellow branch
color of Nachrichtentruppen (Signals), as are both right and left front panel
edges, the top edges of the sleeve cuffs, and finally the scallops on the rear
skirt. The collar has a nice set of machine woven aluminum cloth Litzen (tabs)
on Signals yellow felt tab backings. The sew-in shoulder boards - both edged in
aluminum NCO tress tape - are for the rank of Unteroffizier (so there is no
tress across the bottom of the boards). The shoulder board buttons are each
molded with the number “2”. The two Ärmelpatten (cuff tabs) on each cuff
are also in machine woven aluminum cloth, on the lemon yellow backings. The
tunic has a handsome Officer style hand embroidered aluminum bullion breast
Adler (eagle), in excellent condition, but this has been collector re-applied to
the tunic. There is a nice Hitler Jugend membership pin mounted on the lower
left breast (included with the tunic), but as there are no loops behind it, it
is almost certainly an “extra”. There is a slit in the horizontal waist seam
on the left side of the tunic for a dagger hanger strap to pass through from the
inside. The tunic is fully lined in a slightly olive green ribbed rayon, with
the sleeves lined in pale yellow material – however, the sleeve linings are in
fact heavily damaged and are no longer completely connected either at the
armpits, nor at the cuffs. On the inside of the inner (left) breast pocket there
is white oilcloth label / customer nametag, with the name of a tailor in
Frankfurt (am Main). Given the look of the stitches used to apply this tag, I
expect it is collector-added. A machine woven tailor’s label is also applied
to the tunic just above the rear skirt vent (odd location) with the same name as
appears on the pocket label – but this I feel is also collector applied. The
lining has some soiling with the color now more of a brownish shade near the
edges of the tunic. There is an inner two-part waist cinch strap, with plated
metal fittings. Overall some minor liabilities, but a nice looking piece.
$825.00
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Item U-121
