U-125 Model 1936 Army Signals NCO (Oberfeldwebel)
Service Tunic and Visor Cap Set from the Same Soldier
This is something that you don’t see every day! Let’s start with
the TUNIC….it is in near excellent condition overall with minor discoloration
and fading to its field grey, heavy-duty cloth exterior. There is no damage
whatsoever! There are four pleated and scalloped pockets. The front closure
consists of six buttons and a metal hook and loop fastener for the closed neck.
The cuffs are the turned-back style. All of the buttons are pebbled metal with a
field grey finish except the ones for the shoulder boards which appear to have
been replaced at some point. The dark green badge cloth collar has bright silver
aluminum tressing along its front and lower edges. There are also a set of
“generic” machine woven Army collar litzen. The sew-in shoulder boards are
piped in bright yellow, indicating that the wearer was associated with Signals.
These have a bright silver aluminum tressing around the entire perimeter, to go
along with a single silver finished aluminum pip, indicating that he was of the
NCO rank of Oberfeldwebel (Master Sergeant). Also seen are the digit ciphers
that read “33”. This indicates he was a member of the 33rd Signals Regiment.
This Unit was attached to the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division in Italy and of
course participated in the North African campaign (as well as many others). Hand
applied to the area above the right breast pocket is a NCO’s style silver
aluminum flatwire Army breast eagle, this has a field grey background. The left
breast pocket has a set of loops for a single award, which is included, as it is
original to the tunic. It is an early DRL Sports Badge in tombak and is
excellent! Just above the pocket is a small medal bar for the Russian Front
Award, this is also included and is original to the tunic. The super clean
interior is unlined and includes a built in dagger slot. It appears to be
approximately a size 38. On to the VISOR CAP…it is a private purchase example
produced in a soft field grey wool that is very clean. There is some moderate
tracking in a few areas and a few holes, none bigger than a pencil tip (I have
photographed this). The front peak is swept back a bit giving this quite the
jaunty look! The lemon yellow Signals piping is excellent throughout. The
centerband, of green badge cloth, is excellent as well. The leichtmetall
insignia has a silver finish that is fully intact. The cockade has a red
felt bull’s eye. There is a black leather chinstrap that is attached to the
cap by a pair of small black buttons. The shiny black vulkanfibre visor has some
minor discoloration where the chinstrap has been resting for all of these years.
The underside of the visor is crosshatched and finished in a yellowish-tan. The
interior is fully lined in a brownish-orange cloth with a distinct weave. This
has an ink stamp listing the size of the cap, which is 57. There is a clear,
diamond shaped moisture shield with the maker’s information silk screened in
gold onto it, this reads “Fewegla”. Underneath this is a circle containing
an eagle with the words “Deutsche Wertarbeit” (“German First Class
Workmanship”) across its chest. Underneath the excellent brown leather
sweatband the owner hand wrote his name, which is “A. Vöhninger”. You know
his name and his Battalion, sounds like a fun research project! Included with
this lot is a small photograph of the “kaserne” (“barracks”) of the 33rd
Signals Battalion. A great set overall!
$2,150.00
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Item U-125
