BACKGROUND: The Reichsluftwaffe, (National Air-Force), was official established on February 26^TH 1935 as the third branch of service of the Armed Forces. On March 9^TH 1935 the formation of the new Reichsluftwaffe was announced to the foreign press and on March 16^TH conscription was reintroduced for all three branches of service. On May 21^ST 1935 the Reichsluftwaffe designation was altered to Luftwaffe, (Air-Force). The standard pattern service uniform was adopted by the Luftwaffe in March 1935, and was based on the uniform worn by personnel in the DLV, Deutscher Luftsport Verband, (German Air Sports Association), the clandestine, civilian forerunner of the Luftwaffe, as early as 1933, with minor modifications. Luftwaffe personnel also utilized two piece, drill, work and later summer combat uniforms, usually with an HBT, (Herring Bone Twill), weave, in order to conserve wear and tear on the wool and wool blend uniforms. Regulations of April 4^TH 1936 introduced special, protective and work uniforms which included two piece uniforms and single piece, pull on coveralls intended for wear by anti-aircraft artillery personnel, Luftwaffe personnel serving on boats and ships, as well as technical and mechanical ground crew personnel when performing their duties in order to maintain their service uniforms from excessive wear and tear and to conceal soiling due to the dirty nature of their work. Originally the coveralls were produced in black until mid-1937 when the color was changed to dark blue and both colors were issued in an unlined version for summer wear and a lined version for winter wear. In May 1942 with the establishment of the civilian Heimatflakbatterien, (Home Flak Batteries), wear of the protective coveralls was extended to those personnel for wear when on duty. Both the two piece and single piece uniforms under went minor modifications with the earlier patterns generally having either a single pocket on the left breast or two breast pockets while regulations of September 1937 altered the pockets to a single pocket on the right breast. Of Note: Both the two piece and single piece uniforms were also manufactured with no breast pockets. Earlier versions of the single piece coveralls were equipped with an integral belt and friction belt buckle, which was discontinued in late 1937 and replaced with an internal, tunnel looped fit adjustment draw strap. Regulations dictated that the only insignia to be worn on the protective coveralls was NCO’s tress trim on the collar, a series of tress, sleeve stripes for NCO personnel and rank chevrons for enlisted personnel. Collar tabs and breast eagle were not to be worn although the regulations were not strictly adhered to.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Post-September 1937 pattern, heavy, fully lined, single piece, pull over, navy blue cotton/rayon construction coveralls with an HBT, (Herring Bone Twill), weave. The coveralls feature a vertical, eight button, French fly style, front closure running from the crotch to the neckline with a single, magnetic, metal hook and eye positioned at the forward neckline and a small, lay down collar. The vertical front closure has a small, overlapping panel on the left hand side which results in concealing the buttons when in the closed position to insure they didn’t catch on anything. Both of the mid-breast panels have a short, vertical, tapering dart and the right breast has a non-pleated, patch pocket with a straight edged, button down flap. The reverse, mid-back, of the coveralls also have two, evenly spaced, short, vertical tapering darts. The coveralls have vertical, side seam, slash pockets to each outside leg, side seams positioned just below the horizontal waistline. Both of the side seam pockets serve a dual function with internal pocket bags for use as pockets and an additional interior, opened slash, permitting access to the underlying uniform pockets worn under the coveralls. The coverall have straight cut, dual-ply, sleeve cuffs with a horizontally extended, button holed, fabric tab machine stitched to the inner sleeve seam and dual, corresponding, fit adjustment buttons to each. The coveralls have straight cut, dual-ply hem, leg cuffs with an inserted, single-ply, triangular piece of fabric, machine stitched, to the inside seams and an internal, horizontal, tunnel looped, navy blue cotton/rayon, fit adjustment strap to each. The tunnel loop has small vertical slashes to each side to access the fit adjustment straps and one strap on the right cuff is not accessible. The coveralls have a small, lay down collar with the typical zig-zag reinforcement stitching to the reverse. The reverse of the left side of the collar has a horizontally extended, fabric tab with a single, stitched button eyelet with a corresponding button and an additional corresponding button positioned on the reverse of the right side of the collar, for a secure closure in inclement weather. The coveralls have no breast eagle, collar tabs or shoulder straps, or any evidence that any were ever applied, as per regulations. The coveralls also have none of the permissible rank insignia or any evidence that any was ever applied. The interior of the coveralls are fully lined with two shades of heavy, grey, wool to the body and legs and a grey rayon lining with an internal padding to the sleeves. The interior lining has a machine stitched, horizontal, tunnel loop with dual, inserted, purplish/blue cotton/rayon, fit adjustment straps positioned at the waistline. The upper, interior, left, front closure panel has a ribbed, white rayon label machine stitched in place with very faint, mostly illegible, black inkstamps with the numeral, "43", being visible which is presumably the size or date. The coveralls are in overall quite good condition with numerous small picks and pulls, as is typical with this type of material, a couple of small tears and a small handstitched repair to the mid, right leg and light to moderate age and usage toning through-out. The buttons are a combination of the large, molded, black bakelite and smaller, brown bakelite types and all appear to have their original stitching. The coveralls were designed to fit over the standard service uniform and this example is fairly small with a roughly, 38" size chest and a roughly, 32" size waist.