Help needed-military or civilian coat?

Need help identifying the sheepskin type coat this guy is wearing. Posted this in "Information Requests" a couple weeks ago with no luck, probably the wrong place. Two military memorabilia dealers, via email, have said it's German military with one saying mostly on the eastern front from '42 on. Couple others say it's civilian? These guys are friends of my Dad's from the 607th TD Bn, Recon Co, probably taken in late Jan/early Feb '45. Maybe in Belgium? Any help or leads anyone can provide will be appreciated. I'm running out of ideas for research!

 

I posted the answer in your first request for help in identifying coat.? you should read your own posts and replies! before electing to repost same question natman..here it is again..ray.

Re: Tell me about this coat
found this one for sale...at rzm mllitaria..

Wehrmacht / Waffen-SS Sheepskin Coat.
Three quarter length sheepskin coat. The wide collar can be secured upright for extra protection against the elements by means of a strap & buttons, which are embosed - "solide elegant". These buttons are often encountered on war time German garments. The coat has an integeral hood, which could be worn under either a helmet or field cap, three wood toggles for fastening the coat front & two for securing the front slash pockets. There is also a button on the inside back, which was used to secure the length of webbing which joined the winter mittens.
The coat in in very good used condition, but a bit grubby with some stains, as can be expected. All stitching is intact & there are no holes, tears or repairs.
This type of coat is illustrated in the excellent Histoire & Collections publication - German Soldiers of World War Two by Jean De Lagarde, page 95 "Narva, 1944".
Attached Thumbnails

 

Ray,
I did see your original reply. I felt the coat in the photo you supplied is not the same as the one in my photo. If you convert the "RZM" coat to black and white, the tan ribs will darken with the main body staying correspondingly light colored. That is the opposite of the coloring in my photo. The "RZM" coat also lacks the horizontal ribs across the chest/upper back that are on the original. My interest in this coat stems from the coloring of it, which is likely a tan body and yellow/cream ribs. If so, this seems like a very poor choice for a GI to wear in a front line unit.

My apologies if I offended you by not replying to your original post. Thanks for your time and interest.

Steve

 

not at all steve no offence taken,it was more no response to my reply,that made me wonder,so! you think it is not the same steve,ray..

 

a possible variation maybe..?

 

another variation steve,,wehrmacht officer sheepskin coat...ray..
Rask Antik

 

hi steve,look at pic 22,clear any pop up,and see tankers wearing sheepskins,ray..

Images of Kursk - Nick Cornich

 

Ray,
The pic on pg. 22 sure looks like the coat. Thanks for the link. How in the world did you find that photo? Earlier this AM I stumbled across a photo on Flickr with a great coat very similar to the one in mine. I'm waiting on a reply to see if I can use it, or a link, from the guy who owns it. I'll post it here as soon as I hear back from him. Steve

 

thanks for that steve,look forward to seeing it,dont ask how,I just ran across site using keywords,ray..

 

It's typically European and civilian in my opinion. Variants are still made.They are very warm and comfortable , so imagine the man who found one while he was freezing ? i would have taken it too.

 

skipper take a look at pic 22,ray.. Images of Kursk - Nick Cornich

 

a different version, in fact sheep skin was widely used. The French also used sheep skins over their uniformrs both in WWI and WWII

 

but didn't the wehrmacht issue these too? re my first post..

 

Ray,
Here's the link to the photo I mentioned earlier: Showing Off Winter Duds on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
This coat seems to have been made the same way. Haven't heard back from this guy but maybe he can provide some more info? Steve

 

thanks for post steve,certainly finding more interesting coats,I've added link with pic to see if translatiion can be done..

can someone give translation please,see original pic in steve's link,this thumbnail is the reverse side with writing...ray..

 

... removed ..unnessery info wrong jacket

 

Found this when I was looking through a book today.

 

Wonder if these type of coats were sometimes made locally by forced labor? Seems to be quite a variety.

 

are a lot of these original? ex wehrmacht heinrich..

 

there certainly appears to be a variety of designs steve,long,short,keep posting if you find more,or info too,ray..