Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great example of a highly desirable and iconic early war Heer Sturmartillerie (Assault Artillery) Enlisted Man’s “Panzer Wrap” tunic, in the "Field Combat" HBT fabric construction. After 1942 there was an official summer issue HBT Feldbluse uniform designed for field and combat use for the army, a descendant of the "Drillich" fabric drill uniforms during the pre-war period. They manufactured M40, M42, and later M44 patterns in this fabric, as well as the StuG Wrap Tunic. This example is missing the skulls on the litzen, which were likely taken off as war trophies by an American G.I.

These particular "StuG wrapper" uniforms were worn by troops who manned and operated the self-propelled Sturmgeschütze (assault gun or StuG) anti-tank / infantry support guns. The design of the panzer wrap over tunic was deemed as suitable for StuG crews but as they could be outside of the vehicle more or exposed than Panzer crews it was decided that the field gray color would be better suited. As the field gray color uniform was also the same color as the infantry uniform they blended in better when mixed in with the infantry. They also began to use the summer HBT uniforms when they were issued to the rest of the army.

The Sturmartillerie were officially part of the Artillerie branch and therefore wore wrappers with red Waffenfarbe. When assault guns were being developed, there was a struggle between the Panzer and Artillerie branches for control of this new weapon concept and Artillerie won. They were an integral part of the German "Blitzkrieg" strategy, which allowed them to overrun much of Europe in a relatively short amount of time. The sleek design of the wrap tunic combined with the colorful piping make them look great in just about any setting.

This early example is made from the correct Heer green HBT fabric, and has 10 plastic buttons on the front right closure of brown plastic material. There is one small white colored plastic button at the bottom edge of the closure.

The tunic is adorned with the usual rank and branch insignia used on German tunics. The attractive Army breast eagle is the correct EM/NCO BeVO embroidered type, a 1940 pattern with gray thread on a green background. It is very neatly hand stitched to the chest in a fashion typical of wartime German tailor work. There are Enlisted Men’s Kragenspiegel (collar tabs) on each side, bearing black wool rectangles with Hochrot (Deep Red) fabric, the Waffenfarbe (Corps Color) during WWII for Artillery, Assault guns (Sturmgeschütze), and Heavy Flak soldiers. It is also the color used for General Level Officers, however as this is an EM tunic, this is definitely for artillery. The right collar tab has two sizable moth nips as shown. We believe that these originally had metal skulls attached to them, and you can just barely make out where they were originally affixed. These skulls were popular trophies for American soldiers who came across captured Germans, so it makes sense as to why they would be absent.

Being a First Pattern HBT, this example has no pockets. The shoulder rank insignia on this example are buttoned on and are not directly sewn to the tunic. They are both Enlisted Men’s schulterklappen (shoulder straps) with the same Hochrot (Deep Red) piping. The red coloration of the piping has faded heavily over time, but they are still in good shape, with a small bit of loss to the piping fabric.

Overall condition is very good, with light wear and staining consistent with service. There is some wear to the insignia, as well as some overall wear, but nothing major. The colors are very well retained on this StuG Wrapper, and it really has a fantastic look.

This is a great chance to pick up a lovely example of a very rare and desirable First Pattern StuG Wrapper, only the third that we have ever had, and the second one made from HBT fabric! In many ways these are harder to find than the Iconic Black Panzer Wrapper version. With a pair of skulls added, this would be complete! Ready for further research and display!

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 9.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 25.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 15”
Chest width: 15"
Waist width: 15"
Hip width: 15"
Front length: 23"