Original Item: Only One Available. This is a fantastic French tailor-made high quality, 1939 pattern, earth brown RAD Officer's tunic made with fine wool plainweave fabric. It features a seven button front closure with pebbled aluminum buttons, all maker marked on the back, and two hook and loop collar fasteners. There are two pleated patch breast pockets with straight edged button down flaps and hip pockets with forward edge curved button down flaps, closed with the same buttons as the main closure. Left pocket has award loops for one badge. The reverse features a vertical tail skirt vent with buttons at the top.

The interior is fully lined in gold/tan ribbed rayon with white striped sleeves. The lining has horizontal slash pockets on both sides, with the left side bearing a French Tailor's label, which reads: AU BON ACCUEIL / Louis Bogrand / TAILLEUR. Inside the pocket is a label from the same tailor identifying the owner as "Runck" or something similar, and there is a number 5562 and a 1941 date marked. Unfortunately we cannot quite make out the name due to the handwriting. Condition of the tunic is excellent, with just some light wear from service.

The left sleeve has a unit assignment shield hand stitched on (original stitching), which shows a machine embroidered silver/aluminum flatwire RAD inverted shovel with the Roman numerals XXIV in the center. Below this is an early war felt NSDAP armelbinde (armband) with a multipiece rayon swas. This has been hand stitched to the arm with red thread.

The collar is wrapped with chocolate brown wool, and has matching silver wire woven Kragenspiegel collar tabs, which indicate the RAD rank of Arbeitsführer (Labor leader) a rank equivalent to a Heer Army Major. The tab has a black velvet background, the branch of service color for "General Service" in the RAD. The "sew-in" style schulterklappen (shoulder straps) are constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping, which are plaited together to form a loop around the buttonhole and have black chevrons woven into the braid. These have the correct black velvet backing for "General Service" as well, and correctly have no rank pips, for the rank of Arbeitsführer.

The included matching breeches are made from matching fabric, and are show top quality bespoke construction. They have a button fly closure which also has a metal tab as well, with adjustment straps on the side. The bottoms of the legs have zipper closures, so that the feet could fit through easier before the bottoms would be zipped up and tall boots worn. There is a faded tailor's tag on the inner lining button strap that matches that on the tunic, with the same name written, as well as number 5562 and a 1941 date. Condition is very good, with just a few small moth nips here and there.

A fantastic matched RAD uniform, ready to add to your collection!

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 9.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 27.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 15”
Chest width: 18.5”
Waist width: 18.5 "
Hip width: 21 ”
Front length: 31 "

Pants:
Waist:18"
Inseam: 23.5"

The basis of the RAD, Reichsarbeitsdienst, (National Labor Service), dates back, at least, to 1929 with the formation of the AAD (Anhalt Arbeitsdienst) and the FAD-B (Freiwillingen Arbeitsdienst-Bayern).  Shortly after AH’s appointment as Chancellor in Jan 1933, the NSDAP consolidated all labor organizations into the NSAD (Nationalsozialist Arbeitsdienst), a national labor service, under the control of Reichsarbeitsführer Konstatin Hierl. It served as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarize the workforce and indoctrinate it with NSDAP ideology. It was the official state labor service, divided into separate sections for men and women.

On June 26 1935 the NSAD was officially re-designated RAD, and from then onward, men aged between 18 and 25 may have served six months before their military service. During World War II compulsory service also included young women and the RAD developed to an auxiliary formation which provided support for the Wehrmacht armed forces.

In April 1934 Hierl had developed a uniform, including the distinctive "Robin Hood" style service cap. The design of the cap was based on a cross between a traditional style peasant cap and the traditional hunters cap. Originally the caps were issued with rank distinction piping with black piping for the EM/NCO ranks of Arbeitsmann to Truppführer, silver piping for company and field grade Officer’s ranks of Obertruppführer to Oberstarbeitsführer and gold piping for General Officer’s ranks of Generalarbeitsführer to Reichsarbeitsführer. In 1940 the use of the black piping for the EM/NCO ranks was discontinued but the silver and gold Officer’s piping remained in use until the end of the war.