Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Brown was to become the official color of the N.S.D.A.P. and S.A. by circumstance rather than design. A large stockpile of discounted, surplus WWI tropical brown shirts and fabric, intended for wear in East Africa, were located in Austria in 1924 and purchased by the NSDAP as a temporary measure to bring uniformity of dress to their party members. In November of 1926 the brown shirt was officially introduced, and retained, as the basic uniform item for the N.S.D.A.P. and S.A., and was eventually adopted by other political organizations such as the H.J., D.A.F., and the N.S.K.K..

This is an lovely condition example of a German WWII SA-Dienstrock Service Tunic for a Medical SA-Truppführer (SA-Troop leader), complete with the correct breeches to complete the uniform. The uniform is made from brown colored "whipcord" woven wool that gave the SA the nickname "Brownshirts". Both parts are totally correct, and the tunic has the original tailor tag on the inside, indicating it was made by Joh. Schreiber / FRANKFURT A/M. The included breeches are in great shape, and show very little wear at all. The color matches that of the tunic almost perfectly, and they are made from the same "whipcord" style woven fabric.

The tunic features two pleated chest pockets, with slash waist pockets, all with scalloped flaps held closed by pebbled buttons. The front closure features four of the same buttons on the right breast flap meeting an equal number of reinforced buttonholes on the left flap. All of the buttons look to be maker marked, and are sewn directly to the fabric. They were originally silvered, but have worn down to the brass base material on many of the buttons. The interior of the uniform is lined with brown brushed cotton twill, and there are interior slash pockets on both sides. The sleeves are lined with the typical white cotton with blue stripes. Please note that a lot of the stitching is relatively dry, so it should be handled with care.

The tunic has all the correct insignia for the period, including a wool NSDAP / SA armelbinde (armband) on the left sleeve, which is tack stitched in a few areas to the sleeve with brown thread. The kragenpatten (collar tabs) both have Marineblau (Navy Blue) backgrounds, which with the silver buttons and "pips" indicates they were a member of SA Gruppe Hessen (SA Group Hesse), a district in the west of Germany. with the principal city being Frankfurt. This was made up of Hesse-Nassau and parts of Hesse, with the principal city being Frankfurt.

The right collar tab is the unit tab, and has a chain-stitched 81 on it, for the 81st Standarte (Regiment). The left collar tab bears two rank "pips", for the Senior NCO rank SA-Truppführer (SA-Troop leader), who were responsible for helping lead platoon size units. This rank is roughly equivalent to a Heer Army Feldwebel or a U.S. Army Technical Sergeant. There is also an SA Medical Insignia in the right breast pocket, which has an intact RZM tag on the back. This shows a red Leben (life) rune on a brown background, a medic insignia used by other NSDAP organizations as well. There are some thread loops on and over the left breast pocket, where awards were installed in the past.

The left shoulder has a very nice NCO Schulterstück (shoulderboard), which has the correct two rows of brown / copper double piping with silver bullion chevrons in a loop around the button. There are no rank pips, and there is a second matching shoulder board in the right chest pocket, which tore away from the right shoulder. The bottom and sides show Königs-blau (Royal Blue) colored felt, the SA Waffenfarbe (corps color) for the Sanitäts-SA (Medical SA). There is also a faded and worn RZM tag on the bottom of the attached shoulderboard, which we cannot read, while the other shoulderboard in the pocket just has remnants of the tag. The bottom of both sleeves bear two rows of silver piping, which probably has to do with this being an NCO tunic, as we have seen this on other SA NCO  tunics.

Really a lovely example of an SA Medical Tunic from the Hessen group, complete with the correct breeches and ready to display!

Approximate Measurements:
Tunic:
Collar to shoulder: 10"
Shoulder to sleeve: 26”
Shoulder to shoulder: 16”
Chest width: 20"
Waist width: 21"
Hip width: 24"
Front length: 31.5"

Pants:
Waist: 17"
Inseam: 24"

The S.A.-
The Sturmabteilung, literally Storm Detachment, was the NSDAP Party's original paramilitary. It played a significant role in Adolf AH's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for NSDAP rallies and assemblies, disrupting the meetings of opposing parties, fighting against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties, especially the Red Front Fighters League (Rotfrontkämpferbund) of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), and intimidating Romani, trade unionists, and, especially, Jews – for instance, during the NSDAP boycott of Jewish businesses.

The SA were also called the "Brownshirts" (Braunhemden) from the color of their uniform shirts, similar to Benito Mussolini's blackshirts. The SA developed pseudo-military titles for its members, with ranks that were later adopted by several other NSDAP Party groups, chief amongst them the Schutzstaffel (SS), which originated as a branch of the SA before being separated. Brown-colored shirts were chosen as the SA uniform because a large number of them were cheaply available after World War I, having originally been ordered during the war for colonial troops posted to Germany's former African colonies.

The SA became disempowered after Adolf AH ordered the "blood purge" of 1934. This event became known as the Night of the Long Knives (die Nacht der langen Messer). The SA continued to exist, but was effectively superseded by the SS, although it was not formally dissolved until after NSDAP Germany's final capitulation to the Allies in 1945.