Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great example of a WW2 German Kriegsmarine Navy Küstenartillerie (Coastal Artillery) Mannschaften (Enlisted Seaman's) tunic. The Feldgrau (Field Gray) uniforms of the Kriegsmarine were almost identical to those used by the Wehrmacht Heer, except for the insignia used. The tunic itself is made of a medium weight field gray/green wool, and shows light to moderate wear from use and service, with a bit of staining and discoloration in areas, but no major damage such as tearing or large moth holds.

The front closes with five olive green painted non-magnetic buttons bearing the Kriegsmarine Navy Anchor, which are marked on the back and sewn directly to the tunic. The scalloped pocket flaps are all retained by identical buttons, as are the shoulder insignia. The attractive machine embroidered gold Naval breast eagle stitched to the chest in a fashion typical of wartime German tailor work, and it is only sewn to the outer layer of fabric, as is correct. The collar braid insignia (litzen) were sewn on by hand, and are correct for Enlisted Men and NCOS, with yellow stripes.

The left sleeve of the tunic bears a single gold rank chevron, which indicates the rank of Gefreiter, or Seaman 2nd Class. The button attached field gray Schulterklappen (Shoulder boards) show an anchor with a superimposed winged bomb and no othe devices, correct for a Küstenartillerie Mannschaften (Coastal Artillery Enlisted Man). The official rate name for these would be Marineartillerist (Navy Artilleryman), with the rank being Marineartilleriegefreite (Marine Artillery Seaman 2nd Class).

Over the left pocket there are two ribbon bar pins, indicating one for the Wehrmacht 4 year long service, and the second for the Hindenburg cross with swords, indicating that the wearer had been a veteran of the First World War. The Hindenburg cross ribbon pin is not well attached to the tunic anymore, so we have removed it and put it in a plastic bag inside the left chest pocket. There are additional cloth loops on the uniform, indicating that there were additional awards, now removed.

The inside of this Navy tunic is fully lined with gray cotton, as is typical, as is the underside of the collar. The interior has the complete maker and size markings over the interior left breast pocket:

A. Wolter
& Sohne
41        61
96
68        43
5   41   7

A. Wolter & Sohne G.m.b.H., located in Harburg, Wilhelmsburg, was a known maker of military uniform tunics during the WWII Era. They did not make many for the Kriegsmarine however, and these look to have been mostly limited to the Coastal Artillery units. Definitely some nice history and research potential in this tunic!

Overall a great Coastal Artillery Kriegsmarine Uniform tunic, ready to be outfitted with rank insignia and displayed!

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 10.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 23”
Shoulder to shoulder: 16.5”
Chest width: 19”
Waist width: 19.5"
Hip width: 24”
Front length: 29.5"

The Kriegsmarine was the navy of NSDAP Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war Reichsmarine (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches, along with the Heer and the Luftwaffe, of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945.

In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, the Kriegsmarine grew rapidly during German naval rearmament in the 1930s. The 1919 treaty had limited the size of the German navy and prohibited the building of submarines.

Kriegsmarine ships were deployed to the waters around Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) under the guise of enforcing non-intervention, but in reality supported the Nationalists against the Spanish Republicans.

In January 1939, Plan Z, a massive shipbuilding program, was ordered, calling for surface naval parity with the British Royal Navy by 1944. When World War II broke out in September 1939, Plan Z was shelved in favor of a crash building program for submarines (U-boats) instead of capital surface warships, and land and air forces were given priority of strategic resources.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine (as for all branches of armed forces during the period of absolute NSDAP power) was Adolf H, who exercised his authority through the Oberkommando der Marine ("High Command of the Navy").

The Kriegsmarine's most significant ships were the U-boats, most of which were constructed after Plan Z was abandoned at the beginning of World War II. Wolfpacks were rapidly assembled groups of submarines which attacked British convoys during the first half of the Battle of the Atlantic but this tactic was largely abandoned by May 1943 when U-boat losses mounted. Along with the U-boats, surface commerce raiders (including auxiliary cruisers) were used to disrupt Allied shipping in the early years of the war, the most famous of these being the heavy cruisers Admiral Graf Spee and Admiral Scheer and the battleship Bismarck. However, the adoption of convoy escorts, especially in the Atlantic, greatly reduced the effectiveness of surface commerce raiders against convoys.

Following the end of World War II in 1945, the Kriegsmarine's remaining ships were divided up among the Allied powers and were used for various purposes including minesweeping. Some were loaded with superfluous chemical weapons and scuttled.