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My full leather u boat commander hat

busdrivermike

Well-Known Member
It was early morning as The captain stood on deck taking in his morning coffee
as the mysterious skull island came into view, the home of the legendary Kong
Today was going to be an interesting day.......
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Kermit3D

Well-Known Member
Very cool ! This is the kind of hat I would look ridiculous in, but to you it looks really good, I love the look !
And I realy like the jacket too... but you might need this :

 

busdrivermike

Well-Known Member
Very cool ! This is the kind of hat I would look ridiculous in, but to you it looks really good, I love the look !
And I realy like the jacket too... but you might need this :

Thanks man, I’ve considered a proper kriegsmarine jacket and maybe I need one now :p
 

Smithy

Well-Known Member
Thanks man, I’ve considered a proper kriegsmarine jacket and maybe I need one now :p

I've talked about real U-boat jackets before here as they're a small, sideline interest of mine.

I've also mentioned that the real deal, those that have been on actual patrol tend to still stink now, even after all these years. U-boats were fetid smelling things, weeks and weeks of oil, diesel, farts, rotting food, sweat, piss, etc. A real deal U-boat leather coat would not be pleasant to wear.

The jacket above - if indeed it was ever used on patrol - is a private purchase jacket. There were two issued patterns of Kriegsmarine leather jacket, a deck jacket and an engine personnel jacket. Although private purchase designs were used they were by far the exception rather than the rule - Das Boot engendered the idea that deck jackets looked like the one above.

Be VERY careful if purchasing a jacket which purports to have been used on patrol. I'm not saying the one above necessarily wasn't (although I'm very sceptical due to condition and the lack of staining on the lining and some other things) but just because a crewman owned a leather jacket during his life doesn't mean it was the actual jacket he used on patrol during the war. These private purchase jackets were enormously popular in Germany pre and post war. It's also VERY common for people to assert they were used on U-boats.
 

Silver Surfer

Well-Known Member
some years ago I read that pre war, and early war time officers kriegsmarine jackets [coats] such as the one above were either brown or grey leather. by mid war the more commonly found jackets were black. also,, all were private purchase, not reich issued. enlisted sailors did have issued jackets, though. most now offered are post war jackets. an early into mid war original will have glass buttons.
 

Smithy

Well-Known Member
some years ago I read that pre war, and early war time officers kriegsmarine jackets [coats] such as the one above were either brown or grey leather. by mid war the more commonly found jackets were black. also,, all were private purchase, not reich issued. enlisted sailors did have issued jackets, though.

Sorry but that's incorrect. The Kriegsmarine issued two types of leather jacket as I mention above (and not just to the U-boat service). The were most common in grey, although small numbers in black were also made.

The longer deck jackets were issued to all officers and those on watch duty during patrol.
 

busdrivermike

Well-Known Member
I've talked about real U-boat jackets before here as they're a small, sideline interest of mine.

I've also mentioned that the real deal, those that have been on actual patrol tend to still stink now, even after all these years. U-boats were fetid smelling things, weeks and weeks of oil, diesel, farts, rotting food, sweat, piss, etc. A real deal U-boat leather coat would not be pleasant to wear.

The jacket above - if indeed it was ever used on patrol - is a private purchase jacket. There were two issued patterns of Kriegsmarine leather jacket, a deck jacket and an engine personnel jacket. Although private purchase designs were used they were by far the exception rather than the rule - Das Boot engendered the idea that deck jackets looked like the one above.

Be VERY careful if purchasing a jacket which purports to have been used on patrol. I'm not saying the one above necessarily wasn't (although I'm very sceptical due to condition and the lack of staining on the lining and some other things) but just because a crewman owned a leather jacket during his life doesn't mean it was the actual jacket he used on patrol during the war. These private purchase jackets were enormously popular in Germany pre and post war. It's also VERY common for people to assert they were used on U-boats.
Yeah I would imagine an original jacket would look amazing but having been marinated in
The things you described would basically be nasty
I like the look of the one in the pic @B-Man2 posted and I’ve looked at a couple from noble house
Especially this one as I like the simple design or a denim one as I love denim jackets
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Smithy

Well-Known Member
Yeah I would imagine an original jacket would look amazing but having been marinated in
The things you described would basically be nasty
I like the look of the one in the pic @B-Man2 posted and I’ve looked at a couple from noble house
Especially this one as I like the simple design or a denim one as I love denim jackets
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The famous commander Prien preferred the Maschinenpersonal version rather than the longer deck version.

Interestingly little aside, after the retreat of the BEF from the Continent in 1940, the U-boat service used a lot of captured British Battle Dress ;)
 

B-Man2

Well-Known Member
The dress of U-boats crews of WWII. I always found interesting . The temperatures must have been freezing under the North Sea and in documentaries with actual footage taken by crews and later captured, you can plainly see that the crews had heavy sweaters similar to BOB sweaters and leather coats on as their daily wear . Life in those tubes must have been miserable at times with everything that the sub crews on both sides had to endure.
 

Smithy

Well-Known Member
The dress of U-boats crews of WWII. I always found interesting . The temperatures must have been freezing under the North Sea and in documentaries with actual footage taken by crews and later captured, you can plainly see that the crews had heavy sweaters similar to BOB sweaters and leather coats on as their daily wear . Life in those tubes must have been miserable at times with everything that the sub crews on both sides had to endure.

Contrary to popular belief U-boats spent most of their time on the surface (they were faster up topsides) so the watch crews could have an exceedingly miserable time stuck up in the tower on their watch depending on the weather, the season and the patrol area. Good clothing was essential.

Regardless of what side they were on, they were very brave men. After Die Glückliche Zeit (The Happy Time) they suffered appalling loses. I can't remember whether I talked about it here or over at Salon du Chapeau but even my paternal grandfather (Royal Navy in WWI and Royal Merchant in WWII) mentioned how brave the U-boat men were and the horrific conditions they had to endure, even though they were such a threat to them.
 

Kermit3D

Well-Known Member
I've talked about real U-boat jackets before here as they're a small, sideline interest of mine.

I've also mentioned that the real deal, those that have been on actual patrol tend to still stink now, even after all these years. U-boats were fetid smelling things, weeks and weeks of oil, diesel, farts, rotting food, sweat, piss, etc. A real deal U-boat leather coat would not be pleasant to wear.

The jacket above - if indeed it was ever used on patrol - is a private purchase jacket. There were two issued patterns of Kriegsmarine leather jacket, a deck jacket and an engine personnel jacket. Although private purchase designs were used they were by far the exception rather than the rule - Das Boot engendered the idea that deck jackets looked like the one above.

Be VERY careful if purchasing a jacket which purports to have been used on patrol. I'm not saying the one above necessarily wasn't (although I'm very sceptical due to condition and the lack of staining on the lining and some other things) but just because a crewman owned a leather jacket during his life doesn't mean it was the actual jacket he used on patrol during the war. These private purchase jackets were enormously popular in Germany pre and post war. It's also VERY common for people to assert they were used on U-boats.

Thanks for this post, I learned a lot.

some years ago I read that pre war, and early war time officers kriegsmarine jackets [coats] such as the one above were either brown or grey leather. by mid war the more commonly found jackets were black. also,, all were private purchase, not reich issued. enlisted sailors did have issued jackets, though. most now offered are post war jackets. an early into mid war original will have glass buttons.

So it's about the same as for the jackets worn by the pilots of the luftwaffe.
It seems to me that some officers also wore cyclist jackets in submarines.

In the series "Das Boot" (which is very good), the commander Ulrich Wrangel sometimes wears a cyclist jacket.

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What are the best remanufactured U Boot commander jackets ?
 

Thomas Koehle

Well-Known Member
Very cool ! This is the kind of hat I would look ridiculous in, but to you it looks really good, I love the look !
And I realy like the jacket too... but you might need this :


That jacket looks rather more like a so called "Kutscher Jacket" (Coachman's Jacket) than a submariner jacket

I used to own a similar one - offered it for sale on the forum twice but due to no interest it is still in my possession

I got a black submarine-jacket from "NOBLE HOUSE" but the version with 2 button rows which is for sale - size: huuuuge

If anyone is interested let me know
 

Smithy

Well-Known Member
What are the best remanufactured U Boot commander jackets ?

Remember there was no such thing as a "U-boat commander jacket", but if you mean the issued deck jacket/coat there were a few outfits making them a few years back last time I looked.

If you're after the private purchase variant then originals are a dime a dozen on Fleabay and even Wested make a repro one.
 

Thomas Koehle

Well-Known Member
The jacket above - if indeed it was ever used on patrol - is a private purchase jacket. There were two issued patterns of Kriegsmarine leather jacket, a deck jacket and an engine personnel jacket. Although private purchase designs were used they were by far the exception rather than the rule - Das Boot engendered the idea that deck jackets looked like the one above.

Be VERY careful if purchasing a jacket which purports to have been used on patrol. I'm not saying the one above necessarily wasn't (although I'm very sceptical due to condition and the lack of staining on the lining and some other things) but just because a crewman owned a leather jacket during his life doesn't mean it was the actual jacket he used on patrol during the war. These private purchase jackets were enormously popular in Germany pre and post war. It's also VERY common for people to assert they were used on U-boats.

I think you nailed that one!

These 2-row jackets have been pretty popular in Germany for quiet some times and are still available - mostly in smaller sizes - relatively reasonable priced.
 

Kermit3D

Well-Known Member
Does anyone have a picture of a real leather jacket of the kriegsmarine ?
Just to be able to compare with the replicas available on the market. :)
 

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