History

The German Wehrmacht was composed of three main branches, the Heer, the Kriegsmarine, and the Luftwaffe. The Heer and Kriegsmarine uniforms were based upon the designs utilized by their predecessor organizations, the Deutsches Heer and the Kaiserliche Marine. Conversely, the Luftwaffe uniforms were based upon the uniforms worn in the sports and para-military organizations that were the forerunners of the Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe uniforms were specifically designed to deviate from the designs of the other Wehrmacht service branches. It was also necessary that the uniforms differentiate between military and civilian pilots.

There were two main organizational precursors of the Luftwaffe, the German Air Sports Association (DLV or Deutscher Luftsportverband), and the National Air Raid Protection League (RLB or Reichs Luftschutzbund).

The DLV and the RLB were created in 1933. These civilian organizations were used to secretly train members for future roles in the Luftwaffe. The DLV became obsolete after Hitler’s official introduction of the Luftwaffe in 1935, and it was disbanded and replaced by the National Socialist Flyers Corps (NSFK or Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps).

The summer trousers were worn during the official summer months, April 1st to September 30th, by Generals, Officers, NCO/EMs (Non-Commissioned Officers and Enlisted Men), and Officials of equivalent rank. These summer trousers were primarily worn prior to the beginning of the Second World War.

For Generals and Officers, the summer trousers were permitted for wear within the summer dress, undress service dress, formal and informal full dress, and walking out dress. For NCO/EMs, the summer trousers were only permitted for wear as part of the walking out summer dress.

These trousers are primarily made from white cotton or linen, and feature straight trouser legs with two pockets, one at each hip. They also have a button front fly closure with approximately five buttons.