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 included both a civilian group and a secret military sub-group called the DLV-Fliegerschaft (Pilot Base).

The DLV and the RLB were officially founded in 1933, and they 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 in 1937.

The Mess Jacket was worn by Luftwaffe Officers, including Officials with the rank of Officer, and General Officers.

The jacket is worn alongside an internal vest, and it is composed of several main elements, including the cloth, the buttons, the lining, the piping, and the insignia.

The jacket and vest were produced in high-quality blue-grey fabric and worn as part of the evening dress. The vest may be composed of a white material for wear with the jacket when the formal evening full dress was required.

The outer jacket features two parallel rows of four, silver-coloured buttons along each front panel of the jacket, and an additional pair of silver-coloured buttons with a link chain to close the jacket. The buttons are gold-coloured (gilt) for Generals, and for Officials of equivalent rank.

The interior lining is composed of silk or artificial silk and contains an internal pocket on the left side of the jacket. The manufacturer’s label may be sewn into the lining of the jacket’s neck.

The external edges of the jacket collar feature twisted silver-coloured piping for Officers and twisted gold-coloured piping for Generals.

The Luftwaffe pattern national emblem eagle is generally composed of a hand-embroidered gold-coloured bullion wire for Generals, and silver-coloured bullion wire for Officers. It is located on the jacket's right breast.