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 Fatigue Blouse was part of the fatigue uniform (Drillichanzug). It was made of grey (often bleached to an off-white colour over time) or black herringbone twill. It was worn by enlisted men and recruits for basic training activities and indoor duties. Sometimes it was worn by NCOs as well.

The blouse has a five button closure down the front, and a lay-down collar. Initially it had a patch pocket at left breast, but in 1936 it was omitted. Instead, an inside breast pocket took its place.

No collar patches, shoulder straps, or national emblems were worn on the blouse. Enlisted men wore sleeve chevrons to indicate rank, while NCOs wore sleeve and collar tress. This was changed in 1942 when enlisted chevrons were discontinued and NCOs wore a chevron and sleeve tress.

The first pattern Fatigue Blouse was replaced by a reed-green fatigue uniform in 1943. From then on, this was also used as a summer uniform. It is in the same design as the blue-grey cloth tunic. The reed-green Fatigue Blouse has a five button front closure. There are two breast and side patch pockets with straight button flaps. Initially these had a centre pleat, which was later omitted. There are no cuffs on the sleeves.

No collar patches were worn with the reed-green Fatigue Blouse, but shoulder straps were. NCOs wore an additional collar chevron made of tress. The blouse featured a Luftwaffe breast eagle, as well as sometimes a sleeve career insignia, depending on the wearer.