"1939 SS appearance..." Topic

Did SS units uniforms differ any from Heer units in the Polish campaign?

Cheers.

The Waffen SS in the 1939 Polish Campaign wore the same Field Grey uniforms as the Heer. They were issued different weapons though. Robert

Thanks Lads.

Some SS-VT in machine gun training being observed

The ss uniforms were similar to army one's but not identical, the pockets and collars were different, as was the arrangement of the tunic buttons. Iirc they didn't have bottle green collars either.

Yes,field gray collars IIRC, Martin. Uniform insignia was of course different too.

Interesting to see those chaps in the photo are wearing early pattern gaiters and short boots.

I believe some of the SS-VT regiments also wore camo smocks over the top of their non army style jackets!

So basically they don't look anything like the heer…

I guess the SS security, police and Einsatzgruppen types wore normal SS uniforms, whatever they may be. Some sort of leather fetish Nazi death cult thing in black and silver with a lot of skulls and swastikas?

Interesting to see those chaps in the photo are wearing early pattern gaiters and short boots.

I believe some of the SS-VT regiments also wore camo smocks over the top of their non army style jackets!

So basically they don't look anything like the heer…

I guess the SS security, police and Einsatzgruppen types wore normal SS uniforms, whatever they may be. Some sort of leather fetish Nazi death cult thing in black and silver with a lot of skulls and swastikas?
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i do wonder whether that photo is of the SS-VT or of another formation much later – the diamond shaped swastika armband looks more like something of a paramilitary group (esp the official in the same who has a lapelled type tunic)

As to uniforms of those on the 'security' side – the police, well they wore police green grey, Einsatzgruppen personnel the uniform of their parent organisation (police, army, Waffen SS, Security Police). German police organisation gets mind numbingly complex (esp with the effective fusion of party and police in the late 30s) but in effect the Security Police were those from either the Gestapo or Criminal Investigation Police and when put into uniform wore, I believe, either the pale grey SS service dress or field grey (with the SD cuff diamond). I don't think that operationally (aside from that bloke in 'Where Eagles Dare') any of those ever wore the black uniform – which increasingly was relegated to the SS remnant left at home or foreign auxiliaries – rather like camo, I think everyone really wanted to be in clad in field grey to try and 'validate' their role.
I've seen pics of various early war SS where by no means are they all in camo.

Yes, I dug out some photos of SSLAH in France and they are all in field grey, albeit with helmets heavily daubed in mud. Some of them are also wearing jackets with dark collars! No camo in sight.

I hadn't really looked at minutiae of pre and early-war SS uniforms before but it does seem that many/most branches participated in a mass dash towards more military style field grey type uniforms.

The slash pocket jackets are also interesting, they seem to disappear later in the war.

Some sort of leather fetish Nazi death cult thing in black and silver with a lot of skulls and swastikas?

The very sketch I was thinking of:)

I thought you might have seen it. I pictured it as I read your post!:)