Luftwaffe LW Jackets I - Summer jacket, the "Great White"

[Bill Bourque]

Hello Roger and thanks for the information. I can understand the reluctance to examine a piece as such. Here is the website of the museum that has the jacket. http://users.pandora.be/airwareurope/en/start_e.htm This site was provided by Roger. More food for thought. Find a white sleeve button and that would make an absolute identification. I hope some our European experten will make the trip to this museum and further expand our knowledge. Best, Bill

[Sén@teur]

I am not surprised to learn it was a white jacket...

The blue couldn't being completely erase even by the time imo

According to my researchs, knowledge

the jacket appeared end of spring 1941 on the Western front with the JG26 of Adolf Galland (at Abbeville, StOmer airfield...)

It could be a private group purchase from that squadron but i don't bet that as the JG51 of Werner Molders had this jacket as well from the very beginning of Operation Barbarossa. Molders's unit was in the little papers of Goering so it could be like a gift from Goering to both Galland & Molder's unit...

Maybe also this jacket was made initially just for the short summer campaign expected against the russians...

Goering initially planned to send JG51of Molders for six weeks and then JG26 of Adolf Galland for another six weeks for the end of the... campaign !

Walter Oesau was on the Eastern front for a short time that summer (22 June > late July) with the JG3

He went back on the Channel front early August to take command of JG2...

Soon after, pilots of JG2 started wear the Great White (the Stab of Oesau and at least one of the Staffel, there is a photo of Wurmheller's staffel in front of a 109F with that jacket)

so seems, many pilots had one in the period 1941-1943 but only in three main squadrons :

- JG26 and JG2 (both on the Western front channel)

- JG51 on the Eastern front and we can identify them easily : They had the ranks sewn on the arm, JG26 & 2 doesn't have this according all the photos

Later on the Eastern front for the winter i guess appeared the same jacket with fur collar, added manually or not

Once again, there is no proof of the same thing on the Western front

I think some other units on the Eastern front finally got this jacket as well a bit later

By 1944, the jacket had get already rare due i bet to his replacement by the blue version of the same jacket

Some pilots still wear it over Normandy in summer 1944 but not a whole gruppe/staffel

The last WW2 era pic of this jacket shows :

- Kurt Buhligen as last Kommodore of JG2 in front of a late 109 G

- someone else in front of a Me-262

But there is a a few exceptions, some pilots wore it without their unit being equipped with it :

- Rudel of the StG.2 had one at a time but no photos of his comrade of the same unit show the same jacket so he might got one as he was... Rudel

- some JG1 pilots such as Heinz Knoke had one at a time but same : no proof of a whole gruppe/staffel wore it

Edited October 2, 2010 by Sén@teur

[Roger from Holland]

The jacket is now in another museum. It will be opened coming saturday. It is displayed in a special way, on a manequin, with the flight gear attached to it. So as found on the body of the pilot. Going there to make some shots.

BW Roger (who was RogerS and now is Roger S as I could not log in anymore on my old id)