Hungary 1941 Hungarian tunic tailor's tag help

[rathbonemuseum]

Hi,

Please take a look at this 1941 dated tailor's tag. Can you tell me any more about what it says? The only other thing I can read is Budapest.

Thanks,

Tod

[hunyadi]

Top reads 'National Clothing Institute" (Orszagos Ruhazatt Intezet)

then Budapest 5th District Fotvos Square (Budapest V. Fotvos Ter)

Name: Keresztes Akos

Number: (szam) 283 194(1) - IIIrd month (possibly IIII???) 30th day

How about a look at the full uniform??

[rathbonemuseum]

Hey, thanks for the info.

I will shoot some pix of the tunic.

Cheers,

Tod

[rathbonemuseum]

OK,

Here are pics of the tunic with the tag. Let me start off by saying I started by purchasing this set (hat + tunic) to have an Hungarian NCO flight uniform. Some of the items on the set were fake, some were real but inaccurate. I am trying to restore what I can. I will not what I think is real or not, added or not as I go.

Let's start with the overall tunic. A standard NCO tunic in army color ranked to a Sgt. There was a wing on the right pocket but it was an NCO cap badge in silver stitched to make the wings straight vs. curved. The thing is, there was no NCO silver flight badge. There was only one pilot badge, in gold, and both officers and NCOs wore the same wing. Only their curved wing cap badges were gold or silver.

Next is the collars. When I bought the tunic, it had one collar device. I have since purchased a pair and sewn them on:

Now the ribbons. These came with the tunic. I think they are original to the period but not to the tunic based on the stitching:

Here is a shot of the right pocket where I removed the erroneous wing. There are two loops, but for what:

One final shot:

[rathbonemuseum]

And here is the hat that I was sold with the tunic:

Nice idea as a senior sgt. beret but I think with some "help". What do you think? I think the ribbon around the edge is completely false. I think the triangle is probably not the right fabric. The eagle device? I have no idea. I think the hat itself is perfectly fine...

Now the reverse of the eagle:

And the label inside the hat:

[rathbonemuseum]

Oops,

Forgot the board:

[JohnHajnal]

First off, great uniforms, as always. I think the loops are from some form of wings or specialization badge. I've seen medal ones that have the correct prongs, like the following boarder guard's badge http://www.emedals.ca/catalog.asp?item=H139. It could be, though is highly unlikely, that the man may have been attached to a para unit. I saw a photo once of a paratrooper with an air force tunic. I'll post the photos if I can find it.

John

[hunyadi]

This is a nice tunic and cap, but for sure its been dinkered with. I would look at the Ostfront Ribbon very carefuly, I see alot of tunics that are sold with 'non glow' ribbon, but its completely superfulious. The ribbon bar is an interesting addition, but without the fire cross, it does not make much sense, esp. due to the Ostfront ribbon.

The loops on the tunic may be for a 'modified' metal wing, but no way to be certain. As the tunic was issued in 1941, its highly unlikely that it was a para tunic. The para units were factored as being infantry that fell out of the sky so they wore the reagular infantry uniform. There could be the outside chance that it was an para NCO that switched to the AF before his wings expired. Regulations called for qualifying every year to keep your wings, the master badge being the only exception. Off the top of my head it was 3 jumps per year to keep the basic wings, hence this gives you the factor of why these para wings are so, so rare. If this were the case with this tunic, its probably one-of-a-kind, but with other things being dinkered with...hmmmm...

The beret is correct in 'look' the beret used a black silk band around the base, but the stickting on that looks like it fell off and somoeone added it later. The eage is also a modern eagle, struck off of nearly identical dies as the wartime one, except the space between the crown and the turul bird should be cut out. The black velevet material appears to be correct, but it looks a bit modern to me as well....all in all - its still an uncommon tunic and with a little more work will be a nice representation of a period NCO.

[rathbonemuseum]

All,

Yeah, I know it was messed with. I am ok with that as I had my suspicions at the time. I am now more concerned about restoring what is an authentic tunic to some reasonable form of originality. It won't necessarily be what the owner exactly wore, but at least it woun't be an outright fake. I am interested in restoring it to a senior corporal air force man. No para, that is too rare and probably unlikely.

Tod