Kriegsmarine KM And U-Boat shirts

[Peter BL]

Hi All...Bit of a long shot but is it still possible to find original Plaid shirts, the type the U-Boat crews would have worn. Also same question regarding Officers shirt and tie.

Other than that what would be a fair modern day substitute.

Thanks in advance...Peter

[Gordon Williamson]

I'd imagine that as the plaid shirts were "non-military" in appearance, the majority of those which survived after 1945 were simply used with civvy clothing until they were worn out. Can't recall ever seeing one that was cliamed to be original being offered for sale. A modern equivalent would look just as good for display purposes so long as you chose the right material ( i.e. wool /cotton, not some of the more horrible syntheic materials).

Likewise with white KM shirts, surviving stock would be perfectly suitable for civvy wear and used up pretty quickly after the war. I'm sure original examples exist but can't recall seeing one offered for sale.

The various uniforms on display on mannikins in the U-Boat Archiv look great with just modern white shirts. Long time since I had a KM jacket displayed on a dummy, but if I recall I used a Bundesmarine white shirt on the basis that at least it was a genuine military issue shirt, rather than use a white civvy shirt.

[Peter BL]

Ok Gordon, thanks for the help...I have found one German plaid shirt from the 1940's and I guess french would be plausible as well...:cheers:

[2dresq]

Ok Gordon, thanks for the help...I have found one German plaid shirt from the 1940's and I guess french would be plausible as well...

Out of curiosity, how were you able to determine the age of the civilian shirt/plaid shirt?

Regards,

JustinG

[Peter BL]

Out of curiosity, how were you able to determine the age of the civilian shirt/plaid shirt?

Regards,

JustinG

Hi Justin, sorry for the late reply. I was scanning the web looking for Vintage clothing outlets. It's only how they describe the shirts so I guess you take it on faith :speechless: