KAZ M57 Panzerhose

It seems I managed to find a Holy Grail Austrian item. It is a KAZ M57 Panzerhose. This is the first one I have ever seen except for old photos. And even then I wasn't sure if it was M57 or the transitional 57/59 type.

The only significant difference between M57 and M59 types is snaps used on the leg pockets instead of buttons. Though it is possible the leg pocket shape is "taller" on the M57 than M59. I haven't taken a detailed measurement to see if that's true or not.

The condition isn't great, but I'm happy to have one in any condition Now the only thing I have to keep looking for is M57 trousers, if they even exist.







Steve

Now with the detailed pics I think I saw such pants in an army shop in Austria some time ago....
But there were more repairs than normal fabric...Very interesting..

I doubt I have the only one left in the whole world, therefore you probably did see one. I also think there are more repairs on the M57 stuff than M59. The cloth seems to be the same, but the snaps certainly created a lot of reasons for repairs. Also, we know these uniforms were reissued a few times and that means many items did not survive to become surplus. Compare the one year of production of M57 to nine years of M59 and six years of M69. Definitely going to be a lot more M59 and M69 to find!

I checked the date stamp using various different techniques, but unfortunately I can not read the date. It must be either 1958 or 1959. My guess is 1958.

Steve

Youre right, no wonder they switched to buttons since the snapped ones sticked quite bombproof together.And yes all the Austrian camo stuff was used mixed up, my pair of snapped ones has also the FD stamp- Feinddarsteller or OPFOR.And huge stocks were just burnt, cut up or used to clean things.....

WOW nice KAZ M57 Panzerhose Steve!!!! very good find in any condition as you say!!!
wish you all the best of luck hunting for the "Mythic" KAZ 57 infantry trousers!!!!!

Thanks!  And there's a chance that there's another variation of the Panzerhosen.  The other night I was reminded that there are two types of jackets:

1.  Snaps heads exposed
2.  Snap heads hidden

The trousers pictured above have hidden buttons, which means there's a possibility that some trousers were made with exposed buttons like the jackets.  I hope not

Sadly my two jackets have been modified. One has no zipper or hood, the other has the hood sewn directly onto the collar with both sides of the zipper removed. Which means I need to find an unmodified jacket with unmodified hood or (even less likely) an original zipper. I think there will always be something Austrian that I do not have!

Steve

I would be willing to sell/trade my second KAZ57 tanker jacket.The hood is still there and not modified.