DDR 'Strichtarn Tankers Jacket

Hi

I have picked up an East German 'Strichtarn' Tankers Jacket.



Not seen one with the badge before


Quite happy with it and got this another two items from Vintage Clothing Warehouse Sale.

Regards
Paddy

Ah, the winter version! Not as common as the summer version. Finding the matching winter bib trousers will be a challenge. For some reason they aren't readily available.

Steve

Hi

Yeah in the U.K the bib trousers used to be very common, not so now. I may get lucky and find one.

I did mange to get a set that STURM was moving around the markets. For a while you could get them on German eBay in many different sizes, brand new. I bet that's what you saw around locally as there obviously were a lot floating around for a while.

I am unclear if it was post DDR manufacture or if it was made before the collapse but not marked into service.  All it has is a size tag.  Other than the lack of stamps it is the same as the real thing.

Steve

Yeah could been, however I was talking yrs & yrs ago. Going further back and some pointless info. When East & West Germany became one there was an influx of the winter Strichtarn and a whole load of the trousers mainly were used on building sites.

As for labels this is what is on mine and cannot see any stamps on the jacket



Regards
Paddy

Yup, definitely not "genuine" surplus, but rather something that only aimed at commercial markets. I take it there are no ink stamps anywhere?

Steve

The made in Germany did get me thinking.

Not to bothered it isn't 'genuine' as I got really cheap and goes nice with my collection

Regards
Paddy

Yeah, those labels are necessary for commercial sale/export. My understanding is it is only needed for new items. In any case, there's three possibilities for these items:

1. Manufactured before the collapse, but didn't get allocated to a particular organization (NVA, MdI, etc.).

2. Manufactured soon after the collapse. Some factories continued production for a short period simply to keep people showing up to work. IIRC the West German government kicked in some money for this.

3. Manufactured significantly after the collapse. Surplus materials were used for the surplus market.

I don't think case #3 applies here because who in their right mind would spend money to produce one of the least desirable types of surplus? Winter stuff is not easy to get rid of compared to summer. #2 is possible, but I think #1 is the most likely.

Which is to say these uniforms are most likely legitimate DDR production for its forces, but were never allocated and therefore technically not an issued item. That's splitting hairs IMHO as these things are in every way identical to the stuff that DDR soldiers were wearing. However, hair splitting is a part of collecting

Steve

Hi

Yeah collecting is a funny ole' game. Thanks for the info and thought process on the matter.

It is also the first time I have come across the uniform with the badge/patch on all others I have seen and this is going way back to the 90's didn't have any patches on.

Regards
Paddy

All tanker uniforms should have the patch factory installed. As far as I know, no-one else other than armored forces used the uniform.

Steve

So on the basis of that it being a tankers jacket puts it more into the unissued bracket. Which is swaying more onto 'genuine'.

But as said either way I am happy with the jacket

Regards
Paddy

The armored crew (tanker) uniform is distinctly different from the standard issue (infantry) and airborne types. It consists of a shorter jacket with bib overall type trousers. The only difference I can remember between the summer and winter versions is the insulation.

The tanker uniform was part of the UTV system of the mid 1980s and it was still in limited issue before the collapse. Therefore, a large amount of UTV stuff was unissued and subsequently went onto the surplus market. In fact, I'd hazard a guess that there is more of the UTV stuff in the surplus market than was ever worn by DDR forces.

Yup, I really think what you have is a genuine DDR produced item that simply had not been allocated to a specific branch before the collapse happened. Then Sturm came around, bought it all up, stuck some clothing labels on it, and put them up for sale.

Steve

Thanks again for the info.

I best get myself into gear and a pair of 'cheap' bib trousers to go with it

Regards
Paddy

The Jacket is OK, these Made in Germany Labels were sewn to the size Tag for Export to the US.
Real Repro NVA Jackets have an own Tag, sewn into the Collar Seam.
Didn't saw this one before, but I know some from some well known Wholesalers.

I just happened upon my thermal bib trousers. Definitely post DDR manufactured. It's got a STURM label sewn into the liner seam part way down the waist. It would be impossible to have sewn this after production. Therefore, I'm back to the idea that these items were manufactured using original materials and patterns purchased by STURM and then turned into commercial products. I would be surprised if there's any difference between the post DDR ones and the genuine articles.

Steve