Movies and Films
This is the forum for Movie and Film discussions. Again, our topic is naval warfare in WWII for the most part.
Re: U-Boat leathers
Posted by:
Carl
()
Date: March 22, 2002 10:55PM
<HTML>About the 12th SS Division leathers:
Though I believe a few authorities have cited that this division wore U-Boat leathers and black leather, I have never found any evidence of this. Apparently, very dark brown leathers originally made for the italian navy were "appropriated" by the German army and given to the young tank troopers. Its always hard to determine shades and colors from a black and white photo. As authority I use Craig W.H. Luther's "Blood and Honor", the history of the 12th SS panzer Division "Hitler Youth," 1943-1945. published 1987. This book is a pretty exhaustive study of the 12th SS and mentions the leathers in a few places, most notably on p.136 footnote 31. If these men wore U-Boat leathers too they would have been grey, or perhaps dyed black; uniform redyeing was not uncommon in the German army during this war.
About the weather. Bear in mind these factors. Young men are thinner and therefore do not heat up as easily as older men. The Summers in Normandy are not that hot and I believe were not unseasonably warm in 1944. The mindset of what was hot and what wasn't was different back then; the notion of clothing being comfortable for hot weather being a relatively modern concept. These men lived outside. Finally, leather is not much of a heat insulator and probably was not too uncomfortable in summer; leather's main attraction is protecting the skin from burns and abrasions.
I hope this helps.</HTML>
Though I believe a few authorities have cited that this division wore U-Boat leathers and black leather, I have never found any evidence of this. Apparently, very dark brown leathers originally made for the italian navy were "appropriated" by the German army and given to the young tank troopers. Its always hard to determine shades and colors from a black and white photo. As authority I use Craig W.H. Luther's "Blood and Honor", the history of the 12th SS panzer Division "Hitler Youth," 1943-1945. published 1987. This book is a pretty exhaustive study of the 12th SS and mentions the leathers in a few places, most notably on p.136 footnote 31. If these men wore U-Boat leathers too they would have been grey, or perhaps dyed black; uniform redyeing was not uncommon in the German army during this war.
About the weather. Bear in mind these factors. Young men are thinner and therefore do not heat up as easily as older men. The Summers in Normandy are not that hot and I believe were not unseasonably warm in 1944. The mindset of what was hot and what wasn't was different back then; the notion of clothing being comfortable for hot weather being a relatively modern concept. These men lived outside. Finally, leather is not much of a heat insulator and probably was not too uncomfortable in summer; leather's main attraction is protecting the skin from burns and abrasions.
I hope this helps.</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
U-Boat leathers
|
Carl | 02/15/2002 12:31AM |
|
Re: U-Boat leathers
|
Kris | 02/15/2002 01:17PM |
|
Re: U-Boat leathers
|
I Stapley | 03/07/2002 11:37AM |
|
Re: U-Boat leathers
|
I Stapley | 03/22/2002 12:33PM |
|
Re: U-Boat leathers
|
Carl | 03/22/2002 10:55PM |