Most Beautiful WWII uniform?

[AH]

What WWII uniform do you think was the nicest or most beautiful?

IMO theres is no alternative to the Black SS/Leibstandarte uniform, with the Peaked cap, breeches and polished riding boots. Simply beautiful.

But which uniform do you think is the nicest?

[LexLothar]

hmmm I think its gotta be a tie between the LAH uniform and the Army Staff officer M36 Tunic with riding britches (w/red stripe) and riding boots....very classy

[Uli]

Tricky query, AH:

I'm partial, for one, to the M-36 dress tunic of a Pioneer Oberleutnant. Parade dress includes a silver aiguillette. The uniform, in fact, is so splended, Ivan often referred to it's wearer as a "Christmas Tree."

LAH, like Lex said, sported a hot uni too.

The Luftwaffe flight blouse, originally designed for wear beneath flight overalls, was typically grey-green with butter-gold collar tabs. Throw in the Luftwaffe's soaring eagle fabric device and the silver-braided shoulder boards of a Lehr Major, and you've got a pretty respectable uniform as well.

Now that we're on the subject, which of the field dress, or combat, uniforms strikes you most?

I've always been struck by both the simple functionality of of the Fallschirmjaeger's uniform (the "Green Devils," as the British called them), and the Waffen-SS' field cammies. I somehow suspect that the W-SS' cammie idea has been lifted and improvised by the U.S. Marine Corps, and the result is the Corps' very innovative digital desert cammie uniform.

[LexLothar]

I was thinking luftwaffe uniform as third lol. Hmmm combat gear eh? Thats a nice one...functionality wise the Fallschirmjaeger set was much more suited for quick action and freedom of movement compared to their American and British counterparts (not loaded down with weapon and extra gear). A quick run to your jump cannister and your set. Just pray the villiagers dont get them like on Crete!!! Camouflage wise, the SS Oak A and B patterns in a wooded area are second to none. As a reenactor I had on a set and this GI nearly stepped on me!! But combat uniform which is strinking...ill go with the basic SS Feldpolizei field uniform with leather coat, gorget, muzzled dog and chain

[Paul_9686]

I forget precisely where I read it, but I read somewhere that the side with the coolest and snazziest uniforms usually loses wars.

Yours,
Paul

[Tom Houlihan]

I think that the best looking uniform is that of a Staff NCO of the USMC in Dress Blues, "A" or "B!"

Then again, my opinion may be slightly biased!

[LexLothar]

I forget precisely where I read it, but I read somewhere that the side with the coolest and snazziest uniforms usually loses wars.

Yours,
Paul

Amazing how an real german tunic is thousands and an allied service jacket is only a few hundred I cant agree more paul.

[Uli]

Tom, I talked with a 36-year vet of the USMC just the other day, a SgtMaj. He was wearing service dress greens with a newly-tacked-on ninth hashmark. A Vietnam veteran, he sported 39 ribbons (2 Purple Hearts, a Bronze and a Silver Star), and an Expert Rifleman's device. He showed me a picture of him in dress blues,' and it was truly a sight to behold. I doubt I've seen any more color on any one uniform in my life. Even the Germans on this webpage would be impressed, I think. Not the French, perhaps, but the Germans.

[Tom Houlihan]

Uli, they aren't really flashy, but they are certainly damned good looking. Interestingly enough, the consensus is that the enlisted uniforms look better than the officer uniforms. Most people don't notice the difference, but take a good look...

[Uli]

Tom, I've gotta' agree with you entirely: The Marine Corps' officers dress blues, while magnificent, are nothing compared to that of the enlisted. Far as I'm concerned, those blood stripes and red piping really help make the EM uniform--especially when the wearer is an extended-service Staff NCO; that is, someone with a lot of gold stripes on their shoulders and cuffs.

The Corps' new combat dress unis' are also pretty hot stuff, given the digitally-produced camouflage pattern. Gone are the days of starched utilities, thank God.

[Tom Houlihan]

Gone are the days of starched utilities, thank God.

Yeah, sure, they get rid of that stuff after I retire!! I was almost as dangerous with an iron as I was with a rifle! Thank Gawd for the on-base dry cleaners!!!

[John W. Howard]

Hey Guys:
I guess I am a traditionalist, but I have always liked the Marine Corps winter Greens better than the Blues.

[derGespenst]

I'll take a U-Boot leather jacket any day, thank you.

[Uli]

John, now that you've mentioned it, I'll agree with you on your assessment, too: Those service-dress greens are pretty sharp as well--again, especially when the wearer is a senior Staff NCO with a lot of time-in-service. Another sharp uni is service-dress green trousers with khaki blouse (both short- or long sleeved), and a 'piss-cutter' as headgear. Believe it or not, there was a time when we wore an all-khaki outfit, but as I recall, that uniform went out-of-issue sometime after '70.

My wife and I were in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport just the other day when we passed a young Marine Private, an E-1 fresh out of basic, or boot camp. The kid had on those service-dress greens with nothing more for decoration than a Sharpshooters' device and a 'geedunk' (National Defense Service) ribbon. Later, when looking at old photos of me in uniform, my wife said, "Just look at those medals and all that color."

I said, "That stuff came with a lot of sweat and heartache."

[Tom Houlihan]

Well, Uli, another era has passed. Before I retired in '99, they had phased out the two Service Dress uniforms (winter/summer), and replaced them with one gabardine Service Dress uniform. Too heavy for summer, not heavy enough for winter!

Personally, I preferred the garrison cover over the piss cutter, but that's just me.

USMC: 230 years of tradition, unhampered by progress!