Help with Camo

Moderator: Feldjager

feuerwerker
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:43 pm

Help with Camo

Post by feuerwerker »

I am looking to buy some Camo Items from SM Wholesale. What would be a good combination for 1944-45 Eastern Front SS? I am looking at a helmet cover and a smock. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
User avatar
grenmartens
Posts: 215
Joined: Sat Sep 02, 2006 2:23 pm

Re: Help with Camo

Post by grenmartens »

feuerwerker wrote:I am looking to buy some Camo Items from SM Wholesale. What would be a good combination for 1944-45 Eastern Front SS? I am looking at a helmet cover and a smock. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
You need to be way more specific sir. Many very late war Waffen-SS units comprised of foreign volunteers that were never issued with camo items full stop. What was left of the old 'elite' SS-Panzergrenadier divisions were in Hungary by the spring of 1945 and were a shadow of the old combat formations that had previously fought in the East.

What unit do you wish to portray?
feuerwerker
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:43 pm

Re: Help with Camo

Post by feuerwerker »

I was thinking Totenkopf.
User avatar
grenmartens
Posts: 215
Joined: Sat Sep 02, 2006 2:23 pm

Re: Help with Camo

Post by grenmartens »

feuerwerker wrote:I was thinking Totenkopf.
Totenkopf was rested and refitted in May/June 1944 before going into Poland and attemting a halt the advance of the Soviet 2nd Tank Army, which was hopeless as the Russians outnumbered them approximately 10 to 1. Together with the SS-Wiking Division, Totenkopf did manage to push Soviet units out of the East of Warsaw and back across the Vistula river in September '44 but by October was forced into a withdrawl and by January 1945 was in Hungary, where again with the Wiking Division it made an abortive attempt at breaking the Soviet encirclement of Budapest. After taking part in 'Operation Spring Awakening' in March 1945, the Division was almost destroyed in the closing battles around the Austrian capital, Vienna and finally capitulated to the Americans, North West of Vienna, on 9th May 1945.

If you want to represent the Totenkopf Division at the peak of it's power you should consider an earlier period of the war. I suggest 1942 - 43. By the summer of '44 the Division was largely made up of thousands of reinforcements from the Reichsfuhrer-SS Division and was a shadow of it's former self.

For the Smock and Helmet cover look, I'd stick to the Kursk period, Summer 1943, the high water mark for the premier SS-Panzergrenadier Divisions. SMW do lovely 'Plane Tree' prints and I would go for Type 1 smock and helmet cover - but not in matching variation! This will be equally suitable for an early war impression and these patterns were still being used in combat right up to the end of the war.

Just my opinion and no doubt others would offer alternatives.
feuerwerker
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:43 pm

Re: Help with Camo

Post by feuerwerker »

Thank you kindly!
Peiper

Re: Help with Camo

Post by Peiper »

feuerwerker wrote:I was thinking Totenkopf.
TK units mainly used the palmenmuster pattern (palmtree) as far as i can see
going from ref books, even mid to late War the old sweats clung onto these
as they were as sign of a veteran according to ref book pics/info.

I have seen pics of oakleaf being worn but these appear to be the reversible white/
camo trousers for winter wear being worn with the "Kharkov fur parka" which appears
the TK were issued in large numbers (parka) late War, but early to mid War camo smocks
for TK is usually the palmtree tbh

Good luck Peiper :wink:
User avatar
grenmartens
Posts: 215
Joined: Sat Sep 02, 2006 2:23 pm

Re: Help with Camo

Post by grenmartens »

Peiper - why do you do this? :evil: What on earth do you get out of it for goodness sake?

That's it - it's been on my mind for a while now but this has made up my mind and so I'm off.

All the best to the friends I've got on this forum but it really is too much these days - the ignorant and unhinged have taken over the show.

Happy New Year
Peiper

Re: Help with Camo

Post by Peiper »

grenmartens wrote:Peiper - why do you do this? :evil: What on earth do you get out of it for goodness sake?

That's it - it's been on my mind for a while now but this has made up my mind and so I'm off.

All the best to the friends I've got on this forum but it really is too much these days - the ignorant and unhinged have taken over the show.

Happy New Year
Because you are WRONG mate, the TK wore the palmenmuster, everybody who knows anything
about SS camo knows this, any other forum user who knows SS camo will back me up on this,
i dont know everything but i know SS camo because i have studied it for years, you are the first to
pipeup when you think iam wrong and sorry in this case you are wrong !!

Thing is mate people keep correcting me on posts but when i do the same people don't like it,
i wonder why that is ?........get over yourself and act your age :roll:

(SS TK Palmenmuster camo pics below)
SS Totenkopf pic 1.jpg
SS Totenkopf pic 1.jpg (57.83 KiB) Viewed 6902 times
Totenkopf.jpg
Totenkopf.jpg (24.84 KiB) Viewed 6902 times
SS TK pic 2.jpg
SS TK pic 2.jpg (142.29 KiB) Viewed 6902 times
Cheers Peiper
User avatar
Gliderinf
Posts: 759
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 12:23 pm

Re: Help with Camo

Post by Gliderinf »

thats right - we havent seen thousands of shots of them wearing plane tree - we just imagined it.

they only ever wore the one pattern - so we'd best stop all the research cos peiper has done it all for us.

And they always wore a weird mix of oak reversible pants with karkov coats - clearly - how could we have thought otherwise - better burn all the pics showing anything else - they must all be forgeries.

and we've all see thosands of shots of that combination havent we ??
Gliderinf / Luftlande
Peiper

Re: Help with Camo

Post by Peiper »

Be quiet Gliderinf ive had enough of your drivel...if you can't stick to the post
just do everyone a favour and button it :roll:
feuerwerker
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:43 pm

Re: Help with Camo

Post by feuerwerker »

My apologies! I did not intend to start a dispute. Thank you for the information.
Panzer Wittman
Posts: 196
Joined: Wed May 19, 2010 10:28 pm

Re: Help with Camo

Post by Panzer Wittman »

Hi
I was member of a tk group for years before joining Das Reich.
While there are several smaller books of photos for the division, by far the best photo reference for totenkopf is the totenkopf pictoral history by Charles trang.
It can be picked up for 30 odd quid - not cheap but very big and very reliable. Laid out in pics in chronolocal order - just flick to the time period you want and take in the photos. By far the best book of its type on the division we ever came across. Loads and loads of cammo pics. All assorted styles and mix/match variations in there.
Here's a link to abebooks page with it on. The Thule book is ok but very thin and only on the Thule regimet.
Hope this helps
Regards
Wittman
http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/Searc ... =Totenkopf
Olly
Posts: 149
Joined: Sun Jul 30, 2006 3:46 pm
Location: Hertfordshire & Kent
Contact:

Re: Help with Camo

Post by Olly »

There are great resources at our disposal without buying books in some cases -

628 photos of TK 41-43 - http://www.kriegsberichter-archive.com/ ... ategory/45

Majority of plane tree with some palm in there as well. Clearly nothing wrong with mixing camo patterns but not a must, I still firmly believe in the idea a batch being made in the factory, packaged up and sent to the front line meaning everyone has the same stuff.

For late war summer 44 - God, Honour, Fatherland pictures GD troops with TK in Romania 44. The TK troops have 2nd pattern plane tree smocks and caps on.

The kriegsberichter archive pictures some SS troops in the winter of 44 in the east showing the SS fur lined winter anorak in use.

Very much doubt there was a lot of palm issued in 44 although it is seen in use by other units.
Peiper

Re: Help with Camo

Post by Peiper »

Olly wrote:There are great resources at our disposal without buying books in some cases -

628 photos of TK 41-43 - http://www.kriegsberichter-archive.com/ ... ategory/45

Majority of plane tree with some palm in there as well. Clearly nothing wrong with mixing camo patterns but not a must, I still firmly believe in the idea a batch being made in the factory, packaged up and sent to the front line meaning everyone has the same stuff.

For late war summer 44 - God, Honour, Fatherland pictures GD troops with TK in Romania 44. The TK troops have 2nd pattern plane tree smocks and caps on.

The kriegsberichter archive pictures some SS troops in the winter of 44 in the east showing the SS fur lined winter anorak in use.

Very much doubt there was a lot of palm issued in 44 although it is seen in use by other units.
Getting back to the topic...yes i agree with what you've got there,
after 44 there was a "mix-match" of camo being used by the Tk,
but you will find up until mid 43 especially Kursk the TK still wore
majority of palmtree smocks, you will see this from archive pics
for instance the pics i put above were mainly Kursk pics, though
saying that AFTER 43 as you say there were oakleaf and the 2nd
pattern overprint planetree camo worn by this unit, another decent
TK ref book is "Totenkopf by Dr Chris Mann", you will see in there
the palmtree smock was worn more often by this Unit.
I myself portrayed the TK for a while until the group fizzled out due
to not enough members attending events but we portrayed the early
TK where palmenmuster smocks were mainly used.
Hope this helps, regards Peiper
User avatar
Gliderinf
Posts: 759
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 12:23 pm

Re: Help with Camo

Post by Gliderinf »

Yep - back peddling when youre proved wrong is really helpfull. :lol:
Gliderinf / Luftlande
Post Reply

Return to “Uniforms and Insignia”