Project Edelweiss 2010: Pre-war Gebirgsjäger Uniforms

[Heeresbergführer]

Grüß Gott Bergkameraden,

Here are some pre-war photographs from the 1939 book "Wir vom Alpenkorps." All the photos pre-date the issue of both the sleeve and cap Edelweiss (order HV 39B, No. 196 dated 2 May 1939), plus show the wearing of Feldgrau Berghosen.

Pfiati,
Patrick

[barnaclebill]

Very interesting photos, thanks for sharing.

[mario33]

I have the same book at home. I would say that most pictures there are hard to tell whether the trousers are steingrau or feldgrau. Some show definitely lighter shade denoting steingrau ones. Although some show similar shade to jackets that are surely feldgrau.

For me it seems a bit strange as general use trousers (feldhosen) were steingrau at that time. Maybe it was a heritage from Austrian Army ?

[Heeresbergführer]

Servus Mario und Bergkameraden,

Yes, it is hard to tell the difference from Feldgrau and Steingrau. One would think that Steingrau would come across as a darker shade of gray than Feldgrau in Black and White photographs.

Here are two pairs of Officer Skihosen....one in Steingrau and one in Feldgrau...scanned in Color:




Here are both pairs again with the color desaturated to show the tonal qualities in Black and White....very hard to tell the difference.



So if we shoot all of our photographs and video in black and white we should be fine with people wearing either Steingrau or Feldgrau....

Berg Heil und Horrido!
"Papa"

[gebirgsjaeger100]

That's a good answer, Papa!
By the way, the Gj's of photo nr. 5 do have "Labeflaschen", hanging from a shoulderstrap. I knew they where used by the GJ, but I hadn't seen a photo.

[glenn]

Hello,

Good idea Patrick and very nice photos, some are really interesting

Thanks a lot for sharing
Regards,

[gebirgsjaeger100]

Glenn, you're the organizer. You have the "honor" to define the uniform