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Hi Stefano,

I have seen your enquirys at other sites and assumed that you would get adequate responses. For more than 35 years I have been trying to answer your very questions but the book on the subject has yet to be written; thus one is left to study period photos and match items to existing items. Without documented records, all one can do is make educated guesses. I do not use specific German terminology since the North American collecting community did not use it in normal discussion. It is something that has been added over the years, thus I cannot offer comment on which terms are most accurate for any particular item.

The fur lined anorak did have matching winter trousers that were issued with it. The problem lies in the actual first date of their issue. They can be identified in photos only if they are not tucked into boots as they had a "spat" that covered the top of the boot with a draw string that was tied beneath the sole of the boot. These were not fur-lined but instead have a lining of diamond quilted white cloth insulation. If one studies photos of the Kharkov battles, one can be convinced that some grenadiers were wearing these trousers but they may have been the Heer pattern type . When either was bloused over the boots, it is impossible to tell. It is common to see that the Heer pattern trouser was worn with the fur-lined anoraks as the bottom of the cuffs identifies them easily, particularly when one can see the notch in the outside seam. I have only ever seen a single example of the Waffen-SS winter trousers and that was in very recent years.

Another question that has yet to be resolved satisfactorily is the matter of color. The first Heer pattern reversible winter uniforms (I can see why German shortcuts might be desired) had mouse gray,
wool outer shells. Gray green (and other shades do exist but the unanswered question remains: when and what type of material?).

Period photos confirm that the Waffen-SS did use the initial issue of Heer pattern winter uniforms along side their own winter anoraks. These same photos seem to show that the Heer pattern trousers were most commonly worn with that anorak. The anorak was confirmed as either a dark-ish gray green or somewhat lighter olive green. The trousers color is your guess: mouse gray or gray green.

FWIW,
Ron Volstad

Stefano,

Pop me an e-mail and I'll send you a few photos. Alternatively, if someone wants to post them here, I'll send them to you. (Still a digital Luddite after a dozen years on-line).

rvolstad@telusplanet.net

Cheers,
Ron V