Illegal WW2 modifications

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by smurf

Not quite illegal

Many German troops, especially the Fallschirmjäger, would order field dress a few sizes bigger to get a 'baggy' look. It some sort of fashion to have a uniform larger than necessary but still functional.

That wasn't merely fashion, as the German field uniforms were custom tailored to your size - as measured when you joined up and the cut was like that of a civilian suit. Thus they tended to be too tight around the shoulders and upper arms and restrict movement when you were fighting or working out in the field. So getting a uniform that was a little too large might've made you look a bit shabby, but it made actual wartime soldiering a lot easier.

[Michele]

Originally Posted by Rupert

That wasn't merely fashion, as the German field uniforms were custom tailored to your size - as measured when you joined up and the cut was like that of a civilian suit. Thus they tended to be too tight around the shoulders and upper arms and restrict movement when you were fighting or working out in the field. So getting a uniform that was a little too large might've made you look a bit shabby, but it made actual wartime soldiering a lot easier.

It obviously was no fashion statement to begin with.

Insofar as it was a statement, it was an elite identity statement. "Our uniform is different from the run-of-the-mill poor bloody infantryman's because we aren't that, we are an elite", and consequently, "I'm a member of the elite because I wear this special uniform".

That said, yes, freedom of movement would have been important for any soldier. But think of the full kit of a Fallschirmjäger. When he jumps, his limbs are constricted at the joints by his harness and equipment. In particular, the thigh has two chokepoints: the harness on top, and the kneepad at the bottom. A tight-fitting trouser leg there would seriously hinder maximum movement.
Yes, once you remove what was needed for the jump and landing, what remains is baggy in looks.

But even that considered, there's another reason.
Why do runners, in winter, prefer tight leggings to baggy gym trousers? Why do high-speed cyclists shave their legs?
Answer that, and you'll see why a paratrooper, especially considered the crude WWII-era parachutes, would prefer his jump suit as tent-like as possible.

[sgtcallistan]

Originally Posted by Michele

Those were used by the Germans in Italy, but were originally Italian materials. Camo tent parts made for the Italian army were used both as improvised ponchos by them, and as material for standard issue tunics for units serving or raised in Italy (the 29. Waffen SS Div., for instance).

Thanks for this information, Michele: my father described the material as having grey, green and brown with a 'cartoon rain' effect; perhaps the 'raindrop' pattern mentioned in some accounts of WWII.

He paid a tailor to make it up into a bulky jacket, and it was destroyed when some medics cut it off him after he was wounded in the fighting at Tossigano on the 'Vene Del Gesso'?

Did not know this SS pattern was originally Italian!

[sgtcallistan]

Originally Posted by Rupert

That wasn't merely fashion, as the German field uniforms were custom tailored to your size - as measured when you joined up and the cut was like that of a civilian suit. Thus they tended to be too tight around the shoulders and upper arms and restrict movement when you were fighting or working out in the field. So getting a uniform that was a little too large might've made you look a bit shabby, but it made actual wartime soldiering a lot easier.

I can attest to this: my RAF service uniform was measured for me when I joined, but not issued until after basic training.

Very few fitted, as we'd changed shape somewhat...

[Michele]

Originally Posted by sgtcallistan

Thanks for this information, Michele: my father described the material as having grey, green and brown with a 'cartoon rain' effect; perhaps the 'raindrop' pattern mentioned in some accounts of WWII.

He paid a tailor to make it up into a bulky jacket, and it was destroyed when some medics cut it off him after he was wounded in the fighting at Tossigano on the 'Vene Del Gesso'?

I understand, but if you want to look that place up, search for Tossignano. The Vene del Gesso was a mountain position with caves turned into fortifications.

Did not know this SS pattern was originally Italian!

Well, this specific camo pattern was, but keep in mind that the SS used a bewildering variety of camo patterns. It was cut out of old stores of the M1929 telo mimetico, you can find a Wiki page in English on that. It was used first by Waffen SS units in Italy or raised there, but it was also eventually issued to SS units serving elsewhere too.

[smurf]

Fallschrimjaeger in oversized field dress.

Another oversized uniform

From my discussions with a Fallschrimjaeger and some re-enactment they really went all out to get uniforms too big for themselves.

[mstlaurent]

I remember my father telling me that whenever they got their tank out of depot maintenance the first thing they did was unbolt the pintel-mounted .50cal from the top of the turret and ditch it on the side of the road. Because nobody in their right mind was going to pop their head out of a perfectly good tank in the middle of a fire fight and try to use it, all it ever did was get tangled up in low-hanging branches and telegraph lines.

[Michele]

The German geballte Ladung was born as an in-the-field improvisation. They removed the handles of six "potato masher" Stielhandgranate M24, and tied them to a seventh such grenade still having the throwing handle. There you go, a "bundled load". Heavier and more difficult to launch, and with a shorter throw distance - but a nice bang.

[Michele]

Originally Posted by mstlaurent

I remember my father telling me that whenever they got their tank out of depot maintenance the first thing they did was unbolt the pintel-mounted .50cal from the top of the turret and ditch it on the side of the road. Because nobody in their right mind was going to pop their head out of a perfectly good tank in the middle of a fire fight and try to use it, all it ever did was get tangled up in low-hanging branches and telegraph lines.

Yes, it probably helped that there wasn't much of an enemy close air support to speak of, I guess. That was the purpose of that MG, dealing with low-altitude fighter bomber attacks, and the German tankers did not throw away their pintle-mounted MGs.

[RyanW]

Aircraft nose art started out as this, but when they realized the propaganda impact of having recognizable identities in the newsreels they started officially condoning it. Though some of it had to have clothing added.

There's also aircrews who increased their defensive firepower by adding extra guns. The pinnacle of that was Old 666, a B17 stripped of its bomb equipment and armed with 19 .50 cal MGs for high risk reconnaissance missions.