Original tropical "Afrika Korps" 3rd pattern or M43 tunic. This is basically an unissued tunic in excellent condition with 2 issues. The two issues are the belt hook hangers have been removed and are currently in one of the pockets and the collar tabs are replaced. I believe the hook hangers were likely loose and some collector decided to pull them off rather than loose them. They could be reattached with only minor sewing skills and there is plenty of original thread out there to do this with. The collar tabs are original DAK tabs, but it is clear that they were replaced as you can see some stich holes on the back side of the collar.
As this tunic came out well after the Afrika campaign, it was mostly issued to men in Italy, Greece and southern Russia. It likely came out of the factory with generic collar tabs and if I had to bet, I would guess some collector probably thought Afrika Korps tunic should have Afrika Korps tabs these original generic ones are wrong, so I will replace them. It would not be the first time I have seen an original tunic monkeyed with over outdated simplified concepts of "correct". The eagle is original and looks to me like it is the original one to the tunic and was factory applied. There is a small smudge of something on one cuff.
Overall this is a gorgeous looking tunic. I am quite sure it was unissued. It likely never had shoulder boards installed. The fabric still has that distinctive shine to it. There is even still some loose threads on the holes for the shank buttons where the factory worker sewing these just went from one hole to the next without cutting the thread. Its the sort of thing that wouldn't last long if this had been worn.
It does have some nice markings with an R.B.Nr. and several of the panels have yellow markings which are from the factory. These even appear inside some of the pockets.
A great looking tunic and a great example for any collector.
This will ship with insurance and may need to be signed for.
