History

In July of 1940, the SS-Verfügungstruppe was officially renamed the Waffen-SS. Uniforms that were issued prior to this date will be included in the SS-Verfügungstruppe section. These uniforms include: the SS Black Service Uniform, SS M35, SS-VT drill uniform, SS-VT M36, and the SS-VT M37.

The predecessor organisation of the Waffen-SS, the SS-Verfügungstruppe, entered the war wearing the M36 uniform. The M36 tunic can be readily distinguished by its box-pleated patch pockets and dark green stand-and-fall collar, which features black and silver piping. All future Waffen-SS uniforms were simplifications of this model.

The SS M40 tunic was manufactured out of field-grey wool and lined with a grey/brown drill fabric. The interior lining is often marked with size stamps, as well as an issuing depot stamp The front of the tunic features four box-pleated patch pockets and closes with five buttons. Unlike the M36, the collar matches the rest of the tunic and no longer features black and silver piping.

The SS M40 tunic is almost identical to the army-pattern tunic, except the SS tunic has a slightly shorter skirt and a wider collar. The most distinguishable feature between these two tunics is the number of eyelets for belts support hooks. Tunics produced by the SS feature two or four eyelets, while army-pattern tunics always have three.

The SS-Bekleidungsgewerbe (SS-BW, SS clothing manufacturer) was unable to keep up with the demand for SS uniforms and likely only produced around 20 percent of Waffen-SS uniform requirements. As a result, the SS was forced to issue many of their troops with army-made uniforms

Throughout the war, Officers would either wear basic-issue or privately-tailored tunics. Officers wore silver tresses on their tunic collars.