WW2 M40 Undershirt in Jersey Rayon by Richard Underwood Militaria.

German WW2 M40 Undershirt in Jersey Rayon by Richard Underwood Militaria.

The German military started the war with the pre war white undershirt, which was a collarless shirt. By 1940 the German Army had decided a white under shirt was not very practical for front line troops so a new shirt was developed. The new German under shirt was made of jersey rayon fabric which was a man made fabric which had a little bit of stretch in it, unlike the cotton shirts. The colour of the shirts did vary from grey to green but they where usually a greyish green colour.

The M40 undershirt was worn by both the Waffen SS and Heer (Army) in WW2 underneath the wool tunics like the M36 and M40.

This WW2 reproduction of the popular M40 (sometimes called the 1941 shirt) made by Richard Underwood and has the following original details.

• No breast pockets the later M42 shirt had 2 breast pockets.
• Jersey rayon fabric.
• Collar.
• Overhead design.
• The front is closed by 4 metal buttons.
• Sleeve cuffs are closed/tightened by a single metal button on each cuff.
• Long length.
• The bottom on both sides of the shirt has a split with a reinforced panel where the split meets the side seam.
• Greyish green shade colour of Feldgrau.

Richard Underwood Militaria product code is 15389