. . . PS. perhaps we need someone to post a thread on the black leather coat used by the 10th BK.

BTW Pat … Would you be able to provide details of the leather coat (ie dimensions, where to get repro buttons, size of the epaulettes, etc - I’m going to need to alter a leather coat for my display). Thanks.

If i remember corectly that was all original items and the photo session was arranged specialy for this article. Unfortunately it was made in early 90’s so there is no chance to getting more informations about details. It was published in "Archeologia Wojskowa" no.1 from june 1992 in article about Sokol 1000 by Jan Tarczynski.

Here is another example from one of museums in Warsaw:
Attachment 283541

Thanks Pat. I do notice some differences between the coat from the museum and the one from "Archeologia Wojskowa". Do you know if there was local variations from manufacturer to manufacturer or were there detailed army/government requirements for the manufacturers to follow? For example the shoulder epaulettes on the museum coat seem to go past the edge of the shoulder. Also the length of the museum coat goes past the knees whereas the one in "Archeologia Wojskowa" seems to stop at the knees or slightly above. (shorter for motorcyclists?). Also the strap on the sleeve seems higher on the motorcyclist’s coat though it may just be pushed up by his gauntlets. This may seem picky but if I’m going to alter a modern leather coat for my display I want to get it right. Thanks. . . .

The pattern was only one in 1939 - wz.36. Differences betwen the museum and outside photos are caused by different sizes mostly. One is a bit bigger, the other too short. Here is how it looked like:

Attachment 284635

Thanks Pat. Do you know if the drawings are to scale? If so I can work out proportions from it. I can see that there are only two outside slash pockets. Do you know the number and arrangement of the buttons and whether or not they were inscribed with the Polish Eagle as on uniforms? Is there an inside map pocket for instance? Also what kind of material is used for the collar? Cotton? Wool? What kind of stamps or markings would be on the liner? Brass buckles or some other metal? Number of belt loops?

Apologies for asking a lot of questions. (FYI - I have a book on Finnish uniforms and it is very specific on the uniform changes - was hoping there might be something similar for Polish uniforms.)

I think this should be discussed in a separate thread on leather coats of the 10th BK though - there is potential for interested parties to miss this info as its in a helmet thread.