Original Item: Only One Available. The Jacket, Field, M1943 was a standardized field jacket issued to Army soldiers in WWII. It was longer than the M-1941 jacket, coming down to the upper thighs. It was made in a light olive-drab OD7, later a darker OD9 cotton sateen. It also had a detachable hood (not included), drawstring waist, two large breast pockets and two skirt pockets.

The uniform was designed to be warm in winter by use of a separate jacket liner. The jacket liner was a separate cotton-shell jacket with two slash pockets and button and loop fastening, generally in a lighter shade of olive drab (OD3) than the main jacket but in practice rarely issued during World War II. In the ETO this was intended to be replaced by the M-1944 'Ike' jacket, or one of the generic 'ETO' jackets which could come in versions that were either near-identical to the M-1941 jacket, but in rough khaki wool outer, or versions almost identical to British Battledress, both versions being produced locally in the UK in several variations.

This example is offered in excellent condition. It no longer bears the original manufacture label in the lower right pocket. It has a wonderful embroidered All American 82nd Airborne Division patch on the left shoulder, as well as T/Cpl chevrons on both sleeves. The jacket is not named and is free of any major imperfections, all buttons are present and the condition is excellent. Genuine WW2 issue M43 jackets with patches from famous divisions are hard to come by and this is one of the best we’ve seen in a while from one of the most well known divisions that fought in the European Theater during WWII.

The rigger modified M43 pants are a hard to find Airborne item. After the Normandy campaign, the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions (except for the 504 PIR and their attached units) phased out the M42 jump suit uniform in favor of the new M43 uniform. Although period pictures show the M42 jump suit was still occasionally worn until the end of the war, by the time of the Holland campaign, the M43 uniform was the standard Airborne uniform. Heavy olive-drab canvas cargo pockets and leg ties were added to allow more equipment and ammunition to be carried on airborne operations. The pants show signs of heavy use and wear, but appear without major damage, only fading.

Comes ready for research and display!

Measurements
Collar to shoulder: 10”
Shoulder to sleeve: 22.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 18”
Chest width: 18”
Waist width: 19”
Hip width: 22”
Front length: 31"
Pants Waist: 30"
Pants Inseam: 31"