My new 1947 French army greatcoat

[ukali1066]

Hi all,

I just bought this unissued wool M47 pattern French army greatcoat from an ebay seller, stored for many years and brand new, all it needed was a machine wash on a wool setting to get rid of the musty "army" aroma

The French military produced this greatcoat as an exact copy of the WW2 U.S. army pattern, mine has brass buttons with anchors on, so I'm presuming a Navy/Marine connection ?

I love it and it fits my slender chassis rather well...I couldn't take decent photos myself, but it's knee length.

VERY warm and perfect for winter.

 

[Blackjack]

An AWESOME coat you got there brother....

 

[carter]

ukali1066, That is, indeed, a great greatcoat! It suits you well!

 

[John in Covina]

Makes you wish they'd find an entire warehouse of them to sell.

 

[Peacoat]

Somewhat similar to a US Navy bridgecoat. I like it.

 

[DutchIndo]

Looks real warm I bought the M-47 field jackets that Sportsman guide are selling. I bought 4 in XLG before they sold out ( 2 for 19.99 ) now trying to find the matching trousers. For some reason French Militaria is getting easy to find.

 

[CaddyKid21]

Man, Im jealous!
Ive been looking for something like that, what a beauty!

 

[H.Johnson]

Always has been - particularly in France.

For some reason French Militaria is getting easy to find.

 

[H.Johnson]

These can be obtained for about 20GBP from a company in Bournemouth, by the way.

 

[ukali1066]

Many thanks guys..

They're well worth 20 pounds, you don't see this quality of construction and old fashioned cut much these days for that price.

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

Looks nice. Bet it's very heavy in weight, too. Back in them "hippie" days, I used to wear my father's Belgian army overcoat. This one had a very similar cut, rather less coarse fabric, with a belt, and -even though I'm 6ft- the coat went down to lower half calf... Come to think of it, during the late 1960's...what clothes we would wear! :eusa_doh: lol

 

[Creeping Past]

I always think the same when I see these coats, Pablo. For me, they're the coat of the old-style counter culture.

 

[Edward]

These can be obtained for about 20GBP from a company in Bournemouth, by the way.

Do they sell online? I'm trying to pick up a few coats of this general type - I find that army surplus provides vintage style and quality of construction at bargain bin prices. With a change of buttons, too, there's no reason why it couldn't pass for a civilian garment. Not that there's anything wrong with the brass buttons as such -just that to my eye it has more of a vintage civilian look with them replaced.

 

[ukali1066]

Here you go dude...like new condition, small, medium, large for 25 quid

Some of them do come with dull buttons, must depend on the branch of service that used them

http://www.surplusandadventure.com/...2/french-army-olive-drab-wool-m47-219197.html

 

[cufflinkmaniac]

As the French would say,"C'est bon mon ami!".

 

[Dinerman]

What's the lining like on that overcoat?

 

[ukali1066]

It's half lined in a creme cotton/linen looking material, but the sleeves are lined in a nice striped satin feel cloth...

 

[H.Johnson]

Edward,

In my opinion, of all the items of military surplus, postwar greatcoats (of all nations and all arms of service) are the most freely available and are usually ridiculously cheap for what you get.

The provider to which Ukali kindly refers us, by the way, is near Inkberrow in Worcestershire, where the Archers is supposed to be set, if you're a vintage radio fan... It's well worth a visit, followed by tea at Tissanes in Broadway.

For a civilian/military 'cross over' style winter coat, don't forget the 'British Warm' coat, which has leather buttons and was in some ways the WW2 version of the trench coat. They were made well into the 1960s and are frequently found in charity shops.

Do they sell online? I'm trying to pick up a few coats of this general type - I find that army surplus provides vintage style and quality of construction at bargain bin prices. With a change of buttons, too, there's no reason why it couldn't pass for a civilian garment. Not that there's anything wrong with the brass buttons as such -just that to my eye it has more of a vintage civilian look with them replaced.

 

[Creeping Past]

I've a khaki wool British warm-style mini-greatcoat. I removed the WO cloth sleeve badge before wearing it.

 

[Edward]

Here you go dude...like new condition, small, medium, large for 25 quid

Ah, these folks! I've bought from them before - theyd're good people to deal with. Thanks!

Edward,

In my opinion, of all the items of military surplus, postwar greatcoats (of all nations and all arms of service) are the most freely available and are usually ridiculously cheap

I'm inclined to agree with you there! I'm certainly always keeping an eye on Charity shops for what turns up. Wasn't aware of the Archers connection there!