I have a couple of Alpine figures the ones with the Kriegsmarine U-boat uniform,did only the SS division panzer crews have these or were they handed out to other panzer divisions?



Thanks

Karl,
As I understand it, the provenance of the U Boat leathers was they were originally supplied to the Italian Navy, and were "liberated" by 1 SS Panzer Division LSSAH during their stay in Italy following their withdrawal from Zitadelle in 1943. They were subsequently supplied to 12 SS "Hitler Jugend" tank crews, as the two units made up I SS Panzer Korps in Belgium. The leathers were also worn by 101/501 SS Schwere Panzer Abteilung, the Korps Tiger unit.
There are photos of tank crews attributed to 9 SS "Hohenstaufen" wearing this clothing, but close examination makes it clear that these shots have been incorrectly described, as the accompanying tanks clearly belong to SS Panzerregiment 12 "HJ".
So in short, they were worn only within I SS Pz Kp in any numbers, although it is of course possible that isolated individuals took them with them on transfer to other units.

Thanks Steve very informative information.

I only purchased them the other week as they look good figures,silly me now I have to try and find a vehicle that suits the figures.I only have KTs from 505 and 501 Ardennes.
Normandy Tigers or Panzer IVs to the rescue

SS sPz Abt 501 (King Tigers) in the Ardennes is good. This unit was attached to LSSAH and hence Kampfgruppe Peiper to make up for the absence of I/SS Pz Rgt 1. If you view the well-known film clip of Werner Potsche (sp!) picking up the panzerfaust and firing it at a building, you will see he is wearing the U Boat Leathers.

KM U-boot leathers were grey. I saw a set (single breasted, so technical branch) as a decent price a few years ago but dawdled for too long and when I went back a few minutes later they had gone. As Steve says, the ones seen in HJ were Italian in origin.