Not an NKVD Victory Parade general....
 

After about 2 years of fighting, the last part of this uniform came in this week.

First impressions would be that this is a M1945 "Victory Parade" major General of the NKVD; right color, right cut, etc. Therefore the grey version, single breasted, of this uniform, would be an M1943 parade tunic for an NKVD general.

This is not True!! (not that people spend alot of time thinking about it).

In fact, both of these uniforms were worn at the same time; both are in fact M1943 parade uniforms. The blue version, shown here, is for generals of the NKVD (Commissars of State Security) Troop service. The grey, single breasted version, is for the NKGB side of the NKVD.

Rumor is that the NKVD designed the blue double breasted uniform and it was such a hit that the army and air force copied it for the M1945 uniform. There was no real NKVD version of the M1945 uniform; NKVD Commissars who had been given the rank of general in 1945 ( there were about 150 of them) were also given army uniforms. The only known example of this uniform was for General D.I Esipenko. His cap badge was backed in Royal NKVD blue, not army red. It is not known ( and may never be) if this was done just by him to show he was NKVD or was the only standard difference between army and NKVD M1945s.

DougD

cuff...
 

This is the cuff of the M1943 NKVD generals tunic; this embroidery was only used on NKVD and NKGB uniforms.

DougD

wavy boards...
 

There is some debate on these boards....there are two types known, with the extra wavy blue stripes and without. So far, both examples I have seen, and examples I have seen in real photos, have the wave. The only other known example of this uniform, in a big US collection, does not have these wavy boards. I would be suspect without the stripe at this point.

DougD

Nkgb 1943
 

Here is the grey M1943 tunic used by generals / commissars of the NKGB. It looks much more like the army version of the M1943 parade uniform, other than the NKVD/NKGB cuffs.Note the wavy boards and special cuffs.

DougD

[love] [love] [love] !!!

I wonder if the piped zigzag boards were not quietly changed after maybe a year or so because they were "less solid gold" than OTHER Generals' boards and some wearers may have felt it made them look like field grade officers to have piping up their boards instead of wall to wall gold?

It certainly wouldn't seem to have been a technical problem for manufactring, or to have been time wasting (and dumb looking) like those old bottle opener required capped metal beer can (for those of you Pre Pop-Tops [angel] :laugh: ) shaped officers' boards they tried on introduction in 1943.

I'm still confused as to why SOME lower officers in the various State Security "organs" had double breasted parade tunics at war's end, and others went single breasted? "Luckily" my budget keeps me from investigating those further! :(

///
 

Its difficult to say about the wave boards...i know that somehow they are connected with the bottle boards; came in and were out about the same time. I was told that the wave boards and the bottle boards were NKGB, but thats not true. Caza and I have talked it over and still have not figured it out.

DougD