Recently picked up this tanker jacket that happened to have some patches on it.

 

I was wondering what you guys thought of the jacket and of the patches?

 

The jacket appears to have many repairs and is well worn including on the knit material around the waist.

 

The cuffs seem to have been pushed in slightly, then sewn closed on their edge. Presumably due to wear or damage.

 

The inside of the jacket is the brown wool blanket-like material that you would expect in a jacket of this type, but lacks the "ghost" outline of the tag. There is a small vertical repair in this section.

 

The zipper seems to be correct as I have seen pictures of another jacket on this forum with a similarly designed zipper.

 

On to the part I'm not so sure about. Patches. 

 

The jacket is allegedly attributed to a captain of the 757th tank battalion. The patches make sense when considered together geographically. Both patches being attributed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, and the supposed connection to the 757th.

 

The patches don't glow under UV, they're very soft + malleable, and the 1st armoured division patch follows a natural crease that the jacket has.

 

The jacket lacks any other sewing holes or "ghost" outlines of missing patches.

 

The 2nd army corps patch does have blue/teal thread on the bottom of the patch for some reason. Perhaps removed from another garment?

 

So, what do you think?

 

I can add more pictures if they are desired

Hello, I’m not an expert (I haven’t handled or seen many originals) but I do own an original. I can’t really tell from your photos but one thing I look for is green stitching. Here’s a few photos from my jacket. 
 

Frank

 

 

 

 

It appears as though the green thread on mine mostly appears in areas that look to be repaired or added after initial production of the jacket. 

 

There are a few more locations that include the green thread such as around the waist knitting, but are hard to get a picture of.

 

 

 

Thanks

Matt

I wonder if it’s original. Stands a good chance!

The color of the thread is rarely an indicator of real vs fake. Its really just what the manufacturer had on hand.  I have/had several that were assembled with different colors of thread. 
 

Matt, I do agree that the 1st armored patch looks good especially since it matches the contour of the jacket sleeve. This isn’t impossible to fake, but I don’t think thats the case on this one. That being said, I don’t love the captain bars on the shoulders. They have DEFINITELY been removed from something else and resewn to your jacket. 
 

Unless you were given some solid provenance on the original owner, I would take the story with a healthy grain of salt. I feel like militaria collctors as a whole are putting way too much value in the story/provenance on items now.