m/32 Summer Blouse
m/32 Summer Blouse, older
(Kesäpusero m/32)
(Kesäpusero m/32/vanhempi)

The m/27 Uniform did not include a special summer blouse, unlike the m/22 Uniform which included the m/22 Summer Blouse. In the spring of 1932 the President approved a new summer blouse to replace the older grey summer blouse. As some formations were still using the grey m/22 Uniform and others using the newer brown m/27 Uniform, two variations of the summer blouse were introduced. First one was a brown cotton blouse meant to be used with the newer m/27 Uniform and was named the m/32 Summer Blouse. The second approved type was a grey one which was to be used with the older m/22 Uniform and was named the m/32 Summer Blouse, Older.

Whereas the m/22 Summer Blouse resembles the Imperial Russian blouses in that it is a pullover style shirt with partially closed front the m/32 Summer Blouse had a six flat covered buttons and it was open all the way down. The later m/36 Summer Blouse is a simplified version of the m/32 Summer Blouse, older with few minor differences.


Last updated: April 20th, 2018

m/32 Summer Blouse

Colour and material: Brown-green-grey cotton weave.

Cut: Loose, shirt like jacket. 6 hidden buttons in the front. Two chest pockets with bleats. Back side has a 4cm wide, sewn belt that ends on the side seams. The side seams have two fabric belt loops that are closed with a small coat-of-arms buttons. Sleeves are loose and taper towards the cuffs, elbow reinforcements similar to m/27 Tunic are sometimes present. The cuffs are 8 cm tall and close with two buttons that are vertically perpendicular with the cuff. There are three steel grommets in the armpits for ventilation.

Length: 5 cm from the crotch.

Collar: Stand-and-fall collar, 7 cm high in the front, 4 cm high in the back. A tab over the neck that is used to close the collar. Tab is closed with a flat metal button.

Epaulettes: The epaulettes are standard m/27 epaulettes. They are 6 to 7 cm wide in the shoulder seam and are rounded at the tip. They close with a small coat-of-arms button that is tied inside the blouse with a cotton string.

m/22 epaulettes were used with the blouse for a short period of time. In May 1933 the m/32 Summer Blouse was ordered for infantry, bicycle troops and cavalry, but only small number of them were issued before the transformation to the new m/36 Uniform happened.

Materials

This is a translation of 1932 dated technical material report.


Summer Blouse fabric m/32
Technical report

1) Raw material: American cotton, which has to be at least Middling and Strict Middling quality according to the American Universal Standard.
2) Warp thread: No 2/28 English +- 6 %
3) Weft thread: No 8 English +- 9%
4) Warp density: 66 - 64 / 1"
5) Weft density: 58 - 56 / 1"
6) Weave: Warp-faced broken twill
7) Width: 71 / 73 cm
8) Bolt length: 25 meters
9) Weight: 220 / linear meter = 305 g / m² = minimum weight
10) Tensile strength: Warp: 98 - 94 kg
Weft: 145 - 138 kg
11) Colour: Warp thread, twisted grey/brown
Weft thread green
12) Finish: Calendered. Weight loss when washing 3% at the most.
13) Shrinking: Warp 6% at the most, weft 3% at the most.


m/32 Summer Blouse, older

Colour and material: Steelgrey cotton weave.

Cut: Loose, shirt like jacket. 6 hidden buttons in the front. Two chest pockets with bleats. Back side has a 4cm wide, sewn belt that ends on the side seams. The side seams have two fabric belt loops that are closed with a small coat-of-arms buttons. Sleeves are loose and taper towards the cuffs. The cuffs are 8 cm tall and close with two buttons that are vertically perpendicular with the cuff. There are three steel grommets in the armpits for ventilation.

Length: 5 cm from the crotch.

Collar: Stand-and-fall collar, 7 cm high in the front, 4 cm high in the back. A tab over the neck that is used to close the collar. Tab is closed with a flat metal button.

Epaulettes: The epaulettes are standard m/27 epaulettes. They are 6 to 7 cm wide in the shoulder seam and are rounded at the tip. They close with a small coat-of-arms button that is tied inside the blouse with a cotton string.

The use of m/32 Summer Blouse, older was common in all the branches of the military. It was commonly used with m/22 Epaulettes until 1935, even though use of the standard m/27 Epaulettes was allowed from May 1933. After the introduction of m/36 Summer Blouse the m/32 Summer Blouse, older still remained in service and can be seen in pre-war, Winter War and early Continuation War photos regularly. Photographic evidence shows that they were mostly worn out and removed from use by the latter part of Continuation War.


Size Table

This is a sizetable dated 1934, for reservists. The sizing could very well be different for some of the blouses, but this is a period source for one scale.

Soldiers Height 185 180 175 170 165
Size 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 R 5 R
Closest Civil Guard size 54 52 50 48 46
Halfback height 50 48 46 44 42
Fullback height 74 71 68 65 62
Chest size 128 124 120 116 112
Waist size 112 108 106 102 98
Sleeve length 69 67 65 64 62
Collar Size 47 46 45 44 43


Uniforms from collections

Kapteeni's m/32 Summer Blouse, INT-stamped

Photos from Dragoon Militaria.

m/32 Summer Blouse, SKY-stamped

Photos from Dragoon Militaria.

Finnish Wartime Photograph Archive photos


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