Channel Trousers 1944 - Goatskin & capeskin - with matching braces

The Mitchell “Luftwaffe 1944”, the “Kanalhose” of the Reich Defence, is the exact copy of an original from 1944.

Like its model, the “Luftwaffe 1944” is made of dark brown lambskin and cannot be told from the original except by the maker’s label. Mitchell Mfg. even had the ZIPP zippers used on the original remade and stamped correctly with D.R.P. We also had the large ceramic buttons reproduced in the correct size, shape and colour.

The only concession to the present day was the material: glass and ceramic are too fragile, so the buttons are now made of durable plastic. The press studs, too, match the original in size, shape and colour. The lining is silver-grey rayon. The inside pockets for documents and the signal pistol are lined with dark blue cotton.

The large patch pockets hold signal ammunition, which today is happily replaced by cigar tubes. They can be widened with press studs and so offer plenty of room. Mitchell Mfg.’s eye for detail shows in every single seam, which has been matched to the original as well.

The “Luftwaffe 1944” is the most elaborate garment Mitchell Mfg. produces. Documenting it and sourcing all the materials to rebuild the original one to one took more than two years.

This unheated version of the “Kanalhose” was traditionally worn with the short cut Luftwaffe jacket, the “Blouson Cycliste”: the “Luftwaffe 1942” and the “Luftwaffe 1943”. The “Kanalhose” comes with the matching braces, which also match the original in shape, design and material and are rarer today than the trousers themselves.

Whether you fly a Bücker Jungmann or take your classic motorcycle across country: with the “Luftwaffe 1944 Kanalhose” you travel not only in period style but safely.