COAT M-1940 ORIGINAL WORLD WAR II - MILITARY SURPLUS FROM BRITISH ARMY - USED

In the British army the clothing measurments are not what the British usualy use.In the UK for mens clothing Inches are used compared to the British army where the use of Centimeters is in practice.To help you out we have compield this chart together to give you a understanding of how it works

The NATO size is an 8-digit number on the label. It is in the form 7080/0010 for a jacket, for example. The first number refers to your height in cms (in this case 170cm to 180cm), the second number your chest size in cms (100cm to 110cm here). For trousers it might be 7075/8085, for example, where inside leg range is 70 to 75cms and waist range is 80 to 85cms.

Before ordering clothing, therefore, it will be handy if you have got a note of your height, waist and chest in cms so you can choose the correct size. This needs to be measured over your underclothes, rather than over anything bulky that may distort the figures.

The reasoning behind this is that most of the surplus clothing products are made for particular height ranges so if you are very tall it would be no good if we sent you a product designed for somebody short, and of course, vice versa.

To also help when reading most British army clothes it will give you either 2 lots of numbers or 3. On anything worn on the upper body you will see 2 lots of numbers for example 180/96 this translates to 180cm in height and 96cm in your chest

In trousers or anything worn on the bottom Half you will see 3 lots of numbers for example 90/88/104. The 90 means 90cm leg length. 88 is 88cm Waist and the 104 is 104cm in your seat. This is not an important number as it is mainly your leg length and waist that are important