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This is an incredibly rare 1944 variant of the World War II U.S. military gas cape, specifically labeled as the "COVER, PROTECTIVE, INDIVIDUAL, COLD CLIMATE."
While standard standard-issue versions (Stock No. 72-C-1000) were produced in vast quantities to protect soldiers from overhead chemical attacks or sprayed blister gases, this cold-weather version (Stock No. 72-C-1100) is highly uncommon.
Historians note that famous extreme-weather explorer Sir George Hubert Wilkins advised the U.S. military on cold-climate survival gear starting in 1942, and it is likely this specific item was developed as a limited prototype or small-batch issue under his advisement. Military production records indicate that only a tiny fraction of these cold-climate variations were ever manufactured compared to standard models.
