German army uniforms were been mistakenly issued out with "SS" size labels printed on them after a "production problem".
The mistake to use the letters, associated with the Nazi-era murderous Schutzstaffel paramilitary group, occurred as the initials were thought to be an acronym for the size: “small, short."
Without realising this error, in recent weeks, the German federal Ministry of Defence distributed about 313,000 pieces of combat equipment such as helmets, sleeping bags and waterproof jackets to its troops - worth a staggering €2.3 billion (£1.92 billion).
