diff --git a/src/main/groovy/net/gleske/jervis/remotes/SimpleRestService.groovy b/src/main/groovy/net/gleske/jervis/remotes/SimpleRestService.groovy
index d2ac9bc6..21f0d5f8 100644
--- a/src/main/groovy/net/gleske/jervis/remotes/SimpleRestService.groovy
+++ b/src/main/groovy/net/gleske/jervis/remotes/SimpleRestService.groovy
@@ -365,8 +365,20 @@ class SimpleRestService {
                 ByteArrayOutputStream errorResponse = new ByteArrayOutputStream()
                 errorResponse << conn.getErrorStream()
                 response_content = errorResponse.toString()
-            } else {
+            } else if(response_headers.find { it.key?.equalsIgnoreCase('Content-Type') }) {
                 response_content = conn.getContent().getText()
+            } else {
+                // getContent() dispatches on the Content-Type header and throws
+                // UnknownServiceException('no content-type') when the response
+                // omits it, so a response with a body but no Content-Type has to
+                // be read straight off the stream instead. This is a real
+                // response shape rather than a broken server: Express
+                // `res.status(200).end()` behind compression middleware sends a
+                // bodyless 200 chunked, with neither Content-Length nor
+                // Content-Type, and that must not look like a transport failure.
+                ByteArrayOutputStream successResponse = new ByteArrayOutputStream()
+                successResponse << conn.getInputStream()
+                response_content = successResponse.toString()
             }
             response_content
         }
diff --git a/src/test/groovy/net/gleske/jervis/remotes/SimpleRestServiceNoContentTypeTest.groovy b/src/test/groovy/net/gleske/jervis/remotes/SimpleRestServiceNoContentTypeTest.groovy
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..849ae9ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/groovy/net/gleske/jervis/remotes/SimpleRestServiceNoContentTypeTest.groovy
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+/*
+   Copyright 2014-2026 Sam Gleske - https://github.com/samrocketman/jervis
+
+   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+   You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+   limitations under the License.
+   */
+package net.gleske.jervis.remotes
+
+import static net.gleske.jervis.remotes.SimpleRestService.apiFetch
+
+import com.sun.net.httpserver.HttpServer
+import java.net.InetSocketAddress
+import org.junit.After
+import org.junit.Before
+import org.junit.Test
+
+/**
+  Responses which omit the <tt>Content-Type</tt> header are served by a real
+  loopback server rather than the static mocks.  The behavior under test is
+  <tt>{@link java.net.URLConnection#getContent()}</tt> throwing
+  <tt>UnknownServiceException</tt>, which belongs to the JDK: a mock declaring
+  that it throws would only be asserting against itself.
+  */
+class SimpleRestServiceNoContentTypeTest extends GroovyTestCase {
+    HttpServer server
+    String baseUrl
+
+    @Before protected void setUp() {
+        super.setUp()
+        // mockStaticUrl replaces URL.metaClass process-wide and no test restores
+        // it, so whether a real connection is possible here depends on which
+        // classes ran first.  Drop any installed mock; classes which want one
+        // install it in their own setUp.
+        GroovySystem.metaClassRegistry.removeMetaClass(URL)
+        server = HttpServer.create(new InetSocketAddress('127.0.0.1', 0), 0)
+        // Zero-length chunked responses, with no Content-Type and no
+        // Content-Length.  sendResponseHeaders(code, 0) means chunked here.
+        server.createContext('/empty') { exchange ->
+            exchange.sendResponseHeaders(200, 0)
+            exchange.getResponseBody().close()
+        }
+        server.createContext('/body') { exchange ->
+            byte[] body = '{"some":"response"}'.bytes
+            exchange.sendResponseHeaders(200, 0)
+            exchange.getResponseBody().withCloseable { it << body }
+        }
+        server.start()
+        baseUrl = "http://127.0.0.1:${server.getAddress().getPort()}"
+    }
+    @After protected void tearDown() {
+        server.stop(0)
+        GroovySystem.metaClassRegistry.removeMetaClass(URL)
+        super.tearDown()
+    }
+    @Test public void test_SimpleRestService_apiFetch_empty_chunked_response_without_content_type() {
+        // A bodyless chunked 200 is a success, not a transport failure.  Before
+        // this was handled it threw UnknownServiceException('no content-type').
+        Map response = apiFetch(new URL("${baseUrl}/empty"), ['Response-Map': true], 'POST', '{}')
+        assert response.response_code == 200
+        assert response.error == false
+        assert response.content == null
+    }
+    @Test public void test_SimpleRestService_apiFetch_response_body_without_content_type() {
+        // A body still parses when the server never said what it was; the
+        // Content-Type default only governs the request.
+        Map response = apiFetch(new URL("${baseUrl}/body"), ['Response-Map': true], 'POST', '{}')
+        assert response.response_code == 200
+        assert response.content == [some: 'response']
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/groovy/net/gleske/jervis/remotes/StaticMocking.groovy b/src/test/groovy/net/gleske/jervis/remotes/StaticMocking.groovy
index 41224b08..d46b4f0d 100644
--- a/src/test/groovy/net/gleske/jervis/remotes/StaticMocking.groovy
+++ b/src/test/groovy/net/gleske/jervis/remotes/StaticMocking.groovy
@@ -140,7 +140,14 @@ JERVIS_MOCKS_PATH=/tmp/mocks ./gradlew clean check
                 },
                 getHeaderFields: { ->
                     request_meta.data = request_meta.data?.toString() ?: ''
-                    Map header_fields = [(null): Collections.unmodifiableList(['HTTP/1.1 200 OK'])]
+                    // The recorded fixtures are JSON API responses, so the mock
+                    // declares the Content-Type a real one carries. Without it
+                    // every mocked response looks Content-Type-less, which is now
+                    // a distinct (and separately handled) read path in apiFetch.
+                    Map header_fields = [
+                        (null): Collections.unmodifiableList(['HTTP/1.1 200 OK']),
+                        'Content-Type': Collections.unmodifiableList(['application/json'])
+                    ]
                     String file = urlToMockFileName(mockedUrl, [request_meta.method, request_meta.data].join(' '), checksumMocks, checksumAlgorithm)
                     if(file in custom_responses.keySet()) {
                         //throw new Exception( custom_responses.get(file) )