Blog – Seite 2

Veröffentlicht am 19. August 2018 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

The Mystery of CUPAL Badges

Hello Collector friends, it took me some time but after 3 weeks of holydays it is not easy to get into the old rhythm again. I spent some time out of Germany, went to the WACKEN Heavy Metal Festival and took some days off to work on our new project.

Another new project you ask…….yes ! I am not getting tired to move on and try things out.

The big plan is to build a new auction house here in Germany. Yes, to build one where you actually go inside, raise your number card and place your bid.…. Not only an online platform but there will be the internet option also.

Together with my friend Dennis who runs the company Trave Militaria, we searched for a nice location in the historical part of Lübeck in norther Germany. Finally, he found a TOP place and asked me to be a part of it ….. and I jumped in as a partner.

The size is huge, about 300 square meters for all the nice stuff we will put in the auctions and a big room with enough space for about 100 visitors. If everything works out, we will open up about September 15^th, 2018 and our first auction will be November 10^th, 2018.

If you like to get more information you can go on the Facebook link and follow the buildup of our new project, there.

Auktionshaus HanseArt

The main website is still under construction but will be online soon. We don`t do only military, also antiques, paintings, watches and jewelry…..something for everybody.

I will keep you up with more information about it in the next weeks.

But back to the Blog and here something about badges.

This week I found an interesting Badge on the MFF, which is not very common and rare to find.

It is a Minesweeper Badge made by FLL (Friedrich Linden Lüdenscheid) and the material is CUPAL. It belongs to Dave Grohen`s collection and he was so kind to provide me with pictures, size and measurements. It is 54 mm in height, and 44 mm wide. The weight is 14 Gramm (so a lighweight). A tombak minesweeper can have about 24 Gramm……

For some of you Cupal is nothing new, but there are collectors out there who are not that familiar with the material. We go into that later.

First of all, something about the badge itself.

The Minesweeper’s war badge was instituted on August 31st, 1940 by the Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine und Großadmiral, (Commander in Chief of the Navy and Grand Admiral), Erich Raeder for award to personnel serving on minesweepers, sub-chasers, and

escort vessels who met the prescribed requirements. The main prerequisite for bestowal of the award was participation in three operational sorties. Because the Kriegsmarine had so much little ships until the end of the war used for different duty`s there are a lot of minesweeper badges out there. Mostly zinc versions, some nice tombak badges and also woven examples. I heard about aluminum pieces but never saw one.

There is a saying that “minesweepers personal is close to the almighty god” and “where we have been the fleet will sail to”. However, I can remember my eight years in the 5th Minesweeping Squadron of the German Navy as a very interesting time.

I learned that big ships like Cruisers or Destroyers won`t go anywhere if there is a mine warning. They call the little sweepers “to clear the road” before they move on. Only after a “green light” from the sweepers and the data for a mine free channel, they move on……

This Cupal FLL Minesweeper was shown on the MFF by Dave who had it in his collection for some time. While researching on the topic I used the Book from Sascha Weber and Gerhard R. Skora about Kriegsmarine badges” Die Kriegsabzeichen der Kriegsmarine”. And like I wrote that in the blog postings before, that is THE Book you have to have if you collect serious in the field of Kriegsmarine awards. You must understand, I collect for 25 years now and still use the book to proof this or that or just to compare stuff. So from this place a thumbs up to Sascha and Gerhard for this great Book.

Her we have some more information on the cupal material.

CUPAL stand for COPPER PLATED ALUMINIUM
Cupal was invented as a cost saving material in the 1920’s. Either a single or double layer of copper was added to aluminum alloy base and initially saw use in such things as water pipes. It was a cost saving feature at the time- it provided for better corrosion resistance and was easier to work with when welding pieces together.

Example PKA Juncker cupal by Philippe de Bock (2)

The generic term for such a material is „Bimetal“ and these are used to combine the properties of the two components to achieve desired results. Most often the application for this is electrical as in a „Bimetallic strip“ used in heat sensitive switches or cut outs because the two metals have differing rates of expansion under heat and this causes the strip to bend thus either making or breaking a contact. Such a composition of copper and aluminum is used in washers on electrical terminals to prevent galvanic reactions between dissimilar metals under current.

Example PKA Juncker cupal by Philippe de Bock (1)

Cupal was used in badge production for mostly economic reasons (Germany had problems sourcing copper which was needed for applications more crucial to the war effort) but it did have some practical manufacturing benefits as well. Although they changed to simple zinc soon enough.

We often see cupal used on insignia for the same reason as well as the fact that it allowed for easier plating.
It continued to be used post war and it’s still being used today.

It’s a thick, like 2mm aluminum plate with a very thin, like 0,2mm copper plate pressed onto it. They are not welded or stuck together but pressed so hard that they are practically „welded“ together.

I got also two picture from Philippe de Bock out of his German Combat Awards Forum to show here the different layers of material on a badge.

Final you have to understand that the collectors market is sometimes a mystery. There are days were badges go for incredible amounts over the table and sometimes they are like glue and won`t go anyway.

But a lot of collectors look for cupal pieces and if a badge pop`s up it will be a fight to get it. So look always close what you get and never ever sell something you don`t know……

Thanks for reading, please help the blog to get more readers and more writers……Let the other collectors know what you can find here.

Take care

Best

Sascha

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Copyright 2018 : Alle Rechte bei dem Verfasser Sascha Ulderup

Veröffentlicht am 11. Juli 2018 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Fake Bag`s in the Collectors World Part I

Hi Gents,

First of all I have to excuse myself for taking so much time to write the next post. With my transfer to a new field of work in the German Navy, time is rare and the workload is heavy. I can`t tell you what I really do but so much to say. I work with and for the “Wolfpacks”…..

As a Medal and badges collector my focus is not really on cases and bags. If the medals come with it I leave them together, if the badges are cased, the will stay together. But I normally don’t hunt for a special case or a missing bag to get it complete…….well not quite right, I need a case for my second knight’s cross but that’s another story….;-)

Funny thing is that you can buy a lot of lonely cases and bags on dealer’s websites or on EBay.

Why on dealer’s websites you ask, that is easy to explain. If you sell a high end badge in a high end and maybe rare case, you will get it sold quick for good money. But if the badge is not that nice or maybe made from zinc, it will get harder to sell it. So the trick is to separate them and sell the badge without the case or the case without the badge. Sometimes you get more money out of it, sometimes not. But collectors always need everything and the will buy it 😉

Let`s look on EBay, most of the cases and the bags are without swastikas and as you know, on EBay there is no chance to sell something with that “bad” sign on it. Collectors like me who are older remember the USA EBay time….the good old time……there you got it all on EBay USA. Uniforms, Badges, Daggers…….until EBay USA stopped it.

Anyway, EBay is also the best way to get a fake case or a fake bag for your collection. You have to be sure that the offered piece is from that time. Otherwise you burn your money.

From time to time bags pop up from a “hoard found”. They slept well protected in an old basement of a former medals sales store and now they flood the market. Never buy the story, trust your instinct or follow the experts on WAF, GCA or MFF.

So what did I do, I checked the areas of different platforms and pulled out the bad ones to show you what is really nothing for your collection.

I hope that the expert collectors who follow my blog will correct me if I am wrong (yes that could happen). If you have also fake bags in your database, feel free to send pictures to bacuffz.com and I will put them on display here.

Here you have them all together with frontview and backside view

Thanks for reading, please help the blog to get more readers and more writers……Let the other collectors know what you can find here.

Take care

Best

Sascha

„Subscribe“ / „abonniere“

Copyright 2018 : Alle Rechte bei dem Verfasser Sascha Ulderup

Veröffentlicht am 17. Juni 201812. Februar 2021 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Cuff Title Marinehelfer Kriegsmarine

Hi Gents,

still quiet times for collectors due to the nice weather. But as a real collector you check your collection from time to time to see what you really have (sometimes it happened to me that I search for whatever and open a drawer in my home office…..between some paperwork, pictures and ribbons suddenly you see something and wow didn`t know that I HAVE SUCH THING ,-).

That way I checked my cuff title collection and saw my latest acquisition (almost forgotten). It was a cuff title of the Kriegsmarine. The name on it is “Marinehelfer” which means helper of the Germany navy.

Here we have a picture so you can see what it is. A blue woven title with the name “Marinehelfer” on it.

Let’s see who had this one on his uniform and what was the task of the owner back in the days of War.

Historical background:

The HJ naval helper “ HJ-Marinehelfer” were underage auxiliaries of the German Navy, who were used during the Second World War in the active weapon service. The specific form of organization emerged from the previously established units of the “HJ-Luftwaffenhelfer”, so-called “Flakhelfern”.

Marinehelfer cuff title 1

Marinehelfer cuff title backside

These units were not subordinate to the Luftwaffe despite their common origin. This not only concerned the training and education times during the ordered compulsory service on the weapon, but also involved a wide range of tasks to combat sea targets. Naval aides were under the exclusive command of the navy. In contrast to the “Luftwaffenhelfern”, which were used according to the locations of their respective anti-aircraft batteries exclusively in the Reich territory, covered the operational area of the naval aides almost the entire coastal region of the German Reich and the occupied areas with a total of almost 3000 kilometers in length. At the end of the war, naval aides were deployed in combat with Allied ground forces.

The available information was taken from the leaflet, which was given to the helpers with their summoning order at the same time. It applies to both naval and air force helpers. The same applies to the also used internal document on the use of air force helper (file reference 11 b no. 1/43), since the instructions there were also applied to the naval aides.

Let’s have a look at the daily routine of a “Marinehelfer”

The day always started with the same ritual, the morning appeal, for the naval helper (and Air Force helper). They had to compete in uniform outside their accommodations and then marched closed in the group to the roll call. It was always a flag of the Hitler Youth to carry. During the march the usual battle songs were sung together with a marching band. With the song „Holy Fatherland“ the appeal was then opened. In the following reading by the site leader then the new order of the day was announced and ended with further songs.

School attendance
The “HJ-Marinehelfer” were not permanently deployed to their anti-aircraft positions, but, like their fellow HJ Air Force volunteers, had to attend school at least 18 hours a week, which was led by their old teachers, but only after a 4-week training session. The school took place in the immediate vicinity of the “Flakstellung”, mostly in makeshift barracks. In practice, however, the school operation was sometimes impossible, especially after flak missions at night, which could sometimes last into the morning. The hours after that, the naval aides first had to clean the anti-aircraft weapons and wait for the next mission.

Also during the day, as the duration of the war worsened, there was an air-raid alarm and the few remaining time apart from the maintenance of the weapons, the naval helpers used to sleep and rest or even for combat exercises. The lessons were carried out until the adolescent had passed his matriculation examination, with simpler evaluation standards than with a regular school leaving certificate. Sixth grade students who had been drafted as flak helpers in March 1943 were dismissed from school with a diploma.

Indoor service and leisure activities
The internal service was rather barren for most “HJ-Marinehelfer”, although until 21.00 clock permission prevailed. In addition to the school, maneuvering exercises and the hours-long compulsory weapons cleaning, there were always numerous air raid alarms, so that the “HJ-Marinehelfer” had very little time to pursue any meaningful leisure activities. The aspirations of the Reich Youth Leadership, the rest of free time with sporting exercise, etc. filled, were nullified by the everyday service at the gun again. Thus, the Reich Youth Leadership provided at least for the supply of literature or provided, if not available, people’s receivers for radio broadcasts and music.

Orders and decorations
The “HJ-Marinehelfer” and the “Flakhelfer” were honored with the following awards:
• Flak Badge (Luftwaffe)
• War Badge for the Naval Artillery (Kriegsmarine)
• War Merit Cross (1939) II. Class with swords
• Iron Cross 2nd Class
• Wound Badge (1939)
In addition, there were loud eyewitness reports and public commendations in front of the assembled team, so for example, a “HJ-Marinehelfer” firing at a fighter plane and it was shot down, he got a bar of chocolate. Occasionally, however, there were also certificates of recognition by the commanders.

Interesting to know is that there are also cuff titles “Marineoberhelfer” and “Marinehelferin”.

After 13 month of service as a “Marinehelfer” you could get a promotion to “Marineoberhelfer”. Just a recognition of service time but not a higher rank than the “Marinehelfer”.

A “Marineherlferin” was a female helper to the Kriegsmarine. They received various specialized training, as there were: air traffic, radio, telex and telephone service, the list probably does not even cover all training directions. So there was no active weapon duty. Actually sort of “NH des Heeres” in the Army or “Blitzmädel” of the Luftwaffe.

Thanks for reading, please help the blog to get more readers and more writers……Let the other collectors know what you can find here.

Take care

Best

Sascha

Veröffentlicht am 10. Juni 2018 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Unknown Tinnie „Zweimonatsplan“

Hi Gents,

well the summer is here and it is always a quiet time for collectors. You don’t spend hours in front of your computer searching for good deals or write emails to other collectors. Always better in your garden with a cold beer or a barbeque with friends.

Same with me, after 8 – 9 hours in my navy office I have to kick myself in the butt to get some writing done. But anyway, here I am and very happy that another collector friend provided me with an interesting topic…..ore tinnie.

To be honest, after I received Gary Munson`s Email it took me a while to understand that I have never seen this tinnie before. So I checked my books, IMM, database, the net and asked some other collectors……nothing.

Seems like Gary found something which was made for the “early” NSDAP party but it was never used due to the small power of the movement in the political field of Germany that time.

Here you see a picture of it.

It says “Zweimonatsplan und dennoch” – which means: “two-month plan – and nevertheless”

There is the date 20^th of June, 1931 and the NSDAP letters. Also you can see the “Feldherrnhalle” which is located in Munich (you have seen it on the blood order)

But let`s get to the beginning and what the history says about that particular day. The date on the pin says June 20^th 1931. What was the Plan on that date?

Here is all what Gary found out:

This tinnie was originally produced for a pre-election rally that was part of a 2-month plan designed to make huge increases in the Nazi party membership. The rally was to be held in the Berlin Stadium – a stadium that no longer exists; it was leveled to make room for the Berlin Olympic Stadium that housed the infamous 1936 Berlin Olympics games. The Mayor of Berlin rejected Dr. Goebbel’s application for a rally, and the Party decided to cancel the event. Appropriately, it appears that all evidence of the planned rally was destroyed, except this pin.
Dimensions:

Paper Circle (diameter): 30 mm
Metal Circle (diameter): 21.45 mm

Here we have some very detailed information what happened between the different political leaders and the persons in charge.

I tried to translate it as it is, wording that time was different from now but I think you will get an idea about the problems of the young NSDAP and also the communist party. I hope you get a little inside view how it was that days:

Discussion on the lifting of the Spartakiad ban. June 29, 1931
R 43 I / 2675, p. 23-25

Present: Brüning, Wirth, Treviranus; Zweigert, Meissner; Protocol: MinDir. v. Hagenow.

After the opening of the conference, the Reichsminister of the Interior presented the state of affairs. He stated that last Friday he had been surprised by the lifting of the ban and had immediately communicated to Minister Severing his objections to the lifting of the ban. At the meeting with Minister Severing, he pointed out the political consequences that the lifting of the ban must entail. Minister Severing had informed him that he had spoken with the representatives of the Communist Party about the nature of the event. He was told that the event will take place in quiet forms. Minister Wirth once again spoke with Minister Severing on the journey to Frankfurt, pointing out the position of the Reichspräsident and the seriousness of the situation.

Minister Severing had stated at the meeting that he was compelled to prepare a police shooting decree, and that he would have to prepare for the day when serious clashes could occur in Berlin. He thought that he should have allowed the Spartakiade to prevent sporting events from provoking bloody riots in Berlin. Moreover, Minister Severing has the impression that the Spartakiade is completely flattened. Of course, that would mean that if the Spartakiad were banned, the police action would break up as well. Minister Severing has the opinion that no workers‘ blood should flow during sporting events. It was for these reasons that Minister Severing came to his decision. As for the question of whether it is possible to wrestle further conditions from the Communists, he, Minister Wirth, must point out that the Communists have already made severe demands. He considered it possible, with Article 48 of the Reich Constitution, to ban the Spartakiade by a decree of the Reichspräsident. Minister Severing had stated in the meeting that if the lifting of the austerity measures were to succeed by an order of the Reichspräsident, he would no longer be able to render assistance to the Reich Government if it came into political difficulties for other reasons. So far, Minister Severing, he has always been ready to do his best to remedy the difficult situation in which the Reich Government is in power and to press it on its party.

At the end of his presentation, Minister Wirth suggested that the Chancellor should hold a meeting with both Prime Minister Braun and Prussian Minister of the Interior Severing. Moreover, he further argued that Article 48 of the Reich Constitution was applicable. The Reich Ministry of the Interior first examined the framework within which the regulation could be adopted. The Spartakiade begins on 3 July and lasts 8 days. As a result, an urgent decision is necessary.

Secretary of State Meissner emphasized that the Reich President was very displeased about the lifting of the Spartakiad’s ban and had sent him a very specific telegram. The President of the Reich had the impression that his decree of 28 March 1931 was abused. He, Secretary of State Meissner, did not even speak to the Reichspräsident by telephone, but only with his son, Lieutenant Colonel von Hindenburg. He replied that both the Reich Ministry of the Interior and the Foreign Office had opened negotiations on the matter. Moreover, it is primarily Prussia’s task to implement the order of March 28th. The Reich has a small influence here. The Reichspräsident regarded the handling of the decree as a provocation and found it particularly peculiar that the communist event was called the „Spartakiad“. In the opinion of the President, the National Socialist event should have been permitted if one tolerated the Communist event. He shared this view, Secretary of State Meissner. He also had the impression that the decree of the Reichpräsident was applied too strongly to the right and that no parity was guaranteed. Minister Wirth once again referred to the attitude of the Prussian Minister Severing and emphasized that this attitude could not be easily avoided, since Minister Severing was a man of honor.

Minister Reviranus stated that the people of the East did not understand the way in which the presidential decree of March 28th was applied. In this area, one has the impression that the decree of the Reichspräsident is handled only against the “right” (NSDAP), while the left-wing circles are spared to a large extent. He could not understand the attitude of the Prussian government in this regard and considered the ban on National Socialist events to be a great stupidity.

Secretary of State Meissner also added that the Reich President was awaiting the presentation of a decree, which would abolish the ban, this evening. He therefore asked the Reich Ministry of the Interior to send him an appropriate draft without delay.

Chancellor Brüning remarked that he was truly saddened that at a moment when highly political decisions were to be made in Germany, the Reich Government was also to be faced with this difficulty.

Reichsminister Treviranus asked whether in the present strong workload of the Reich Chancellor it was not possible for Reich Minister of the Interior to discuss things with Prime Minister Braun. In his conversation, Minister Wirth had to explain to the Prussian Prime Minister that the ban on the National Socialist event had been a great mistake.

The Chancellor remarked that he would speak to the Prussian Minister of the Interior of Severing tomorrow, and asked Minister Wirth to inform Minister Severing immediately.

In the course of the meeting, it was found that the following conditions had been set for the event by Minister Severing:

1. speech forbidden by foreigners,
2. prohibition of removals,
3. Submission of the speeches to be given to the Chief of Police for the purpose of review,
4. no uniform rally, but only individual events,
5. No use of the stadium.
The further debate revealed that the following new editions are still expected to be made:

1. prohibition of provocative inscriptions,
2. banning political speeches,
3. Note that the event will be canceled or prevented by police force if the conditions are violated. Moreover, negotiations are to be reached with Prussia
a) ensuring equal treatment to the right and left in order to achieve justice on all sides,
b) possible agreement with the Reich Government on fundamental decisions.
The opportunity of negotiations with Prussia should be used to subsequently raise ideas about the unjustified operation of the regulation.

….

Finally you can see that both parties, left wing (communist) and right wing (nsdap), had the plan to do something big to get a better standing in the mind of the German people. So both events were canceled due to the decisions of the gentleman in charge.

Bottom line is that the discovery of this tinnie is very special. Really rare but with a believable story behind it.

If there are more pins or if there is more paperwork about the “Zweimonatsplan” out there just let me know and I will add this information here.

Thanks to Gary Munson for providing me with pictures and information`s.

Best
Sascha

Veröffentlicht am 3. Juni 2018 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Wounded Badge Case first pattern GOLD

Hi Gents,

Took me long this time to write another post but I was handicapped and couldn`t use my right hand.

What happened…. something bit me in my hand, some sort of Insect but we did not find out what ist was. Happened on a Monday morning, on Tuesday morning I was in the hospital with a hand like “HellBoy” and, as the doctors told me “close to Heavens door”. Anyway, they cut down my wedding ring and put me 3 days on hard medication to survive the blood poisoning…..Took me another week to use my hand again and now I can write slowly.

I Hope the responsible „whatever“ died after it bit me…..

Back to our hobby !

I scanned the net and checked different platforms for news on medals and badges. Found several interesting post on GCA, WAF and MFF. One posting let me think…..and finally I found out that I had never thought about it. It was all about cased wounded badges of World War II.

Easy area you think, you have already a black one, a silver and gold wounded badge and maybe this beautiful version…..uhhhh Legion Condor wounded badge…….but let`s start in the beginning. We have to get the terminology right. A lot of you talk about the legion condor wounded badge and the wounded badge of World War II. That is not the right way to put it down. We have to say it that way: Wounded Badge 1. pattern and the Wounded Badge 2. pattern.

The wound badge was originally established on March 3^rd, 1918 by King Wilhelm II to recognize the sacrifice of those wounded during World War I. The badge was instituted in three classes with the class bestowed reflecting the number or severity of the wounds received. On May 22^nd, 1939 Hitler re-instituted award of the black and silver WWI pattern wound badges, with the addition of the swastika, for bestowal to German volunteers, (Legion Condor), who had participated in the Spanish Civil war from 1936 – 1939. Of Note: Only one hundred eighty-two black and one silver badge were awarded to Condor Legion veterans.

With the outbreak of WWII, on September 1^st, 1939, Hitler once again re-instituted another slightly modified version of the wound badge by altering the World War I pattern helmet on the badge to the newly designed M35 style helmet. The badge was awarded to both military and uniformed non-military personnel and later, (March 1943), to civilian personnel who received wounds as a result of enemy actions. The black wound badge was the lowest of the three classes and was awarded for one or two wounds.

The silver wound badge was awarded for three or four wounds, or if the wound was very severe, ie: loss of limb, blindness, etc..

The gold wound badge was the highest of the three classes and was awarded for five or more wounds, or if the individual was totally disabled. It was also awarded posthumously if the individual was killed in battle.

Interesting fact is hat the wounded badge 1st pattern was given out until 1940 because there were not enough second pattern finally made by the companies to give them to all soldiers who earned the badge.

So now let`s go back to the cased badges. If you examine a wounded badge 2nd pattern in gold it normally will come in a black case with white inlet.

If you were lucky enough to get a golden wounded badge 1. pattern which is also “hohl verbödet” (which means a hollow badge where the maker put a piece of metal on the back side to let it look like a flat back badge)and it is cased, this little friend will come in a black case with white inlet…..but be careful……it is like in your bedroom….the size matters.

Pictures collection Jelle

The cases for 1. pattern and 2. pattern are not the same size and I will show that with a few pictures from my collector Friend Heinrich.

As you can see the 1st pattern case is smaller, has an imprint on the top of the case and is higher than the standard black WB case. Everything is only in millimeter size but you can see it.

Pictures collection Heinrich

Shortly after start searching about WB cases I found an interesting post in the WAF where some other collectors posted their cases of.

Pictures collection Gary

Here was a statement that the wounded badges 1st pattern gold case was also used for the Wounded Badge July 20, 1944. The same maker and the same size was the information. I hope we can proof that one day or some of the collector`s who owns one will provide me with pictures and sizes.

Thanks to Henrich, Gary, Jelle and Hans for helping me out with basic information and good pictures!

That’s it so far, hope you will get back after all the DSGVO (EU General Data Protection Regulation) storm in the internet.

Thanks for reading, please help the blog to get more readers and more writers……Let the other collectors know what you can find here.

Take care

Best

Sascha

Veröffentlicht am 13. Mai 201812. Februar 2021 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Pilot Badge of the Luftwaffe made by OM

Hi Gents,

today we look at a Pilot Badge of the Luftwaffe. That’s not the first one I have in my blog. Sebastien Talbot did an article about the Imme Pilot badge on the February 2^nd 2018.

This time we focus on the pilot badge from a good collector friend who is also known expert on Luftwaffe Badges in the collector community.

Interesting fact is that after all the years of collecting and studying badges of the Luftwaffe we have no idea who really made this badge. There are lots of theory`s but no hard evidence to underline the makers company.

You might have seen it; we talk about the marker OM. In this case the badge I like to introduce to you is from the estate of Oberleutnant Wilhelm Beier.

Wilhelm Beier was a Knights Cross holder who fought at the Night fighter front over England during World War II.

He achieved a total of 38 “night” victories and served with 3./NJG 2, 7./NJG 2, 9./NJG 2, 10./NJG 1 and 3./NJG. The tail of his Junker Ju 88 C-6 features 37 “Abschussbalken” which is a really high number. At the end of the War Beier retrained on the Me262.

Back to the Pilots Badge, here some historic information:

The pilot’s qualification badge was originally introduced on January 19^th, 1935 for award to personnel of the DLV, “Deutscher Luftsportsverband Fliegerschaft”, (German Air Sports Association, Pilot Base), the secret forerunner of the Luftwaffe, who achieved their pilot’s license. The badge was officially adopted by the Luftwaffe on March 26^th, 1936, by order of Hermann Göring. The pilot’s badge was awarded on an individual basis to personnel who had successfully completed the appropriate theory and flight training and had achieved their military pilot’s license. As with other flyer’s specialty badges a cloth version of the pilot’s badge was authorized for wear on the flight blouse with a machine embroidered pattern for EM/NCO’s and a hand embroidered pattern for Officers.

Oberleutnant Beier got his Pilot Badge in 1940 (you can see the date on the document) and as far as we know he has worn it until the end of the war. That’s the reason why it is in a “been there” condition. For him it was like a Talisman, that way he always came back from his front duty.

Medals and Awards of Wilhelm Beier

Pilot Badge (OM)

Clasp for Fighter in Silver

Iron Cross 2^nd Class 1939

Iron Cross 1^st Class 1939

Ehrenpokal of the Luftwaffe

Knights Cross of the Iron Cross 1939

He received his Knights Cross after 14 Kills with his Ju 88 C-6 October 10th 1941. More about his combat plane will follow:

The Ju 88C was originally intended as a fighter-bomber and heavy fighter by adding fixed, forward-firing guns to the nose while retaining some bomb carrying ability of the A-series bomber. The C-series had a solid metal nose, typically housing one 20 mm MG FF cannon and three 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns. The aircraft retained the ventral Bola gondola under the crew compartment though individual units sometimes removed this to reduce weight and drag to enhance performance. The Ju-88C was later used as a night fighter, and this became its main role.

The first version of the Ju 88C was the C-1 with 20 aircraft converted from A-1 airframes. Some of them entered service in the Zerstörerstaffel of KG 30 which became part of II./NJG 1 in July 1940. The C-1 was followed by the C-2 of which 20 aircraft were converted from A-5 airframes with enlarged wingspan. The C-4 became the first production version with 60 produced and 60 converted from A-5 airframes. The C-6, of which 900 aircraft were produced, was based on the A-4 airframe with more powerful engines and stronger defensive armament (single- or dual-mount belt-fed 7.92 mm MG 81 or 13 mm MG 131 instead of drum-fed MG 15 machine guns).

The C-6 as night fighter was typically equipped with FuG 202 Lichtenstein BC low-UHF band airborne intercept radar, using the complex 32-dipole Matratze antennas. The first four C-6 night fighters were tested in early 1942 by NJG 2. The trials were successful and the aircraft was ordered into production. In October 1943, many C-6s were upgraded with new radar systems. The first new radar equipment was the FuG 212 Lichtenstein C-1. After the UHF-band Lichtenstein radars had been compromised to the Allies in the late spring of 1943, the next development in German AI radar was the VHF-band FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2, discarding the 32-dipole Matratze antennae for the much larger eight-dipole Hirschgeweih (stag’s antlers) aerials, required for the longer wavelength SN-2 system.

Many Ju-88C’s had their Bola gondolas modified to hold up to two forward firing 20 mm cannon. Several C-6 night fighters were equipped with two „Schräge-Musik“ upward-firing 20mm cannon in trial fittings, and from mid 1943 onward, there was an official field modification kit available for this arrangement.

A small number of the C-series day fighters had their new solid-metal noses specially painted to resemble the bomber A-series‘ „beetle’s eye“ faceted clear view nose glazing, in an attempt to deceive Allied pilots into thinking the fighters were actually bombers; the unusual „camouflage“ attempt did result initially in a number of Allied aerial losses.

The Ju 88 is not a plane with lots of space for the crew, so we think that he one day in the plane hooked behind something and the catch broke of. They fixed it “in the field”. Not so nice like an expert would do it but it was good enough.

The badge has the marker OM on the backside. Some collectors doubt the fact that these badges are original but in fact the picture from Beier with all his Medals made one thing clear. The Badge on his Flight Blouse is the OM Pilot Badge.

Some collectors think that the OM Marker stands Otto Meybauer who was the Brother of Paul Meybauer. Paul Meybauer badges are know and accepted in the collector community. But there is no hard evidence that Otto Meybauer made the OM Badges.

Maybe somebody will soon find out what the mystery behind that was.

Sadly there is no chance to ask one of THE night fighter experts Tim Calvert, he passed away short time ago. So may he Rest in Peace, we will not forget him.

If you have additional information on OM Badges or pictures, Paperwork or anything related to that, please feel free to contact me and I will bring it on.

Thanks for reading, please help the blog to get more readers and more writers……Let the other collectors know what you can find here.

Take care

Best

Sascha

Veröffentlicht am 6. Mai 2018 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Auxiliary Cruiser War Badge made by Schwerin Berlin

Hi Collector friends,

my latest addition to my own little collection is a near mint auxiliary cruiser war badge made by Schwerin Berlin. So some of you are not so much into Kriegsmarine awards what I can understand. Famous are the known U-boat Aces and their badges, followed by the big Battleships and the High Sea Fleet badge and that’s about it.

Auxiliary War Cruiser Badge – my own collection

But a really interesting field is the story about all the auxiliary cruisers which raided the oceans worldwide during the second world war.

But let’s start at the beginning.

I think it was about 25 years ago, I was as a young collector with no money and sure without a big knowledge. Back that days it worked without the Internet to get your hands on medals and badges from World War 2. So what did we do?

We ran around every flea marked we had the chance to go to, we asked almost everybody we know about war badges in their family or if the old grandfather was as a soldier in World War 2.

Auxiliary War Cruiser Badge – my own collection backside

Sometimes you were lucky enough to get an Iron Cross or a Mother Cross from a friend`s house or even from your own relatives.

Funny thing was that almost everybody knew a Veteran living close by or next door.

That opened doors for good story’s and sometime for nice estates.

In that case my father told me about Mr. Körner. He was the local shoemaker and a retired civil worker of the German Bundeswehr. I found out, that he was a crew member of the Gorch Fock, the German Navy School Ship for Officers and before that, he was in the Kriegsmarine.

So I went to his house, rang the bell and as he opened the door I told him who I was and that I like to hear something about his Kriegsmarine time.

Took me three times at his door to make him understand who I was and what my intension were. Finally, he let me in and we had a little talk about his time on the Gorch Fock.

Interesting cruises and good time was what he told me. After 20 Minutes I asked about his time in the Kriegsmarine. Suddenly he was quiet and looked me deep in my eyes……. Then he told me to get up and we went in his little office in the back of his house.

Mr. Körners wall with HSK Atlantis and Aux. War Cruiser Badge

There were some pictures on the wall with ship crossing the ocean. One was the “Schulschiff Deutschland” of the German Navy and another one was “HSK Atlantis” ………

So I found a crew member of Bernhard Rogges Auxiliary cruiser who made the 622-day trip around the world.

He told me about his time on the Ship “Albert Leo Schlageter” and then his first day on board of Atlantis. All what happened there until he ended up explaining his transport back in an Italian submarine after they were sunk……..

Back in Germany he served on a Minesweeper and finally he evacuated lots of civilians from Kurland Kessel until the end of the war.

The best and also the last wartime Story was the cruise back home. His Minesweeper boat were somewhere in a Harbor (think it was Travemünde) far away from Kiel. It was the 8^th of May 1945 and the war was over. Most of his comrades and the officers left the minesweeper and headed home for their families.

He stayed on the boat and tried to figure out what to do. So he and some other navy soldiers (what was left of the Crew) took the boat all the way back to Kiel Harbor, stopped there and left the boat.

It was a 50 km march home to his wife and his daughter. He got close to his hometown (about 5 km left to go) as suddenly British troops stopped him.

They asked him who he was and where he wanted to go (he was still in Kriegsmarine Uniform). He told them all they wanted to know…. finally, they send him home with the promise to stay in his town for the next weeks until they come back.

So he did and weeks later he got his paperwork that he was official a non-war criminal no prisoner of war. He was a free man and lucky to survive the war.

Never heard that before, it is something different reading a book about Ship 16 (HSK 2) or talk to a man who experienced it all during that time.

After the war he worked as a civilian shoemaker on the German “Schulschiff Deutschland” and then on the “Gorch Fock” until he retired.

I went back three times for more information’s about his time on board. He showed me pictures and paperwork from his time and on the last day he presented his Auxiliary badge made by Schwerin Berlin. Back that days I did not know it better, but my friend Martin W. explained that the whole Atlantis Crew got their Badges together in Berlin and…..they all got Juncker Badges. So I never asked Mr. Körner but it seemed like he bought another one for his uniform and that piece survived the war.

I did not ask for it but he put it all on the table together with his Iron Cross 1^st class and Iron Cross 2^nd class, his minesweeper badge and his 1957 clasp. There I saw that he also got the Navy Front Clasp and the Kurland cuff title. He told me that if I want the badges I can have them………..

Mr. Körners medals and badges , pictures taken 20 years ago

What an honor that he wanted to give them to me. I told him that they will get a good place in my collection. While we were talking his wife came in, looked at us and asked what we are doing with the old Nazi badges. So he told her that he wanted to give me the badges for my collection.

You can imagine what happened next. She said the son in law was also a soldier on actice duty (not like me in the navy but in the army) and he asked for the badges years ago. So if somebody will get them, it will not be me.

I did not say anything and waited for the reaction of Mr. Körner. As you all know the real boss in your house is the “CIC Home fleet”, your wife…..and when she decides then she decides.

With little tears in my eyes I left Mr. Körner and headed home. Over the years I stopped by to see how he is and we talked about the old navy and the new navy.

In 2009 he had his 70 years wedding anniversary and shortly after that he died and I didn´t had the chance to participate at his funeral because I was far away from home with my ship.

All the years I tried to get an auxiliary cruiser badge made from Tombak by Schwerin Berlin with the marker on it……that was not easy.

High End Schwerin Berlin Tombak cased – picture from Militaria Scholz

If there was one, I did not have the money to buy it or the badge was in such a bad condition…. Sometimes you have to wait and wait and wait. I got some nice Juncker Auxiliary Badges for my collection and also Schwerin Berlin made badges, but always without marker on the backside.

Finally, with the help of Christian K. I got mine and the Schwerin Collection is now complete!

Here is some background on Auxiliary Cruisers and the Atlantis for you:

At the outbreak of war, the Kriegsmarine requisitioned a number of fast merchantmen and immediately sent them into naval shipyards to be converted into offensive auxiliary cruisers. These ships had at the time of building been fitted with extra strong decks specifically to facilitate the installation of military equipment when required, but this was the only difference between them and other merchantmen of the period. No precise plans had been drawn up for the conversion of these ships into warships, and consequently the conversion process was painfully long. Compared to the diversity of British auxiliary cruisers, the Hilfskreuzer were standardized insofar as possible. The ships themselves averaged approximately 7,000 long tons (7,100 t). Armament usually consisted of six 6 in guns, two to six torpedo tubes, and an assortment of 40 mm (1.57 in), 37 mm, and 20 mm (0.79 in) automatic weapons. Most of these merchant raiders carried an Arado Ar 196 floatplane for reconnaissance. Kormoran, Komet, and Michel were also equipped with small motor torpedo boats. In addition to armament, increased fuel, water, and coal storage had to be provided for as well. Furthermore, the raiders could not abandon the crews of their captures, so space had to be provided for prisoners. The first Hilfskreuzer got under way in March 1940, shortly before the Norwegian campaign. The Auxiliary Cruisers were credited with sinking roughly 800,000 tons of Allied shipping during the war. Of the eleven main Auxiliary Cruisers, six were sunk by enemy action, one burnt in Yokohama harbor, one was scuttled after battle damage, one was decommissioned and the remaining two were captured by the Allies at the end of the war.

Hilfskreuzer Atlantis – Auxiliary Cruiser Atlantis

Orion (HSK-1)
Atlantis (HSK-2)
Widder (HSK-3)
Thor (HSK-4)
Pinguin (HSK-5)
Stier (HSK-6)
Komet (HSK-7)
Kormoran (HSK-8)
Michel (HSK-9)
Coronel (HSK-10)
Hansa (HSK-11)

The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis (HSK 2), known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 16 and to the Royal Navy as Raider-C, was a converted German Hilfskreuzer (auxiliary cruiser), or merchant or commerce raider of the Kriegsmarine, which, in World War II, travelled more than 161,000 km (100,000 mi) in 602 days, and sank or captured 22 ships totaling 144,384 t (142,104 long tons). Atlantis was commanded by Kapitän zur See Bernhard Rogge, who received the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. She was sunk on 22 November 1941 by the British cruiser HMS Devonshire.

The Auxiliary Cruiser Badge or the Hilfskreuzer Badge is one of the nicest Kriegsmarine badges I know. Always a looker on not very often to find.

The Auxiliary Cruiser War Badge was instituted on April 24th 1941, by “Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine und Großadmiral”, (Commander in Chief of the Navy and Grand Admiral), Erich Raeder, for award to armed Merchant Marine personnel, to recognize their contribution in harassing and sinking Allied merchant ships… Of Note: Generally, the early production Auxiliary Cruiser War Badges had the separate likeness of the globe attached by a single rivet, while later war production versions were manufactured as a single piece.

Auxiliary Cruiser War Badges Tombak Schwerin – Martin W. Collection

The Badge normally is a two piece, die struck, tombak construction badge with fire gilt and nickel/silver plated finishes. The badge is in the form a gilt washed, vertically oval, embossed, oak-leaf wreath with a national eagle with big out-stretched wings, clutching a canted, swastika in its talons, superimposed to the top center, encompassing a cut-out, „Viking“ style, long boat with full sail, cruising on a separate likeness of a nickel/silver plated, northern portion of the globe. The detailing includes the dragon figurehead and oval shields on the ship, longitude and latitude lines and the embossed outline of Great Britain, Western Europe and North Africa on the globe. The separate globe is attached to the badge by a single, small, dome headed, rivet which is visible on the reverse. The reverse has a soldered, solid, block type hinge, a broad, tapering, vertical pin and a heavy, soldered, retaining catch all intact.

There 6 different versions from that Schwerin Badge. We are only looking at Tombak made Badges with Schwerin Berlin marked on the backside. Martin W. was so kind to help me out with backside pictures. Here you see the difference between 3 badges.

But that’s not all, Norm F. made list of all known versions and here is the list.

1 Tombak, aluminum globe, marked, flipped block hinge with dome-head hinge pin on left

2 Tombak, aluminum globe, marked, flipped block hinge with dome-head hinge pin on right

3 Tombak, aluminum globe, marked, flipped block hinge with dome-head hinge pin on right, hand-filed internal margins (without use of standardized trimming tool)

4 Tombak, aluminum globe, marked, flipped block hinge with flat/waffle-head hinge pin on left

5 Tombak, aluminum globe, marked, flipped block hinge with flat/waffle-head hinge pin on right

6 Tombak, aluminum globe, marked, flipped block hinge with headless hinge pin on left

If you have more questions about Auxiliary War Badges feel free to contact me. I gone try to answer the question or I will transport the question to my Kriegsmarine Collector Friends and Specialist for that kind of awards Martin, Norm and Hubert.

Thank you for reading, please help the blog to get more readers and more writers……Let the other collectors know what you can find here.

Take care

Best

Sascha

Veröffentlicht am 23. April 201824. April 2018 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Kassel Spring Show Report 2018

Hi Gents,

this year was my first time on the spring Kassel show 12.04. – 14.04.2018.

Like the last year my part or my work at the show was behind the sales counter of the company Trave-Militaria from Lübeck. My main Job is still lieutenant commander in the German Navy, but for Trave-Militaria I work as a consulter and during the big shows I take care of the international collectors.

This time we started of very early and arrived in Kassel on Tuesday 10^th of April at about 14:00 o`clock. There were lot of activity in the big building number 1. For the smaller April fair only one hall was open for the dealers.

Everybody was working on their sales both, bringing lots of military item in and try to put their nicest stuff in a good position.

We put our sales area together and also had some time to look around. We met Mr. Helmut Weitze from Weitze Militaria and his crew and lots of old collector friends.

We catched the hottest news and lots of rumors about the big things going on like the estates of “Schulz” and “Bäke”. Everybody knew something and information’s (good and bad) circled the dealer corners. During that talking we checked the medals and badges of the other dealers and bought some little pieces.

At the end of Tuesday, we went back to the hotel for a shower and some dinner, one or two beer made the evening even better.

On Wednesday morning more and more dealers came to building one and started their set up. Also some collectors with dealer cards stopped by for a chat and started to hunt the fair for the best deals. I met Mr. Christian von Eicke from Militaria Berlin and Skip also. We had some good talks during lunch time and always some jokes to tell and….funny time !

Also Mr. Frank Scholz from Militaria Scholz was there and we talked about high end Luftwaffen badges and the ongoing up and down of the prices (what a mystery).

For my one of the highlights was the first personal meeting with Mr. Philippe de Bock, owner of the German Combat Awards Forum and Book Author of the Panzer Assault Book…and I mean THE PAB Book. We had good conversation’s as suddenly Mr. Giel Van Wassenhove from Giels Militaria showed up and it was also a pleasure to meet him in Person. That’s always the best part on military shows, meet the guys live and not via Whats App or Email.

All were hunting for high end stuff and some guys were lucky…..I heard from a buy of three Iron Crosse 2n class 1939 marked 21……extremely hard to get. Also a nice Legion Condor Tank grouping was sold and a few very nice Luftwaffe estates.

Somebody told me about a SS Generals Tunic which was sold from somebody to somebody but I did not get further information’s nor did I see it. Bad luck!

The Wednesday ended with some long drinks at the hotel bar and as always with lots of collector story’s and fairy tales about high end military which were found somewhere…..

On Thursday again the day started early and we arrived at the show about 08:30. Enough time to go around and check the late dealers which came in the morning to build up the sales booth.

At 10:00 the gates opened and a flood of collectors came in. Hunting for iron crosses WW 1 and WW 2 marker marked, lot of tank estate collectors asked for paperwork and U-boat estate collectors for rare documents. Combat Badges where in the focus as always, but here also it had to be a rare maker or mint condition. The European collectors bought lot of small things for a resell in their country. Time passes by and I met a lot of collectors from all over the world, that was really fun and always good to get an inside view how a collector brain works 😉

At about 15:00 my shift was over and I had to get back home. We were released by Peggy and Christian and from that time on their job was to help the boss.

Took me about 6 hours to get home and see my family again.

Bottom line for me, this fair was smaller than the Autumn Show from last year and less collectors and dealers were there. But the networking was great and as always I learned a lot.

I am looking forward to the next Kassel Show in November 2018 and I hope to see you guys there.

All the best

Sascha

Veröffentlicht am 2. April 2018 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Narvik Shield Luftwaffe and a little bit more…..

Hi Collector friends,

after the hard Eastern time with the family and lots of good food (and beer) we have to go back to our hobby. Like I wrote it before, during the dark winter time there are enough free hours to scan the own collection and dig deeper into some of our lovely pieces and their history. Sometimes only to get more information about the variation or to get more information about the story behind the medal or badge.

So I grabbed my two Narvik Shields which I usually keep in my bank locker and scanned them closely. After checking my books to get more information I contacted Pascal H., one of the leading shield experts I know (and probably most of you know him too….).

I send him a scan of my silver Narvik Shield which I got years ago from the family of the soldier. Remembering the story how I got it, I searched for a picture of the day the pieces arrived by mail at my place.

Here you see what they sold me. There were three unworn Luftwaffe Narvik Shields and Flak Badge of the Luftwaffe (cased). All wrapped in and signed by the unit which reads “Dienststelle L10480”

I searched for the Number 10480 and found this:

10480
(Mobilmachung-1.1.1940) 6. Batterie Flak-Regiment 13
dann 6. Batterie Flak-Regiment 33
(28.4.1940-14.9.1940) 1. Batterie Reserve-Flak-Abteilung 1001
(15.9.1940-31.1.1941) 1. Batterie Reserve-Flak-Abteilung 605
(1.2.1941-11.7.1941) 3. Batterie Reserve-Flak-Abteilung 111
(27.1.1942-14.7.1942) 3. Batterie schwere Flak-Abteilung 111
(25.1.1943-31.7.1943) 3. Batterie gemischte Flak-Abteilung 111

That day I was happy and put all of it to my collection. All shields were unworn and in really TOP condition. Sadly after I called the family again and asked for paperwork and pictures they told me that that’s all there was……

Back to Pascal, he told me that my shields are the version with the name “snaggletooth” type. The name came from Mr. Frank Heukemes who did also a lot of research about campaign shields.

3 x Narvik Shield Luftwaffe snaggletooth (1)

Funny name but in fact these type of shields are easy to recognize as this is the only type of shield were the wings of the eagle don’t touch the bar (under the bird).

If you look back to the picture with the three shields, it is hard to believe that they were given posthumous to the soldier. In case of a K.I.A there is one only shield shipped home. Maybe he was awarded three of them and died later in the war….So they send all medals and badges he had home. We will never know…..

Here are some details on my shield:

Size without fabric:

36 mm wide and 91 mm high

Size over all:

55 mm wide and 102 mm high

The weight is about 31 Gramm, it got 4 prongs and it is not magnetic.

More Background

The Narvik Campaign shield was the first of a series of campaign shields to be introduced and was established by Adolf Hitler on August 19^th, 1940 for award to all Wehrmacht, (Armed Forces), personnel who participated in the battle of Narvik / Norway between April 9th and June 9^th, 1940. Of Note: Although the shield was officially introduced on August 19^th,1940 it wasn’t until September 12^th, 1940 that the OKM, “Oberkommando des Marine”, (Navy High Command), published the issuing order, followed by the Luftwaffe, (Air-Force), the next day. The Kriegsmarine version of the shield was gilt washed while those awarded to Heer, (Army), and Luftwaffe personnel were silver washed. The shields were bestowed by Generalleutnant Eduard Dietl the commander of Army Group Narvik and it is alleged that a total of only 8,577 shields were awarded to all branches of service personnel. The shields were to be worn on the upper left sleeve of the uniform. The color of the backing material was to match that of the uniform it was to be worn on.

Finally I got information to my shield, learned again something about different versions and maybe that was interesting for you, too.

Best

Sascha

Veröffentlicht am 26. März 201826. März 2018 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Cuff Title Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1

Well Friends,

with the cuff title of Fallschirmjäger Regiment 1 there is special connection. In 1995 I was with my ship „Zerstörer Rommel“ (a german destroyer DDG 103 B) on basic operational sea training in England. During a visit in the city of Plymouth I found an antique store which also sold some medals and badges. There was a Fallschirmjäger Regiment 1 cuff title and I bought it for small money (think it was about 150,- DM which are now 75,- Euro)

Happy to bring it back to Germany and I put it in my collection.

Years later I found out it was a fake on…..lesson learned 😉

All the regiment cuff titles you see here are originals !

Fallschirm Jäger Regiment 1 enlisted men HAND EMBROIDERED (1)

These cuff titles were manufactured from dark green badge-cloth, were 3.2 cm wide and were executed in “Frakturschrift” as follows:

– For Officers the cuff title was hand embroidered in aluminum thread and featured the addition of an approximately 3 mm wide aluminum braid (Soutache) edging.

– For NCOs, the cuff title had machine embroidery made of matt gray or whitish-gray cotton and featured an approximately 3 mm wide cotton braid (Soutache) edging .

– Although similar in material and color the version for enlisted men lacked the braid edging.

Very important to know is that the cuff titles of FallschirmJäger-Regiment 1 are the only ones were also cuff titles for enlisted men can be found which are HAND embroidered letters !!!!

Method of Wear:

The cuff title was worn on the Tuchrock just above the turned back cuff of the right sleeve. When worn by a soldier holding an appointment to the position of “Spieß”, it was attached just above the sleeve rings indicating this status. Officers also wore the cuff title on the Fliegerbluse and the white Summer Tunic. It`s evidenced by numerous photographs however, that the wearing of this cuff title was probably complied with less and less over the course of the war.

Note: A formal date of introduction was not discovered for the cuff titles with the names Regt. 4 and Regt.5 . One explanation for this would probably be that when examples of this cuff title are encountered they are mostly of makeshift appearance, fabricated by the troops themselves. In the relevant cuff titles, the original numbers have been removed and replaced by a rather coarsely embroidered 4 or 5.

History Fallschirmjäger- Regiment 1

The formation of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 began on April 1^st, 1938, based around IV. (Fallschirm) Bataillon from „Regiment General Göring“. The battalion, consisting of five companies, was the main battalion of the “Fallschirmtruppe” and initially formed 1st battalion of the regiment in Stendal, which was subordinated to 7th Flieger Division under General Student, in the context of plans for use in the Sudetenland.

On September 1^st, 1939 the former “Heeres-Fallschirm-Infanterie-Bataillon (Braunschweig)” joined the Luftwaffe as 2nd / 1 , and the “Luftlande-Bataillon General Göring“ (moved from Berlin to Gardelegen ) joined the Regiment as 3rd / 1.

In March, the three battalions were intended to be used as part of the 7th Flieger Division in occupying the rest of Czechoslovakia, but due to bad weather they did not take part.

After formation of a “Regimentsstab” in June 1939, Bruno Bräuer took over as the first commander of the regiment.

During the Polish campaign some missions were planned for 7th Flieger Division , however they were initially not used. Subsequently during the campaign however, parts of the regiment were used in ground combat at Radom and Pulawy .

In early April 1940, the 1st / 1 was prepared for use in Norway, where it went into action from April 9^th, 1940. The German paratroopers took the airfields at Oslo-Fornebu and Stavanger-Sola and secured the Storstromme Bridge. Also the 1st company fought in the Dombas area.

For use in Belgium in 1940, parts of the regiment were detached to “Sturm-Abteilung Koch”. In addition, 1st and 2nd battalion received the order to capture the important bridges at Moerdijk and Dordrecht . The 3rd / 1 was to occupy the airfield at Waalhaven, land a platoon on the outskirts of suburban Rotterdam-Feyenoord and capture the Rotterdam bridges. 3rd battalion achieved its goals, and the 1st and 2nd / 1 also fulfilled their duties, albeit with heavy losses. The days which followed were taken up in determined fighting to hold the positions which had been captured. The regiment contributed significantly and at the foreground of the successes of the paratroops in the western campaign.

At the end of May 1940, the regiment was moved to Norway and supported the struggles in the Narvik area with General Dietl.

Fallschirm Jäger Regiment 1 enlisted men HAND EMBROIDERED (2)

After the conquest of the Balkans came the task of occupying the island of Crete, as part of operation „Merkur“. The regiment was employed in the 2nd wave, as part of “Gruppe Ost”, to occupy the city and airport of Heraklion. This task, after suffering heavy losses on the first two days of the operation (2nd / 1 lost about 400 men), could not be achieved and so the regiment was given the task of holding the enemy and preventing the use of the airfield. On May 29^th, 1941 the airfield and the town of Heraklion were occupied after being evacuated by British troops. With this, the eastern part of the island also capitulated and 200 Fallschirmäger prisoners could be freed. Among the 3,094 fallen paratroopers were numerous members of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1.

After the end of the fighting, the regiment was the first paratrooper unit to be moved back home and in August they arrived at the “Truppenübungsplatz” Bergen-Hohne. The 2nd / 1 was temporarily renamed as the “Fallschirm-Lehr-Bataillon” and the losses in Crete were more or less made up.

On September 24th, 1941 came the order to insert a Fallschirmjäger-Regiment into the area south of

Lake Ladoga on the northern section of the Eastern Front. The choice fell on Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1, to take the place of the missing 2nd / 1, 2nd / Storm Regiment. With this action, the process began of removing the paratroops from their own specialist role and to use them as regular ground combat troops. Subsequently, the remaining parts of the 7th Flieger Division were also used in this manner and thereby suffered severe losses because of often used being used in a fragmented manner. Having arrived at the limits of their combat effectiveness in late November a return home was warranted but the increasingly deteriorating situation on the eastern front prevented this. Only in May 1942 was the refresh of almost all units carried out in Normandy, where the Regiment was given a new 2nd battalion. In mid-October 7th Flieger Division moved into the area of “Heeresgruppe Mitte”. In January 1943, the 3rd / 1 was moved into the Welikije Luki area, there to relieve an encircled “Kampfgruppe” at temperatures of -43 ° C. After a few quiet days bivouacked there, there was a major enemy attack, which the battalion withstood and was returned to the 7th Flieger Division on January 16^th 1943. A short time later came an alarm involving the whole regiment near Orel, where it was replaced in March 1943 after the position was stabilized.

Fallschirm Jäger Regiment and Division Willi`s collection

Between February and May 1943, 7th Flieger Division was renamed as 1 Fallschirmjäger-Division, into which Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 was also absorbed. At the end of April the Division was assembled in Normandy and was then relocated in May / June to southern France. The Division was located in the Rhone Valley. In March 1944, 3rd / 1. had been removed and used in the formation of the 3. Fallschirmjäger-Division. It was subsequently reformed.

In July 1943 came the action in Sicily, where a move of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 by rail was carried out. During this movement, the regiment was stopped and moved into the area Eboli to be used in case of a possible Italian withdraw from its alliance with Germany.

In September the Regiment came under the control of its division at the Allied bridgehead at Salerno and then at Cassino. The regiment earned a legendary reputation there, but was eventually forced to retreat. In June in the area around Rimini, the regiment was one of the last German units to cross the Po. Withdrawing to the Alps, the Regiment rejoined the rest of the Division on May 2^nd, 1945.

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