I am happy to announce that after four years of hard work and research, The German Luftwaffe Pilot and Combined Pilot and Observer of WWII 1933-1945 Volumes 1 and 2 are finally completed and will soon be printed. The book is schedule to be ready by January 30th. As soon as I have all the books in my hand, I will start shipping them to all of you.
This is the most comprehensive and detailed volumes yet written about the German Luftwaffe Pilot and Combined Pilot and Observer Badges of WW2. I made an exhaustive research to show every variants I could find. The result is a beautiful box set with two volumes and a total of 620 pages. All pictures are high quality and large enought to show every details that identify the original. Pilot badges are quite large and the book reflect this by beeing a larger size of 8×10 inches. It will fit perfectly beside your Paratrooper book and my next upcoming project; the ROAG and Observer books. This larger size books allows for bigger pictures as well as more room for descriptive text and you will absolutely love the results. The idea of making two volumes instead of a thicker book came after a long reflexion of what is more appropriate for you, the collectors.
The contents of each volumes are attached to provide you with what is included. Here are some details you will find in each volumes :
-Introduction of the Lufwaffe, Training in the Luftwaffe & Award Regulations,
-All Chapters begins with a full descriptive spreadsheet with all data,
-Each variants are cover with high quality pictures,
-A four page spread on each distinctive variants, The identical variants will only
show every differences (save space),
-Indepth study of all three Diamonds variants along with extra material,
-52 Award Cases from the most comon to the very rare unique examples
followed by all matching awards,
-The best Cloth and Bullions grouping ever attempted with indepth study back
up with several portraits in wear,
-Awards certificates,
-Miniatures,
-Post War Souval and S&L,
-A grouping of the most comon and dangerous reproduction encountered in the hobby,
-Many pictures in wear,
-Both volumes are printed on quality paper and ALL come in a strong and rigid protective slip case.
Now that the volumes are officially ready for printing and will be available in a few weeks, I wanted to begin the pre-order sales. This 620 pages book will weight about 5 pounds, so to keep shipping at a minimal cost I have partnered up with Christian and Skip at Militaria-Berlin. For European collectors, Militaria Berlin will have 250 (50 signed) copies to start and you should purchase the book from them to save on shipping costs. If anyone want to pick it up at the SOS next February please let me know, I may have a limited quantity.
this time it is nothing about research or new information about a badges or medals.
That post here today is only to show you, what we have done in the last month.
We took some money and rented a 300m2 big shop in the town Lübeck up in the norther part of Germany.
There we founded new auction house with a big hall for presence auctions. We hired some specialists for antiques and arts and put in our own knowledge for “high end” watches and expensive jewelry and also military items.
We started our new business on September 15, 2018 and now (after a lot of blood and sweat) we have our first auction going on.
Here you see pictures of some nice military Items we have in our first auction. All over we have about 500 items !!!!!
D-Day is the 24th of November 2018, but right know you can sneak in and check the highlights.
Hi Gents, the days passing by and a lot of things happened in the world of collecting. Surfing trough the different areas of WAF, GCA and MFF I found very interesting items. Some are so interesting, that I asked the collectors if I can use the material for the BLOG…..Sometimes I get an answer and sometimes not. As you might know I am a little bit into cuff titles. On the MFF submerged a picture with a soldier wearing a special version of the Afrika cuff title on his sleeve. That one was the missing link….. I have that Afrika cuff title version in one of my books (and in my collection). Till that day there was no picture of that special cuff title on a uniform available and so nobody was sure if it was for tank crews or not. I asked the owner of the picture, Max Miller, if I can use it in my blog and he gave me a thumbs up!!
But let`s step back to the standard Afrika version first:
The cuff title Afrika was awarded by the Wehrmacht in World War II. It was founded by Adolf Hitler on January 15th, 1943. The cuff title Afrika should not be confused with the sleeve stripe „Afrika Korps“, which was awarded as a sign to all members of the German Afrika Korps.
Afrika Cuff Title Collection Author
Creation date Army: January 15th, 1943
Creation date Navy: December 29th, 1942
Creation date Air Force: Jan. 28th, 1943
The cuff title Africa was awarded approximately 30,000 times. The awarding authority began from the battalion commander and the next higher ranking officer.
Afrika Cuff Title Standard Version Collection Author Backside
Closing date for the ceremony was October 31st, 1944.
3.1 Background
In February 1941, the German Afrika Korps (DAK) was formed in Libya within the “Operation Sunflower”. The DAK was created to stabilize the recent African campaign of the Italian troops and support them against the British army. From 1941, to October 1942, the DAK got hold of large parts of Libya, Tunisia and Egypt under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. After that the DAK was stopped and driven back to El Alamein. In January 1943, the DAK had to clear Libya under the pressure from the Allies.The last German units in Africa capitulated May 13th, 1943.
Afrika Cuff Title Standard Version on Tank Tunic Collection Dirk Schneider
Basically the cuff title Africa could awarded to members of the armed forces, after the ceremony provisions of January 15th, 1943. Soldiers who served directly in the air, on land or at sea in Africa. Even members of the “Heeresgefolges” or in the immediate order of the army employed persons, also non-Wehrmacht soldiers who report to the Air Force or were active in their immediate contract, could be awarded.
Army
– Duty for six months on African soil
– Wounded in this operation
– Illness which led to the loss of full or conditional ability to serve in the tropicsice.
Navy
The same rules are applied in the Navy as in the army. For the crews of ships:
At least six months of operations at sea from bases in Africa.
Air force
For the Air Force were the same rules as in the Navy applied.
1st change of the provisions ceremony (Army on May 20th, 1943/ Air Force on July 1st, 1943). Members of the Army Group Africa, who took part in the final battle on African soil, on May 6th, 1943 honorably, the cuff title Afrika could be awarded after four months of service in Africa.
2nd change of the award provisions (December 14th, 1943)
The cuff title Afrika could now be awarded regardless of the operating time, provided that the soldier himself earned a bravery award during the fighting in Africa such as the Iron Cross, German Cross in Gold, mention in the Honor Roll,…
The cuff title (approximately 450 mm by 36 mm) was made of camel hair fabric. The lettering Afrika was mounted in white rayon embroidery centered. It has been enclosed on the top and bottom of the sleeve a strip of white is also about 3 mm wide strand. The cuff title Afrika was worn on the left forearm above the cuff.
Here it comes !
Afrika Black Cuff Title on Luftwaffen Tunic Collection Max Miller
Finally we have the proff with the help of Max Miller that the black Afrika cuff title was a version used by the Luftwaffe and not by tank crews. An we have also proof that is a time period cuff title. Against the regulations but anyway used by some soldiers of the Luftwaffe.
Afrika Cuff Title Black Version Collection Author
Black Afrika Cuff Title Collection Author Close Up
Sometimes it takes a little bit time but if you stay on it, some mysterys will be solved
If you like what your read, give me a like on Facebook
Take care
Best
Sascha
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Copyright 2018 : Alle Rechte bei dem Verfasser Sascha Ulderup
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….;-)
Fake Show A
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 😉
2 out of 3 Fake A
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.
Uboot Bag Copy L/12 A
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.
Ground Assault Badge Copy A
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.
UBoot Bag Copy AWounded Badge Silver Copy APAB Silver Copy ALDO Bag Copy A
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
Today we show you a nice photo of a sea multipurpose aircraft of the German ‘Luftwaffe’.
This is an Arado 196, apparently an A-1, the first variant of the series production.
The A-1 was manufactured in a quantity of 20 machines from June 1939 in Warnemünde.
Arado 196
The machine is therefore recognizable as A-1, as it is not yet equipped with the later wing armament of a 2 cm MG-FF and a side fuselage armament (nose right) with the 7.92 mm MG 17.
The A-1 was equipped with only a 7.92 mm MG 15 firing backwards and to the side. In addition, two 50 kg bombs were carried under the wings.
MG and bombs are not visible in the picture.
The Arado 196 A-1, a single-engine low-wing aircraft on floats was used among other things as on-board aircraft for catapult launch of ships such as the battleships „Scharnhorst“ or „Gneisenau“ in the ‘Luftwaffe’.
In question here are probably the associated unit probably the ‘Bordfliegerstaffel 1/196 or 5/196’.
Specifically, the whereabouts of the machine and its associated unit currently can not be specified. A part of a unit-ID mark (Stamm- oder Verbandskennzeichen) is recognizable in black capital letters under the left wing and on the fuselage.
The soldiers in the picture belong to an unknown Wehrmacht unit and probably have only indirectly to do with the illustrated machine.
Due to the recognizable uniformation of the soldiers and the still early variant of the Arado 196, the photo can be classified temporally at the beginning of the 2nd World War about 1939/1940.
Any information on the location and date and the associated unit are of course very welcome.
Heute zeigen wir euch ein schönes Foto eines See-Mehrzweckflugzeuges der deutschen Luftwaffe.
Hierbei handelt es sich um eine Arado 196, augenscheinlich eine A-1, der ersten Variante der Serienproduktion.
Die A-1 wurde in einer Stückzahl von 20 Maschinen ab Juni 1939 in Warnemünde gefertigt.
Arado 196
Die Maschine ist deshalb als A-1 erkennbar, da sie noch nicht mit der späteren Flügelbewaffnung von je einem 2 cm MG-FF und einer seitlichen Rumpfbewaffnung (Nase rechts) mit dem 7,92 mm MG 17 ausgestattet ist.
Die A-1 war lediglich mit einem nach hinten und zur Seite feuernden 7,92 mm MG 15 ausgestattet. Zusätzlich konnten zwei 50 kg Bomben unter den Tragflächen mitgeführt werden.
MG und Bomben sind hier im Bild jedoch nicht sichtbar.
Die Arado 196 A-1, ein einmotoriger Tiefdecker auf Schwimmern diente bei der Luftwaffe unter anderem als Bordflugzeug zum Katapultstart von Schiffen wie beispielsweise der Schlachtschiffe “Scharnhorst” oder “Gneisenau”.
In Frage kommen hierbei als zugehörige Einheit vermutlich die Bordfliegerstaffel 1 / 196 oder 5 / 196.
Konkret können zum Verbleib der Maschine und seiner zugehörigen Einheit derzeit leider keine Angaben gemacht werden. Ein Teil eines Stamm- oder Verbandskennzeichen ist in schwarzen großen Buchstaben unter der linken Tragfläche und am Rumpf erkennbar.
Die Soldaten im Bild gehören zu einer unbekannten Wehrmachtseinheit und haben vermutlich nur indirekt mit der abgebildeten Maschine zu tun.
Aufgrund der erkennbaren Uniformierung der Soldaten und der noch frühen Variante der Arado 196, kann das Foto zeitlich zu Beginn des 2.Weltkrieges etwa 1939/1940 eingestuft werden.
Jegliche Hinweise zum Aufnahmeort- und datum und der zugehörigen Einheit sind uns natürlich sehr willkommen.
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.
Narvik Shield Luftwaffe snaggletooth
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”
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 19th, 1940 for award to all Wehrmacht, (Armed Forces), personnel who participated in the battle of Narvik / Norway between April 9th and June 9th, 1940. Of Note: Although the shield was officially introduced on August 19th,1940 it wasn’t until September 12th, 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
Copyright 2018 : Alle Rechte bei dem Verfasser Sascha Ulderup / All rights with the author Sascha Ulderup
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 !!!!
Fallschirm Jäger Regiment 1 Officer
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.
Fallschirm Jäger Regiment 1 normal b
History Fallschirmjäger- Regiment 1
The formation of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 began on April 1st, 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 1st, 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.
Fallschirm Jäger Regiment 1 normal
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 9th, 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 29th, 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
Fallschirm Jäger Regiment 1
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 16th 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 2nd, 1945.
Hope that the Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 information was good for your hobby!
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Best
Sascha
Copyright 2018 : Alle Rechte bei dem Verfasser Sascha Ulderup / All rights with the author Sascha Ulderup
With today’s photo we show a beautiful soldier portrait.
This is the picture of the German paratrooper Heinz Besecke.
He began his service in early November 1937 at the (Flak) Regiment General Goering and was subsequently a member of the 2nd Company, 1st Battalion of the Fallschirmjäger Regiment 1.
Fallschirmjäger in combat uniform
Its unit was involved among other things in the occupation of the bridges of Dordrecht in Holland in May 1940.
In the meantime, relocated to Trondheim / Norway at the end of May 1940, from May 20th to 29th, 1941, the operation took place in the conquest of the island of Crete.
He wears the typical uniform of a paratrooper at that time.
Striking here is of course the colloquially referred to as „Knochensack“ designated light green parachute blouse.
He wears the steel helmet M38 specially developed for paratroopers with gray-green helmet cover.
The cartridge Bandulier took 100 cartridges (7.92 × 57 mm) for the carabiner 98k which is also recognizable in the picture.
At his paddock he wears a holster for the pistol 08 (Luger).
At least one of the strapped bags is likely to be the bag made of cloth for the gas mask and the other may be a bag for stalk grenades.
He already wears the second variant of the combat boots, which have not like his predecessors the lacing laterally, but in the middle.
Detailed information about the date and location are not available at the moment. It can be assumed that the photo could have been taken at the beginning of 1941.
Mit dem heutigen Foto zeigen wir ein schönes Soldatenportrait.
Es handelt sich hier im Bild um den deutschen Fallschirmjäger Heinz Besecke.
Dieser trat seinen Dienst Anfang November 1937 bei dem (Flak) Regiment General Göring an und war anschließend Angehöriger der 2. Kompanie, I. Bataillon des Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1.
Fallschirmjäger in combat uniform
Dessen Einheit war unter anderem bei der Besetzung der Brücken von Dordrecht in Holland im Mai 1940 beteiligt.
Zwischenzeitlich Ende Mai 1940 nach Trondheim/Norwegen verlegt, erfolgte vom 20. – 29. Mai 1941 der Einsatz bei der Eroberung der Insel Kreta.
Er trägt die für diese Zeit übliche Einsatzuniform eines Fallschirmjägers.
Markant hierbei ist natürlich die umgangssprachlich als „Knochensack“ bezeichnete hellgrüne Fallschirmschützen-Bluse.
Er trägt den für Fallschirmjäger speziell entwickelten Stahlhelm M38 mit graugrünem Helmüberzug.
Das umgehängte Patronen-Bandulier fasste 100 Patronen (7,92 × 57 mm) für den ebenfalls im Bild erkennbaren Karabiner 98k. An seinem Koppel trägt er ein Holster für die Pistole 08 (Luger). Mindestens eine der umgeschnallten Beutel dürfte die aus Stoff gefertigte Tasche für die Gasmaske und die andere eventuell eine Tasche für mitgeführte Stielhandgranaten sein.
Er trägt bereits die zweite Variante der Springerstiefel, die nicht wie seine Vorgänger die Schnürung seitlich, sondern vorne mittig haben.
Konkrete Angaben zum Aufnahmedatum und Ort liegen momentan leider nicht vor. Es ist anzunehmen, dass das Foto Anfang 1941 entstanden sein könnte.
Today we have a picture from the Luftwaffe, which shows a German bomber Junkers Ju 88, probably a Typ A4.
On the fuselage side of the bomber you can see on the squadron badge “Staffelabzeichen” (here a coat of arms with a cock).The unit can be identified as I./KG77 (I. Group / Kampfgeschwader 77).
This unit mainly had Typ A4 machines.
Juncker Ju 88 A4
In the bow of the glass „cab cockpit“ is apparently a MG-FF / M (20mm) in the so-called “A-stand” recognizable.
The exact time and place where this photo was taken cannot be determined with certainty at the moment.
It could have been taken at least in the spring of 1942 in the area Kharkov / Kursk or in the summer of 1942 in Creil / Rennes. From September ’42 the unit also operated in Catania / Sicily in the Mediterranean.
The rear area (gondola hatch) of the fuselage gondola is folded down and releases the entry by ladder for the crew.
In this hatch was usually a twin MG 81 Z (7.92 mm) mounted, which is not on the picture so maybe expanded for maintenance.
It looks like a they are doing some maintenance on the right main landing gear, which is secured by a support between the fuselage and the wing and which holds the machine in balance to check the instruments.
The ground personnel wears recognizable summery clothing.
Heute mal ein Luftwaffenfoto, das einen deutschen Bomber vom Typ Junkers Ju 88, vermutlich eine A4 zeigt.
Anhand des an der Rumpfseite erkennbaren Staffelabzeichens (Wappen mit Hahn), lässt sich dessen Einheit als I./KG77 (I. Gruppe/KG77) identifizieren.Diese Einheit verfügte hauptsächlich über Maschinen vom Typ A4.
Im Bug der gläsernen “Führerraumkanzel” ist augenscheinlich ein MG-FF/M (20mm) im sogenannten A-Stand erkennbar.
Der genaue Zeitpunkt und Aufnahmeort, an dem dieses Foto entstanden ist, lässt sich derzeit nicht mit Bestimmtheit festlegen.
Es könnte zumindest im Frühling 1942 im Raum Charkow/Kursk oder im Sommer 1942 in Creil/Rennes aufgenommen worden sein. Ab September ‘42 operierte die Einheit des Weiteren in Catania/Sizilien im Mittelmeerraum.
Der hintere Bereich (Gondelluke) der Rumpfgondel ist heruntergeklappt und gibt den Einstieg per Leiter für die Besatzung frei.
In der Luke befand sich für gewöhnlich ein Zwillings-MG 81 Z (7,92 mm), das hier im Bild jedoch ausgebaut ist.
An der Maschine finden Wartungsarbeiten am rechten Hauptfahrwerk statt, die durch eine Stütze zwischen Rumpf und Tragfläche abgesichert ist und zur Prüfung der Instrumente die Maschine in der Waage halten.
Das Bodenpersonal trägt erkennbar sommerliche Bekleidung.
Hi Collector Friends, today I like to bring an article about the Imme Pilot Badge to you which was written by Mr. Sebastian Talbot who is a specialist in WW2 Luftwaffe Badges. Enjoy it.
Today I would like to present to you this J2 JMME pilot badge which holds much importance to me. When you collect, you tend to be drawn to a specific award for many reasons. This badge holds a special place in my collection since it was the very first one I acquired for my personal collection. Purchased from another collector and friend, Giel, more than a decade ago.
Pilot Badge JMME J2 Front
This badge dosen’t have anything rare or fancy, but represents a wide range of badges awarded during the mid war period. Made from Juncker wreath and eagle, this pilot badge was assembled by the JMME manufacture. The JMME signature in the hardware is the typical doomed nickel silver rivets and nickel silver C catch. The finish colour is particular to this maker with the nice goldish/greenish finish for both the wreath and eagle. Produced between 1939 to 1942, this badge was produced in a large number. Some rarer examples can be found with a darkened eagle and these were most likely darkened by Juncker firm.
The JMME pilot badge from this period came out with the presentation box with either early velvet or spray felt interior and paper hinge depending of the period distributed. The exterior can be either the two or three layers imprint on the cover.
Pilot Badge JMME J2 Back
Historical Facts about the Pilot Badge:
The pilot’s qualification badge was originally introduced on January 19th, 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 26th, 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. Of Note: Originally the cloth version of the pilot’s badge was only authorized for wear by Officers ranks until regulations of November 18th, 1937 extended the authorized wear of the cloth versions to EM/NCO’s. Further regulations of May 8th, 1942 discontinued production of the cloth versions although they continued to worn through-out the war.
Sebastien Talbot
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Sascha
Copyright 2018 : Alle Rechte bei dem Verfasser Sebastien Talbot / All rights with the author Sebastien Talbot
