Seite 2 – BACUFFZ

Veröffentlicht am 18. September 2018 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Schickle Knight`s Cross and some questions

Hi Gents, the days passing by and a lot of things happen in the world of collecting. Surfing through 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.

Well that’s the way it is. Interesting thing for me as, somebody who is actually not that deep in the field of Knight`s Crosses involved, are the pictures the user Ludwig posted on WAF showing his outstanding Otto Schickle Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross in a really rare LDO case. I asked him to bring it on “Bacuffz.com” and he gave me a thumbs up.

Schickle in LDO Case by Ludwig Typ 1 no marker

Looking at this nice set you will see that there is no marker on the cross but you have the LDO sign on the case. Ludwig made clear that an LDO cased has to have a marked Knight`s Cross inside to follow the regulations. Whatever brought the set together is a secret of the veteran who had this cross during the time of the war.

While researching a little bit I found the interesting story that Otto Schickle from Pforzheim in Germany has indeed manufactured Knight`s Crosses but only a short time from May 1940 until July 1941. The first 5 month they produced without L/15 marker, after that they put the marker on the loop. Something happened but nobody knows what it was, but Schickle lost his rights to produce Knight`s Crosses anymore. So that way there are only few Knight`s Crosses made by Schickle on the market.

After more and more hours on that topic I learned that there are two different Schickle Knight`s Crosses around the collector`s world.

Let´s call them Type 1 and Type 2 for better understanding.

First we have to get into the history of the Knight`s Cross before we get into details of Schickle Crosses….

On March 10th, 1813, Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III established the Iron Cross as a temporary gallantry award for bestowal during times of war. Originally the Iron Cross was introduced in three grades with a Grand Cross intended for award to Senior Commanders for successfully leading troops in combat and the First and Second classes for award to all ranks for bravery or merit in action. The Iron Cross were reinstituted by King Wilhelm I on July 19TH 1870 for award during the Franco-Prussian War and again on August 5th, 1914, by King Wilhelm II for award during WWI. On September 1st, 1939 Hitler once more reinstituted the Iron Cross series of awards in the First, Second and Grand Cross Classes and established the new Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. Hitler reserved the right to personally authorize bestowal of the Knight’s Cross and all ranks were eligible for the award. Originally the criteria for bestowal of the Knight’s Cross was outstanding personal bravery or decisive leadership in combat but this was later expanded to include personnel who had continually demonstrated exceptional acts of courage or an extremely high success rate on the battlefield.

Schickle Cross with maker L 15 Ludwig Collection

The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross was the most coveted award of the Third Reich period and those presented with it were elevated to the status of a national hero. In total it is estimated that roughly 7,360 Knight’s Crosses were awarded during WWII, a relatively small number when one considers the amount of troops fielded and the magnitude of the war. Due to the prestige of the award personnel who could afford it would opt to buy a jeweler’s copy for everyday wear with the actual award being put away for safe keeping. Of Note: The LDO, “Leistungsgemeinschaft der Deutschen Ordenshersteller”, (Administration of German Medal Manufacturers), began regulating the manufacture of German awards in March 1941 as a quality control agent for awards that were intended for retail sale and manufacturers were to use an assigned LDO, „L“, code on their products destined for retail sales. Awards that were to be bestowed by the government were also issued an official numerical government contract code known as a, “Lieferantnummer”, (Contractors Number), that was issued by the “Präsidialkanzlei des Führers”, (Presidential Council of the Führers), for formally approved manufacturers. The manufacturing firms that were licensed by both the “Präsidialkanzlei des Führers” and the LDO and would have used the same dies to stamp both the official issue and retail sales types of awards making them virtually indistinguishable from one another except for the markings. Regulations of November 1st, 1941 prohibited further manufacturing of the Knight’s Cross for retail sale. Of Note: On June 3rd 1940 a higher echelon of the Knight’s Cross was established with the introduction of the Knight’s Cross with Oak-Leaves and on July 15th 1941 an additional two higher grades of the Knight’s Cross with Oak-Leaves were introduced with the establishment of the Knight’s Cross with Oak-Leaves and Swords and the Knight’s Cross with Oak-Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Finally, on December 29^th, 1944 Hitler established the final grade of the Knight’s Cross with the Golden Oak-Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Also of Note: The Grand Cross of the Knight’s Cross was only awarded once to Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring and the Knight’s Cross with Golden Oak-Leaves, Swords and Diamonds was also only awarded once to Oberstleutnant Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Back to Otto Schickle from Pforzheim and what he manufactured that days. As a member of LDO (you have seen that above) his company got the LDO Number 15. So if you see something with L/15 it is made by Schickle and normally the value is higher than other badges without marker on the backside. But there are also Schickle made medals and badges out there without L/15 marker……

Let us jump in on the different types of Knight`s Crosses from Schickle and what the collector`s scene says about it.

I have to make clear that I put only opinions in this Schickle report without stepping on one side. Mostly information`s are from experts which are known as experts on the subject. You might know the name Daniel Grünbaum who is an expert on Otto Schickle badges and also very deep in Knight`s Crosses pre 1945 and post 1945. There are a lot of good information from him we have to think about or put a second thought on it….but finally you have to make up your mind for your final opinion. Also I learned a lot from Mr. Dietrich Maerz who wrote books about that topic which are one of the best on the market.

OK let`s put some facts together and see where the road will lead us to.

All the Schickle Crosses have the same loop on the Top of the frame, some with the marker L/15 and some without L/15. At the collectors market we have seen fake crosses with the marker L/15 on the loop or for example a Juncker Knights Cross with an L/15 marker on it to pimp it……well that did not work. So there might be somebody out there with the right stamping tool L/15 but with not enough knowledge to put that marker on the right cross. So that’s an easy one to spot.

Schickle Cross with maker L 15 Ludwig Collection II

Also all the Schickle crosses have a die struck mistake in the frame which can be found on every cross which is offered. In the 9 – 12 area of the front frame there you can find it.

Now we move to type one and type two.

Look at the pictures from Ludwig`s grouping and on the very clear embossed numbers on the front and the back. Also on that Cross you can see the angle of the number 3 upper part in 1939 which “hits the head of the 9” if you draw a line in that direction. Better explained with the following picture here.

Bottom Line for a type 1 Schickle Knight`s cross:

Right size and shape of the loop

Die flaw in the frame 9-12 o`clock area

Clear embossed numbers front and back

Number 3 hits the number 9 (line check)

Let`s look at the Type 2 cross.

Here we see almost the same indications like on type 2. You have the same loop on the top of the frame. You have the die flaw on the 9-12 O´clock area on the front frame.

Now let`s check the numbers, not the same clear embossed numbers like type 1…….and if you do the line test from the number 3 to the number 9……it is a different angle.

That tells me as a none KC experts that we have two different cores in the same frames!

Looking back to the short amount of time Schickle produced their Knight Crosses. Why did they change the design of the core but not the frame? Even if the frame had a “problem” ….

If you look closely on the type 2 core you can see a similarity to the post war crosses made by Steinhauer und Lück. How can that be?

Thoughts (and only thoughts) bringing me to some “Maybe” points.

Maybe it is the truth that Schickle stopped producing type 1 Knight`s Crosses someday and started to produce type 2 until they have to stop it by “whatever” reason.

Maybe Schickle stopped the production of Knight´s Crosses 1941 and after the war all the “unused” frames were sold to anybody who put in a post war core and sold them after May 1945 to the veterans who lost their Crosses during the war.

Maybe Schickle sold their overproduced Schickle frames in 1941 to somebody who made actually Knight`s Crosses during World War 2. So type 2 is a Schickle Knights Cross but not produced by Schickle.

Maybe Schickle`s die tool for manufacturing the cores were getting bad and the numbers weren`t that clear anymore. So there is a possibility that they produced 500 cores with bad number design and put them aside for later. Somebody found them after the war together with other parts from different company’s and started building another version of Schickle crosses.

But the manufacturer list for Knights Crosses is short. There we have only these companies:

C.E.Juncker, Berlin
Steinhauer & Lück, Lüdenscheid,
Otto Schickle, Pforzheim,
C.F.Zimmermann, Pforzheim,
Gebrüder Godet, Berlin,
Klein & Quenzer, Idar-Oberstein,
Unbekannter Hersteller der frühen Form „Dreiviertel-Öse-Ritterkreuz“ (evtl. Deumer, Lüdenscheid)

As far as Daniel Grünbaum refers is Steinhauer und Lück the only company where you can find nearly identical cores in post war Crosses like type 2 Schickle cores……that’s also a fact to think about.

Theres also a possibility that Sedlatzek, Schiffer or Souval bought all the rest of different manufacturers and started producing after May 1945.

A lot of questions and maybe a good start for more research on the topic.

I wonder about the price of Schickle Typ 1 Knight`s Crosses. The price for a Schickle Cross is far higher than for other crosses. I can remember that a Schickle Type 1 was sold shortly for 10.500,- Euro without any case, only the cross with ribbon. On the collector’s guild you will find a type 1 for 13925,- US Dollar and on Christian von Eickes Web shop a cross was sold for nearly 13.455,- Euro. Well that’s a lot of money…….

Schickle Cross to identfy in wear (sadly cant remeber who posted it on WAF)

Hope some of the KC Collectors out there will come up with more information on the different types so we can clear out some “maybe`s”.

If you have any other facts and thoughts please let me know and I will be happy to put them down in this report.

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Take care

Best

Sascha

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Copyright 2018 : Alle Rechte bei dem Verfasser Sascha Ulderup

Veröffentlicht am 29. August 2018 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Black Afrika Cuff Title

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.

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

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

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Copyright 2018 : Alle Rechte bei dem Verfasser Sascha Ulderup

Veröffentlicht am 1. Juli 201820. Februar 2022 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

Kriegsmarine Nachlass Zerstörer Z26

Hallo Sammlerfreunde,

ja der Sommer ist da und wie schon im BLOG Bereich erwähnt, nicht unbedingt die Zeit sich an den PC zu setzten und mit Recherchen die sonnigen Tage verbringen.

Ich selbst muss mich motivieren zu schreiben, weil man halt andere Dinge auf dem Zettel hat und die Zeit doch auch im Garten bei Gerstensaft und BBQ verbringen kann.

Trotzdem würde ich gerne ein Nachlass vorstellen und ein heikles Thema in der Sammlerwelt anschneiden.

Aber erstmal zu dem Nachlass. Mein Sammlerfreund Hardy konnte diese Nachlass eines Soldaten der Kriegsmarine für seine Sammlung sichern. Für mich immer eine Augenweide solche Konvolute vorzustellen und etwas geschichtlichen Hintergrund zu liefern.

Allerdings muss ich dann doch den Finger in die Wunde legen und die ganze Geschichte erzählen. Als ich die E-Mail mit den Bildern des Nachlasses und den Trägernamen bekam, beginne ich natürlich erstmal mit OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) – soll heißen ich „google“ den Namen und schaue mal was das Netz so hergibt. Es dauerte nicht Lange und ich konnte den Namen und den kompletten Nachlass in einem Auktionshaus aufspüren. Zufrieden schaute ich mir dort alles an und war beeindruckt welchen Umfang das Konvolut hatte.

Parallel bekam ich auch die Bilder für den Blog…..

Hmmmm……das kann doch nicht alles gewesen sein. Dann wurde uns beiden schnell klar das der versteigerte Nachlass und der Nachlass von Hardy nicht mehr die gleichen Waren.

Es wäre zu verschmerzen gewesen, wenn die Abzeichen von Nachlass getrennt worden wären. Da machen wir und mal nichts vor, es wird gemacht und hat auch System. Der eine Sammler will eben nur Papier und die Hardware ist uninteressant, der andere Sammler sucht eben Einzelorden um seine Sammlung zu vervollständigen.

Somit trennen Sammler und auch Händler die Orden von den Papieren….der Name steht auf dem EK 1 oder Zerstörer Abzeichen ja (normalerweise) nicht drauf. Mittlerweile werden auch Orden von den Etuis getrennt (nicht immer, aber immer öfter): Es ist eben einfacher so den Weiterverkauf zu sichern.

Somit muss jeder für sich selbst entscheiden wie er es handhabt oder wie er es macht. Schlimm wird es (und auch das habe ich schon gesehen) das in einem Nachlass vier Urkunden sind und alle werden EINZELN angeboten…..das finde ich dann schon echt blöd. Bevor ich mich nun da hinein steigere kommen wir zurück zu dem Höchel Nachlass. Nachdem wir den Verlust der Orden und Ehrenzeichen grade so verschmerzen konnten wurde auch hier schnell klar……es wurden Urkunden entnommen und auch Fotos aus dem Fotoalbum.

OK, bei Fotoalben passiert es häufiger wenn dort ein Spitzenfoto drin ist das es verschwindet…..aber Urkunde aus einem Nachlass herausnehmen ???

Ich erinnere mich an einen Fall vor ca. 15 Jahren, eine Sammlerfreund, nein eher ein Sammler (weil Sammlerfreunde sind ehrlich) hatte die Möglichkeit einen Ritterkreuznachlass (also Papiere) zu kaufen. Er machte es natürlich und nach kurzer Zeit wurde die Gruppe einem Händler angeboten. Alles an Urkunden war Vorhanden, vom EK 2 über das EK 1 und die VB zum Ritterkreuz und weiter Urkunden zu Kampfauszeichnungen. Was machte der Sammler, er nahm die EK 1 Urkunde raus und legte die zur Seite.

Der Händler kaufte natürlich alles und wollte wissen wo die EK 1 Urkunde ist. Das war natürlich unbekannt und der Preis wurde gezahlt. Zwei Wochen später rief dann der Sammler den Händler an und meinte, die Urkunde wurde gefunden aber das wird teuer…….Was soll ich sagen, ich war etwas verwirrt als ich die Geschichte hörte.

Wie auch immer hoffe ich das wir durch diese Vorstellung des Nachlasses mit viel Glück die restlichen Urkunden des Kapitänleutnants Höchel finden können um möglicherweise den Nachlass wieder zu komplettieren.

Zur Person:

Höchel trat als Freiwilliger in die Kriegsmarine ein und wurde Mitglied der Crew 33. Hier finden wir auch Persönlichkeiten wie Lüth, Henke, Hoffmann (Heiner) und Hardegen.

Am 01. Oktober 1936 wurde er zum Leutnant zur See, am 18. Mai 1938 zum Oberleutnant zur See und schließlich am 01. Januar 1941 zum Kapitänleutnant (ing) befördert.

In dieser Zeit wurden ihm folgende Auszeichnungen verliehen:

Dienstauszeichnung IV Jahre am 01.04.1937

Spanienkreuz in Bronze ohne Schwerter am 06. Juni 1939

Sudetenlandmedaille am 16.12. 1939

Memelland Medaille (Urkunde fehlt) (Datum unbekannt)

Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse 1939 am 18. Dezember 1939

Zerstörer Kriegsabzeichen am 17. Januar 1941 auf Torpedoboot 10 (Urkunde fehlt)

Zerstörer Kriegsabzeichen am 15. Juli 1942 auf Z 26

Auf dem großen Foto des Konvolutes sind die Orden zu sehen. Hier auch nochmal zu erkennen das Höchel zwei Zerstörer Kriegsabzeichen Abzeichen und ein Flottenkriegsabzeichen sein Eigen nennen durfte. Da ich aus den Unterlagen keine Zeit auf einem „Dickschiff“ erkennen kann und keine Urkunde vorhanden ist, bleibt das ein Rätsel. Weiterhin hätte er als Torpedoboot Mann im Nachhinein (Stiftung 30. Mai 1941) das Schnellboot Kriegsabzeichen bekommen müssen / es anfordern können.

Hier etwas zu Geschichte der Boote und Schiffe auf denen Höchel gefahren ist.

Torpedoboot „T 10

Bootstyp:
Das Torpedoboot „T 10“ war ein Boot des Torpedoboots-Typs 35.

Indienststellung: 6. August 1940 / Besatzung: 119 Mann /Verdrängung: 1.082 t

Länge über alles: 87,1 m / Breite: 8,62 m / Tiefgang: 2,94 m

Höchstgeschwindigkeit: 34,5 kn

Bewaffnung:

Seeziel-Artillerie: Ein 10,5-cm cm SK / Flak: 5 – 12 x 2-cm FlaMG

Torpedos: Sechs 53,3-cm Torpedorohre in Drillingsrohrsätzen

Lebenslauf:

Das Torpedoboot „T 10“ wurde am 6. August 1940 in Elbing in Dienst gestellt. Am 6. und 7. November 1940 unternahmen die 1. und 2. Torpedoboots-Flottille einen Vorstoß gegen die schottische Ostküste. Dabei beteiligten sich die Boote „T 1“, „T 4“, „T 6“, „T 7“, „T 8“, „T 9“ und „T 10“. Dabei ging „T 6“ etwa 40 sm vor Kinnaird Head durch einen Minentreffer verloren, woraufhin die Unternehmung abgebrochen wurde. Am 24. September 1940 lief der schwere Kreuzer „Admiral Hipper“ aus Kiel aus, um zur Handelskriegsführung in den Atlantik durchzubrechen. Zur Sicherung durch das Nordmeer liefen „T 10“ und „T 12“ aus Kristiansand bzw. Stavanger aus. Am 27. September traten westlich von Stavanger schwere Maschinenschäden auf „Admiral Hipper“ auf, so dass der Kreuzer nach Kiel zurückkehren musste. Die Torpedoboote „T 10“ und „T 12“ liefen nach Kristiansand und Stavanger zurück. Am 28. / 29. Dezember 1940 sicherten die Torpedoboote „Falke“, „Greif“, „Seeadler“, „T 1“, „T 7“, „T 9“, „T 10“ und „T 12“ die Schlachtschiffe „Gneisenau“ und „Scharnhorst“ bei ihrem Versuch, in den Atlantik durchzubrechen. Wegen eines Schadens auf der „Gneisenau“ musste der Versuch jedoch abgebrochen werden. Am 6. Juli 1942 lief das Boot aus Swinemünde aus, um an den Flottenübungen vor Bornholm teilzunehmen. Beteiligt waren die leichten Kreuzer „Emden“, „Köln“ und „Leipzig“, der Zerstörer „Friedrich Eckoldt“ sowie die Torpedoboote „T 4“, „T 10“, „T 14“, „T 18“, „T 19“ und „T 22“. Abends lief das Boot wieder in Swinemünde ein. Am 16. Juli 1944 beschädigten die Torpedoboote „T 8“, „T 10“ und „T 30“ vor Narwa den sowjetischen U-Jäger „MO-121“. Am 20. und 21. August 1944 sicherten „T 1“, „T 4“, „T 8“, „T 8“ und „T 10“ den schweren Kreuzer „Prinz Eugen“ bei dessen Einsatz im Rigaer Meerbusen bei Tukkum. Am 18. Dezember 1944 ist das Boot im Schwimmdock in Gotenhafen nach einem Bombenangriff gesunken.

Übersendungsschreiben Zerstörerkriegsabzeichen

Dann auch noch Zerstörer Z 26 der auch gleichzeitig das letzte Kommando von Kapitänleutnant Höchel sein sollte.

Zerstörer Z 26 war 127 m lang, 12 m Breit und hatte einen Tiefgang von 4,43 Meter. Besatzung 332 Mann

Im November 1941 verlegte Z 26 nach Nordnorwegen. Am 16. Dezember 1941 stieß Z 26 als Flottillenboot der 8. Zerstörer Flottille mit Z 23, Z 24, Z 25 und Z 27 von Kirkenes aus gegen die Kola-Küste vor. Als Z 26 wegen eines Maschinenschadens ausfiel, wechselte der Flottillenchef auf Z 25 und Z 26 ging nach Kirkenes zurück, von wo der Zerstörer am 5. Januar 1942 zusammen mit Z 27 die Rückfahrt nach Deutschland zur Reparatur antrat. Am 10. Januar lief Z 26 in Kiel ein für die Werftarbeiten.

Am 19. März 1942 fuhr Z 26 im Verband mit den Zerstörern Theodor Riedel, Z 24, Z 30, drei Torpedobooten und dem Schweren Kreuzer Admiral Hipper von Brunsbüttel zum norwegischen Trondheim ab. Von Trondheim fuhr Z 26 mit Z 24 und Z 25 weiter nach Kirkenes von wo aus am 28. März 1942 die 8. Zerstörer Flottille mit Z 24, Z 25 und Z 26 gegen den Geleitzug PQ 13 eingesetzt wurde. PQ 13 war am 27. März von einer BV 138 der 2./K.Fl.Gr. 406 entdeckt worden, der in einem Sturm seinen Zusammenhalt verloren hatte. Gesichert wurde der Konvoi durch den Kreuzer Trinidad, die Zerstörer Eclipse, Fury, den Geleitzerstörer Lamerton sowie zwei U-Abwehr-Trawler und drei ehemals norwegische Walfangboote, von denen eines im vorherigen Sturm gesunken war. Von Murmansk aus stießen der britische Zerstörer Oribi und die sowjetischen Zerstörer Gremyashchi und Sokrushitelny zum sich wieder organisierenden Geleitzug.

Die deutschen Zerstörer waren auf ihrer Suche zuerst auf den versprengten Frachter Bateau (4687 BRT) getroffen, den Z 26 versenkte. Bei geringer Sicht und Schneetreiben stießen die deutschen Zerstörer dann auf den vor dem Geleitzug laufenden Kreuzer Trinidad und den Zerstörer Fury. Die Trinidad schoss Z 26 manövrierunfähig. Z 24 und Z 25 konnten 88 Mann von der sinkenden Z 26 retten. Das deutsche U-Boot U 378 konnte acht Überlebende von Z 26 aus einem Rettungsboot übernehmen. 240 Mann fanden auf Z 26 den Tod. KptLt Höchel ist auf Z26 gefallen und hat sein Seemansgrab gefunden.

Ich bin sicher das irgendwo die fehlenden Urkunden schlummern und möglicherweise finden wir auf diesem Weg ja eine Möglichkeit den Nachlass zu komplettieren.

Ich würde mich freuen, wenn es klappt und hoffe das der Beitrag gut zu lesen war.

Sammlergruß

Sascha

„Subscribe“ / „abonniere“ den Blog und bekomme immer dann eine Nachricht, sobald ein neuer Beitrag erscheint….

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 3. Juni 20183. Juni 2018 von Sascha Ulderup — Schreib einen Kommentar

11 StuG, Ausf.G in Battle

Today we show you an interesting application photo of the wintry eastern front.

In the recognizable vehicle on the left, it could be an german assault gun ‘StuG, Ausf.G’ (Ausf. G, the last Variant next to Ausf.A – F/8).

It carries well recognizable, wintertracks, which introduced starting from October 1943.
At the rear is a structure (luggage frame) for stowing objects on the engine deck recognizable.
Externally, the StuG is color adapted to the environment and bears recognizable white lime color.

The soldiers who have taken cover behind the ‘StuG’ wear winter camouflage clothing, which apparently has been worn for some time.

At less than 50 meters away is a knocked out and still burning soviet ‘T-34/76 (Model 1941)’ recognizable.

Its driver’s hatch is open, so it can be assumed that the crew could still get out.
The turret of the ‘T-34’ is in 9 o’clock position, so it can be assumed that the ‘StuG’ did not destroyed this tank.

Exact details of the location of the photo are not known to us. It can be assumed that this could be a photograph from a series of a war correspondent.
As mission and recording time, the winter 1942/43 is likely to come into question.

More information about the photo shown is of course always welcome.

Heute zeigen wir Euch ein interessantes Einsatzfoto von der winterlichen Ostfront.

Bei dem links im Bild erkennbaren Fahrzeug, dürfte es sich um ein deutsches Sturmgeschütz ‘StuG, Ausf.G’ handeln (Ausf. G, letzte Variant nach Ausf.A – F/8).

Es trägt gut erkennbar, die ab Oktober 1943 bei der Truppe eingeführte Winterkette.

Am Heck ist ein Aufbau (Gepäckrahmen) zum Verstauen von Gegenständen auf dem Motordeck erkennbar.

Äußerlich ist das ‘StuG’ farblich der Umgebung angepasst und trägt erkennbar weiße Kalkfarbe.

Die Soldaten, die hinter dem ‘StuG’ in Deckung gegangen sind tragen Wintertarnbekleidung, die augenscheinlich bereits längere Zeit getragen wurde.

In weniger als 50 m Entfernung ist ein abgeschossener und noch brennender sowjetischer ‘T-34/76 (Model 1941)’ erkennbar.

Dessen Fahrersehklappe ist geöffnet, sodass davon auszugehen ist, dass die Besatzung noch aussteigen konnte.

Der Turm des ‘T-34’ steht in 9 Uhr Position gerichtet, sodass davon auszugehen ist, dass das ‘StuG’ diesen Panzer nicht vernichtet hat.

Genaue Angaben zum Aufnahmeort des Fotos sind uns nicht bekannt. Es ist davon auszugehen, dass es sich hierbei um ein Foto aus einer Serie eines Kriegsberichterstatters handeln könnte.

Als Einsatz- und Aufnahmezeit dürfte der Winter 1942/43 infrage kommen.

Weitere Informationen zum gezeigten Foto sind uns natürlich jederzeit gern willkommen.

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.

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Best

Sascha