1960's era shoulder boards

[M18922]

I got 3 shoulder boards for 7euro at an antique store. there is a whole basket full of these shoulder boards all at the price of 3.50. do you know was these shoulder boards are worth it? and what uniform were they on?
cheers,
-Patrick

[M18922]

can anyone help?

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Patrick, they all look like Bundesluftwaffe.

I know Yellow is for Flight branch: red for Flak (I think? if is is the same as WW2) and blue for medical?

Cheers, Ade.

[oradour]

Patrick, sorry for the late reply.....Ade is heading in the right direction, the shoulderboards shown are for the greatcoat and shirt, as all branches (except the Wachtbattalion) had service jackets with sewn on boards (on a tab of material as opposed to in the seam), they were not removable as in WW2. The boards shown top to bottom, Luftwaffe (note the colour of the backing) there is no method of waffenfarbe for different branches within the the Luftwaffe, "yellow" simply means Luftwaffe ! next, Army, Look to be either "Coral Red" (air defence) or "Rosa Pink" (Panzer) waffenfarbe, they are for the rank of Unteroffizier, (better photographs are needed in better light to determine colours), the last pair are also Army, and are piped in "dark blue" (Medical troops) they are for the rank of "Gefreiter". The army shoulder boards are in dark grey which was the general colour of uniforms between 1959 and 1970 when the "new" uniforms came out, standardising uniform colour to light grey (prior to this date uniforms had been a variety of grey shades through light grey to almost black !). In 1963 shoulder boards lost there pointed ends and became rounded as these boards are, and the "French Fries" metal rank insignia was adopted, prior to this junior NCO ranks wore arm chevrons. So the army boards shown are dated between 1963 to 1970. Just clear a point, the term "Bundesluftwaffe" has never been used, it is known simply as the "Luftwaffe".
Luftwaffe shoulder boards have not changed since 1963, and even then they only adopted the rounded end.
Hope that helps.
Prost ! Steve.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Thanks Steve. Very educational.

Cheers, Ade.

[M18922]

Thank you so much,
But i have one more question, is 3.50 for a shoulder board a good price?

Thanks again,

[oradour]

Thank you so much, But i have one more question, is 3.50 for a shoulder board a good price? Thanks again,

Patrick, is the price you quote for a single board or a pair ?
Prost ! Steve.

[M18922]

oh sorry, the price is 3.50 for a pair.

[oradour]

Patrick, you paid a good price, pairs depending on rank go for between 4.00-7.50 Euros a pair.
Prost ! Steve.

[M18922]

thats good that i got a good price. and the antique store has a basket full of them in the shop.
i might get anouther one or two
thanks for all the help.