Article about: Hi Guys, I have waited some 35 years plus to obtain one of these. I will try and unfold the story of these. Back in the late 1970's one of these wappen came into the local junk / come collec
Hi Guys, I have waited some 35 years plus to obtain one of these. I will try and unfold the story of these.
Back in the late 1970's one of these wappen came into the local junk / come collectors shop in Nottingham. It came with a very nice Italian Fascist banner. The shop keeper would not sell it to me, a fact which still smarts all these years later. He had given first refusal to my friend and local militaria dealer the late Mike Long. Mike obtained the item for around £5.00. The same wappen then passed to Mr Fisher at "Regimentals" and resurfaced at the Nottingham Arms Fair some months later and now married up with the photo of a KM sailor in tropical uniform wearing an E Boat badge. It was now priced a £70...
The history of these items has been shrouded in some mystery. It is one I wish to finally solve. I firmly believe they are Italian made. The materials used are very similar to that used in items of insignia made in Italy for Polish 2nd Corps. The craftsmanship as you can see is very good. The actual size of the shield is quite large at 160mm x 105mm. The design is embossed into the aluminium and them carefully enamelled.
3. Schnellbootflottille was based in Italy. They took part in a raid on Tobruk.
The post war Bundesmarine unit, 3. Schnellbootgeschwader Flensburg, adopted the insignia for themselves in modified de-Nazified form. The history of the unit (with the post war badge shown) can be seen here:
The nick name for the original unit was "Die Afrika-Flottille" and in 1978 a book was written about them.
These wappen are not an award, that much seems clear. Several have come to light via Veterans estates, both with former Allied and German servicemen of the unit. One was actually removed from a E Boat itself. The Italian connection seems firm as some have come from the ANZAC's who fought in Italy. Some appear to have been mounted, with screws, onto wooden plaques.
I bought my example at auction and hope to be able to contact the vendor to see if they can tell me more about how they acquired it. It was submitted for sale with a wartime British telescope lens. In hand it shows light scratches and surface wear and the odd edge knock. Pleased to say the price was good.
Cheers, Ade.
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'I do not think we can hope for any better thing now.
We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course, and the end cannot be far.
It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. SCOTT.
Last Entry - For God's sake look after our people.'
In memory of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans. South Pole Expedition, 30th March 1912.
There are at least another six of these in collections worldwide.
Cheers, Ade.
Had good advice? Saved money? Why not become a Gold Club Member, just hit the green "Join WRF Club" tab at the top of the page and help support the forum!
3. Schnellbootflottille wappen
He had given first refusal to my friend and local militaria dealer the late Mike Long. Mike obtained the item for around £5.00. The same wappen then passed to Mr Fisher at "Regimentals" and resurfaced at the Nottingham Arms Fair some months later and now married up with the photo of a KM sailor in tropical uniform wearing an E Boat badge. It was now priced a £70...
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