Lot of flying permits from Stalingrad...

[Martin Bull]

As stated these have been sold over the years as tokens for those fortunate to have been evacuated from the Kessel but they are indeed freight tags

Another cherished illusion shattered by a heartless forum member ! I've had one of these for years and was convinced that it was carried by the last senior 6th Army officer to fly out.....as the JU52 lifted off in a hail of machine-gun bullets ( Where Eagles Dare style ) he smiled grimly and tossed the token through the open hatch........

.........

[bigmacglenn]

I knew a man who was flown out of Stalingrad by the name of Kellermann (his son rented an apartment from my German grandmother) ...His leg was amputated at the hip and he walked with crutches. He wouldn't speak of the war, and would leave the room if people brought up the subject. Imagine the horrors these men witnessed.

[Sfinx]

I found this:
These are Luftwaffe cargo loading tags. Theses were attached, in the case of wood boxes nailed to or wire to the cargo and directed the loader on the weight class and the fragilely of the equipment.

As the German airfields in both the Stalingrad and Demyansk battles were under direct aerial attack, this was a stopgap measure to expedite the loading/unloading of planes. Large items would have to be transported directly to the airfields because of the size/weight/loading-time but smaller items were pack in remote sites around the airfields and bought in at the very last moment for loading.

As planes must be loaded so it is balance in flight, it is crucial that the weight of cargo must be distributed in the proper matter; this is reflected in the heavy weight square tags. The round shape tags reflect the lightest weight class and the start of the fragile sub classification. These items would be packed and shipped in a much different matter that the heavy class. Optics would fit the round white (green?) tags category, because they are susceptible to damage such continuous low vibration.

Red square tag - Heavy weight class not fragile (20 Kgs. / 44 lbs.)
Yellow square tag - Medium weight class not fragile (10 Kgs. / 22 lbs.)
Red round tag - Light weight class not fragile (5 Kgs. / 11 lbs.)
Yellow round tag - Light weight class fragile
White (Green?) round tag - Light weight class extremely fragile

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Sfinx, welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the nice detailed answer.

Cheers, Ade.

[Martin Bull]

Very useful information indeed, Sfinx ! I am very interested in the Eastern Front Luftwaffe 'airlifts', and to me personally these items are of more genuine interest than as spurious 'permits to fly'......

[lebus12]

Hello, we can find such "permits" in France, on German Aifields, in the barracks. I have some coming from Reims, Chartres, Dreux. I think it in relation with uniforms in the baracks. One is coming from a FLAK Bunker in the west of France, far from Stalingrad.

[Jerry B]

The funny thing is IMO, why are there so many found in Stalingrad if they were permits to leave to place and Luftwaffe air flown cargo tags seems far more logical, attached to material brought into Stalingrad and this has been shown to be the case from previous posts.