Luftwaffe cargo ( Stalingrad pass ) tags

[Danmark]

So, how many different colors were there? Red,yellow,white, orange...I'm trying to remember-was there black too? And only 2 different shapes? Have they ever categorized the different colors and shapes for usages?

From what I have seen and collected, there are just those four colours. I have seen round in Red, Orange & Yellow, and square in Red, Orange & White. I have not seen a round White or a square Yellow .......yet.

[lebus12]

On a French Forum : it's to identify telephone wires, "I found many on French Airbase BA 705, allways in place".

[Danmark]

Just to put these discs in perspective, I thought I'd show their comparative size to an EK2.

Not as small as you first think, are they?

Dan

[lebus12]

Yes, correct size.

[lebus12]

Not finished...my friend saw them every 50m or 100 m, so when the wire is cutted, you can know the red go with the red, yellow...

[lebus12]

[Danmark]

I believe your friend - I think they were used for all sorts of things but original use was for cargo identification...or why the Luftwaffe Gull shape cut-out?

Maybe one day we will know for sure.......yes / no?

[lebus12]

I'm looking for since 25 years and at this time the men from the LW never saw such items!
Perhaps Jersey have one idea...

[Danmark]

OK, so now I have what I believe to be the FULL set of these tags.



Red, White & Orange/Brown in the square ( diamond shape ) - and Red, Yellow & Orange/Brown in the round.
I have read talk of Black & Green tags as well but honestly, I've never seen them ( please correct me if you think they do exist )

As to the true story of them, just because no-one has found an official order for their use doesn't mean they didn't exist.

Just because they may have originally been intended to indicate weights of crates or suchlike doesn't mean they were not also used to indicate other things from time to time...such as Lebus' friend's comment on marking of cut wires/cables.

Maybe, just maybe there IS some truth to the story of identifying the wounded.... Teutonic efficiency would dictate a use be found for these all over the place in many a Luftwaffe related capacity and, as examples have been dug up around airfields in the East & West they surely existed, were used and are NOT ( as has been touted ) recent creations.

I believe one reason they have not surfaced before is that they would have been considered so lowly an object in decades past that collectability was not high on anyone's list - and now with the availability of dug items via online auction sites becoming so widespread of late and the attraction of such that we are seeing more of them.

Just my thoughts anyhow....
Cheers, Dan

[ZERO]

this are my tags