Paratrooper´s badge question

[Reibert]

Hello, mates !

Why ist this soldier wearing the paratrooper´s badge of the Wehrmacht-Luftwaffe, and not, the paratrooper´s badge of the Wehrmacht-Heer ?

Thx. in advance,

R.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Reibert, the Heer Fallschirmjager badge was discontinued after only being worn for two years, 1937 to 1939. Men who later transfered to the Luftwaffe could continue to wear it. He must have qualified after 1939. However, the Heer badge was re-introduced in 1943.

A great image.

With the Narvik shield there could be a chance he was ex -Luftwaffe and transfered to the Heer??

Cheers, Ade.

[Reibert]

. ..
With the Narvik shield there could be a chance he was ex -Luftwaffe and transfered to the Heer??
...

Thx., Ade !

Maybe possible, but ... ?

Weanwhile some folks told me, this soldier could be a "Brandenburger" ...

This men were wearing the paratrooper´s badge of the WL also and were major recruited in the Gebirgsjäger-units.

[Adrian Stevenson]

That is a possibilty. Post 1943 the Brandenburgers wore the Heer pattern badge.

Cheers, Ade.

[hucks216]

Are you able to get a good scan of the photo and enlarge the area of the shoulder boards (rather then a photo of a photo as the glare is blocking the area) as he seems to be wearing unit ID slides which might help identify this mans unit. Great image by the way.

[Reibert]

I was told, this soldier supposed to be a member of the Para Coy of the Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 136.
They jumped over Narvik after only one weeks jumping-drill !
This unit was awarded with the para-badge of the Luftwaffe actually.

The regimental-no. upon the epaulette is covered with a "camo-tab".

But, it´s a little strange, that the Edelweiss-patch on the right sleeve is missing ...

As I wrote, some folks told me, this soldier also coud be a member of the Regiment "z.b.V. 800" ...

Best,

R.


P.S.:

On the backside of the postcard is written: im Juni 1942

[hucks216]

Lehr Batallion z.b.V 800 were the Brandenburgers as mentioned before, they were re-named as a Regiment in 1942 (I think) and as a Division in 1943 (again, I think). Without any further information I'm afraid it is just a case of it might be this or it might be that without any definitive answer, but the presence pf the Narvikschild would lead to a reasonable assumption that this is one of the Gebirgsjager who jumped over Norway in 1940. As already mentioned it could be an ex-Luftwaffe para transferred into the Heer. I have seen photos in Heer soldbuchs from ex Luftwaffe soldiers who were transferred across and they still wore their flight clasp on their Heer uniform. As for the lack of an arm patch, maybe it was just simply that he didn't have the time to sew it on before the photo was taken.

[Reibert]

Collectors mates told me, that Gebirgsjäger, (Geb.Jg.Rgt. 136 and Geb.Jg.Rgt. 137), jumped over Björnfjell, (Narvik) and the flight-field of Bardufoss/Tromsø.

BTW, a very interesting thread in the WAF:
Fallschirmjäger at Björnfjell - Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums

The image is taken from the book "Narvik im Bild" from 1941

[CBH]

Might be a hint of an Edelweiss on his Bergmutze also .