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Help! Identifying uniform and rank etc

Article about: Hi all. First post so if I break any rules please let me know. I'm trying to get as information on my great grand father (rank, regiment, dress items etc). So I can recreate his uniform. I a

  1. #1

    Default Help! Identifying uniform and rank etc

    Hi all.
    First post so if I break any rules please let me know.

    I'm trying to get as information on my great grand father (rank, regiment, dress items etc). So I can recreate his uniform.

    I appreciate it's difficult to say much from pictures but I'm a bit still learning so I'm glad of any help.

    Please correct me if I'm wrong. There is one pip on his shoulders which would make him an oberleutnant (or feldwebel?). He was part of the Wehrmacht heer general infantry? EM/NCO (not quite sure of the meaning of this).

    He's the one marked (not by me I should add!)

    Marching off
    Help! Identifying uniform and rank etc

    In the field
    Help! Identifying uniform and rank etc

    Recovering after being shot in the chest (and losing a lung in the process)
    Help! Identifying uniform and rank etc
    Last edited by rbminis; 11-09-2017 at 04:29 PM.

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  3. #2
    CBH
    CBH is offline
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    All I can say is the first photo is pre-war , and the last photo he appears to be a Lieutenant ( Oberleutnant )
    NCO stands for non commissioned officer , he looks to be army . I'm sure someone will be able to fill you in more .
    Welcome to the forum
    Cheers Chris

  4. #3

    Default

    As has been said above, the uniforms are those of the Heer (army).

    In the first photograph, he is an NCO (note the rank Tresse [braid] on his shoulder boards and collar), apparently an officer candidate. It's a photograph from the early-Third Reich period; the men are already wearing the Feldbluse [field blouse] introduced in 1933, but not yet the breast eagle introduced in 1934.

    In the second photograph, he is already an officer (we can tell from the field cap, cross-strap and belt buckle), but the exact rank can't be made out.
    Various details tell us that it's almost certainly a pre-war photograph or perhaps one from the very earliest days of the war.

    In third photograph, he is an officer ranked Oberleutnant [1st Lieutenant] as identified by his shoulder boards. He is wearing a tailored officer-quality field blouse.
    The man on the left is a medical NCO ranked Unteroffizier [Corporal] (note shoulder board rank insignia and trade badge on the lower sleeve).

    It's not really possible to tell your great-grandfather's branch from the photographs with certainty. Infantry had white branch color piping. To me, his shoulder board underlay appears to be of a dark color, but then again, maybe those are just shadows.

    Unit affiliation can't be told from the photographs, either, as no distinctive unit insignia (like shoulder board cyphers or cuff titles) are visible anywhere.

  5. #4

    Default

    So helpful, many thanks

    If infantry piping is white and his piping possibly black what part of the heer would it make him? I think artillery was red and cavalry was yellow?
    Does the piping have a proper name?

  6. #5

    Default

    Quote by Tim49980 View Post
    If infantry piping is white and his piping possibly black what part of the heer would it make him? I think artillery was red and cavalry was yellow?
    Does the piping have a proper name?
    Black was for Pioniere [engineeers]. The proper German name for branch color is Waffenfarbe.

  7. #6

    Default

    That's the word. Again thanks

    I'll try to speak to my oma to see if she can confirm any details and report back. Hopefully he was an engineer, that would make 4 generations!

  8. #7

    Default

    I managed to find another picture of him.
    His NCO visor looks to have a white waffenfarbe but the shoulder boards look black?
    Is there any more info to be gained?

    Help! Identifying uniform and rank etc
    Last edited by rbminis; 11-09-2017 at 04:26 PM.

  9. #8

    Default

    Latest photo again appears to be pre-war or very early. You can see some of the Mannschaften have two decals on their helmets. This was later eliminated. The lack of awards - even just a ribbon or two - indicates no battle experience yet. Uniforms all look like pre 1940 style. The Waffenfarbe of the soutache on the side caps looks very light - ruling out Pionere or Artillerie most likely. One tip, if you can find any war time letters they will have a unit mailing number. That could identify his area of service. NH

  10. #9

    Default

    Many thanks everyone.
    Ahh this is so frustrating. Wish I could find more close-up mid war pictures.
    All these pictures have come from such small photographs.

  11. #10

    Default

    Don't give up. See if you can uncover any war time letters. Bundesarchiv might be helpful but you will need as many details as possible. NH

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