Finally have my hands on a waffenrock

[TWS]

On the risk of being pedantic: It's the trade badge for Truppennachrichtenpersonal, which precisely translates as "troops signals personnel" and referred to qualified personnel outside the Nachrichtentruppe, i.e. the signals branch proper.

Correct. I think we both know exactly what this badge means but there was a very slight language barrier at play here. If someone says "Signals Personnel" in English it means people from the Signals branch. The Truppennachrichtenpersonal designation puts the emphasis on Truppen, meaning it's a signal operator from the (Kampf) Truppen (Infanterie, Artillerie, usw.), not the Nachrichten branch - whose basic mission is communications anyway.

[HPL2008]

Point taken. Translating tech terms is always tricky.

I've had a look at some period sources to see how the term was translated then and come up with this:

Handbook on German Army Identification (1943):


TM 30-506 German Military Dictionary (1944):


Maybe "unit communication personnel" is a workable translation?

[TWS]

Point taken. Translating tech terms is always tricky.

Maybe "unit communication personnel" is a workable translation?

I totally agree, as it is tricky and I'll try to explain why. The emphasis in your translation would be on "Unit" as this guy was part of that unit and not a member of the Signal Corps. He would be in the same basic branch as his unit (Infantry/Armor/Artillery, etc) with the added training in communications, thus the "Blitz" Abzeichen. In the U.S. Army the equivalent soldier to his Heer counterpart (that wore that patch) was variously referred to as the "RTO" (Radio/Telephone Operator) or "Radio Man". Basically the guy in a line unit who was in charge of carrying and operating the radio and doing simple maintenance and repair on it. Anything more complex would involve giving the radio or other communications equipment to the actual Signal Corps guys to carry out more complex maintenance or repairs.

The Handbook photo that you posted does an accurate job of pointing out that the soldier wearing this patch is a communications operator, but not part of the Signal Corps. But when one translates Nachrichtenpersonal to English and says "Signals Personnel" that's where it gets tricky because, at least in the U.S. Army, if one says "Signals Personnel" it generally means the soldiers in a Signal unit and thus Signal Corps.

I hope this is not too "down in the weeds" and nerdy, but it is a concept that can be hard to translate across different languages.

[Neil Hever]

^Well put fellows. In my translation of the various Nachrichten texts there was a reference to Waffenfarbe for Kleinerfernspechtrupp or the small field phone squad. The translation indicated the smaller, self contained units wore the "Blitz" specialist patch in the Waffenfarbe of the originating unit. White for infantry, red for artillery and so on. NH

[AusA380]

It's great that you guys are full of information and knowledge! Here's a pic of the shoulder straps, II on the buttons and 82 sewn in. The only visible marking on the lining is Z441.

[HARRY THE MOLE]

A very nice tunic indeed... and lovely condition!

[HPL2008]

The "II" on the buttons means he was with the staff of the II. Battalion. (It looked like a "10" to me in the initial post.)