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    Luftwaffe Flak and Artillery


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    Luftwaffe Flak

    The Anti AirBranch of the Luftwaffe was another of the original career fields present when the Luftwaffe came out into the open on March 01, 1935. All personnel who were trained in any aspect of Air Defense and Artillery wore the designated waffenfarbe.

    The standard waffenfarbe for the Luftwaffe Flak branch was Bright Red. When attached to the Hermann Goering Division and the Luftwaffe Field Division, Signals personnel wore the collar tabs of the said unit, with the Flak waffenfarbe present as an outer piping on the collar tabs, shoulderboards, or both(In the case of the LW Field Division).

    These men wore the standard Luftwaffe uniform patterns, with their specific insignia.

    Enlisted:

    Kanonier- soldat

    Oberkanonier- Oberschutz

    KanonierGefreiter- Grefeiter

    KanonierObergefreiter- Obergrefeiter

    Kanonier Unteroffizier - Unteroffizier

    Unterwachtmeister- Unterfeldwebel

    Wachtmeister- Feldwebel

    Oberwachtmeister- Oberfeldwebel

    Stabswachtmeister- Stabsfeldwebel

    Officer:

    Leutnant

    Oberleutnant

    Hauptmann

    Major

    Oberstleutnant

    Oberst

    Generalmajor

    Generalleutnant

    General der Flak Artillerie- Generaloberst/Head of Flak and Artillery

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    :jumping:Special Collar tabs, Hermann Goering and Field Division units.

    The Hermann Goering units used the white waffenfarbe as a basic branch color/waffenfarbe. Until Mar1943, artillery and flak were noted by a bright red piping around the white tab as seen below. Starting on 01Apr1943, the outer piping on the collar tabs was abolished leaving a plain white tab. Branch color was to be worn on the shoulder board piping only. Below is an example of a Regiment Hermann Goering tab for an artillery Unteroffizier. The tab is configured for use on an overcoat, as can be noted by the presence of the tress on the tab.

    A similar set of regulations applied to the Luftwaffe Field Divisions. All members assigned to the LW Field Divisions wore tabs with the rifle green branch color. The waffenfarbe was worn as an outer piping to the tab AND the shoulder board at the same time. Please see the image below. The outer piping was to be bright red. This applied to Artillery Regiments, Flak Battalions, and Tank Destroyer Battalions.

    More details of the Hermann Goering units are to be found here:

    http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18342

    More details on the Luftwaffe Field Divisions can be found here:

    http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=17457

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    Shoulder boards.

    Here are some examples from my collection. As you can see, some of the straps have numeral cyphers for a regiment number. The Flak/Artillery branch was the only area in the Luftwaffe who had regiments, so you will never see numeral cyphers on any other LW strap or board.

    Some other cyphers you could see are:

    "F"- Attached to Fortress Units.

    "L"- Attached to a Flak Instruction Unit

    Roman Numerals "I-IV"- Flak Staff, High command

    "FAS"- Flak Artillery School

    "W"- Ordnance Officers/Armorers

    "WS" Weapons/Flak and Ordnance Schools

    "RL"- Members attached to Reich Air Protection School

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    Trade Badges

    Here are some examples of some of the Flak and ordnance related trade badges which would have been worn by NCOs and Enlisted members within the Flak/Artillery units. There are more possibilities.

    Upper Left- Ordnance specialist

    Upper Right- Flak crewmember

    Lower Left- Armorer

    Lower Right- Armorer to HG unit.

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    Badges

    The two most commonly seen qualification badges that might be seen on a Flak tunic are:

    1. Flak badge- awarded by reaching a certain number of points by shooting down aircraft or being wounded.

    2. Ground Combat Badge- Direct ground combat.

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    Hi

    Now, for something a bit different. This wall decoration was given as a present to a flak unteroffizier, from his NCO pals. The reason seems to be, that he was being reassigned as a supply NCO. The item is made from some kind of animal bone, with the decorations painted on.

    Snoopy

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