Gordon Williamson

Just to accompany the thread on U-Boat Badges, here are some of the docs that go with them. This first one is the earliest type, with foliage border around the edge. This example is very early. The badge was awarded after the second war cruise. To have earned the U-Boat badge by January 1940, this sailor, a crewman on U-61 would have done his first cruise in November 1939, operating out of Wilhelmshaven and returning there on 3 December 1939. His second cruise, particularly interesting for me, was a minelaying operation in the Firth of Forth just a few miles from where I live. U-61 was a small Type IIC coastal boat, but fairly successful with six sinkings before she was retired to training school duties in November 1940. Thereafter, Starke served on U-588, a Type VIIC under Kapi?nleutnant Viktor Vogel. After sinking six enemy ships her luck ran out and she was sunk with depth charges by two Canadian warships, HMCS Wetaskiwin and HMCS Skeena. No survivors.

Dave, I'm with you on this one. These have been freely available for several years at under ?30. If you have a look at Nick Morigi's site you will find them still available today. (Nick isn't trying to pass them off as genuine, they are sold openly as copies) )

Dave, as to the criteria for being awarded these, the reality seems to have been it was on the recommendation of the U-Boat captain as to which members of his crew he felt were most deserving. There wasn't the sort of laid down criteria as for the bronze/silver/gold Luft flight clasps that these resemble. One German Cross winner I spoke to said he really rated the Bronze version but felt that in the last days, the silver were given out more freely if you happened to be at the right place at the right time. Bottom line really though was that anyone who actually lived long enough to get one in the late days of the war was a bit special.

Here is the actual silver second type I pictured above being worn by its original owner, Oberleutnant Heinrich Niemeyer

Here are the two being worn, the bronze by a seaman, and the silver by an officer.

Note the difference in wording on the second type. "ENTWURF written as a full word, and only two lines of text "BERLIN" having been omitted. On the right, the "SW" (for S?dwest= South West) is missing. Note the bottom of the pin always seems to rub away the letter "I" in SCHWERIN

Silver Second Type

Second Type Bronze

The right has ENTWURF/SCHWERIN/BERLIN SW68. The "68" is usually very faint.

The wording on the reverse also differs in the first patter. On the left is "ENTW. / PEEKHAUS / BERLIN in three lines of text. It is common for part of the text to be obscured by solder and the letter "T" in ENTW is usually very faint.

Here is the first type in Silver. It is believed the second type came out just after the silver grade was instituted (November 44) as examples of the first type in Silver are extremely rare.

Here is the first type in Bronze.

There are two types known of this award. The first is die struck (or die "forged" ) and has separately applied hook and hinge and an oval recess behind the central motif similar to that found with Luft Flight Clasps. When first stamped out the planchette has excess "flashing" of metal in the centre and around the edges, which is removed with a cropping tool, this giving the edges a "sheared" look just like regular tombak die struck awards.

Tony, No worries on your EK1, it's a good piece.

Will do

Yeah, got it from some dodgy geezer in Telford. Maybe you know him ?

Jim, An "84" without doubt. Dave, Very very nice. If you ever get bored with them....

Very nice Dave. Just to continue the theme............

Very nice indeed Don ! Detlev lists the value of the clasps as just $25, but for something valued so low, you hardly ever seem to see them. Same with the clasps to the Kyffh?user Medal, they are only valued at $25 too, I have been looking for the "U-Boot-Krieg" clasp for years and never seen one.

I'd agree the case is definitely OK. The Cross may well be OK too but close-up scans of the obverse would be needed to be sure. I think that the pin has been replaced. Its the wrong shaped pin for a "50" and it looks like it has had to be filed thinner near the top to fit into the hinge block. Given the quality of some of the fake KVK1s that have appeared recently, definitely one that would need a bit more investigation.

I should be able to show some images of the Gold RK shortly. I've only ever seen two, Deschler and Zimmermann, and both were with Swords, undoubtedly real. The grade ever actually awarded however, was Gold without Swords. I've never seen one of these.

Silver mark 900 and Zimmermann maker mark 20

Reverse

Obverse close up

Just arrived