John Burchell

Not sure regarding the stitching of the tabs, Eduardo. I thought they were hand-done, but please have a look at these obverse and reverse close-ups and let me know what you think.

Board and breast eagle:

Pocket and cuff detail:

The reverse and inside:

Next up is the best - a nearly new/hardly worn early war period tunic which, while there are no tailor or other labels or markings present, I believe was possibly a tailor-made piece for the owner - an Oberleutnant (note that one pip is clearly missing from each of the shoulder boards) of the Naval Artillery career stream in a Coastal Artillery Battalion. The cloth is a heavy-quality cotton corduroy-like (ie. ribbed) material and the tunic is unlined. It has wide, open cuffs and a 5-button front with patch-type pockets that have a central pleat and scalloped-style flaps. There are no inside pockets. There is a centre seam in the back that ends in a slash. There are no belt buckle eyelets. The tunic buttons are all marked on the reverse with a Weimar-pattern eagle at the top; a manufacturer code below that, being "20", on the left and the letter "M" on the right, and a star at the bottom. The matte-gray finished face of the 3-piece buttons shows the navy fouled anchor on a ribbed background. The Celleon breast eagle on dark green badge backcloth is hand-stitched to the tunic, as are the collar patches. The central gold striping of the collar patches is also Celleon, but the silver portion appears to be of a thread/cord material finely-wrapped with wire. The shoulder boards are of the slip-on variety and held-down by snap-style grommets. As mentioned above, there clearly was one pip on each of these boards, but they have been removed. I am really looking forward to receiving comments to verify or correct my description on this tunic.

Next up is an Officer quality visor cap insignia set in hand-embroidered gold bullion wire thread (oxidized to dull) on dark green badge backcloth with glued-on back paper. The wreath is convex and the rosette has a cloth centre. The chincord strap has a faded gold tone to it. The collar tabs are, I believe, for officers of the Marine Artillery, this unused pair being of embroidered silver or aluminum threads and a golden bullion centre stripe.

Only recently acquired these items, so happy to post and share them in this great thread for review and opinions. This all came in one ex-RCAF vet-acquired lot here in Canada. Interesting that about 95% of the stash is KM-KA-related. Here goes, along with my comments based upon my research efforts to date on the items. Comments appreciated, please. Thanks, John Up first, assorted shoulder boards, collar tab and visor cap insignia: Boards: KM Senior NCO Stabsfeldwebel/Stabsbootman; KA Senior NCO Oberfeldwebel/Aircraft Warning career (note: one pip is missing at the bottom); KA Senior NCO Feldwebel/Geschuetz-Artillery; KA (pair) Lower rating/enlisted personnel/Marineartilleriemaat/Artillery career. Litzen for lower rating/Marine Artillery Visor Cap insignia as used by NCOs

"Neptun"

"Pluto"

"Herkules"

"Perseus"

Thanks, Rick. I have re-scanned all five names and will post them below.

Thank you, John. I've learned something from you today. That's what I truly appreciate about this forum. Since the photos appear to date from the early years of the formation of this Flak-Abteilung (eg. the factory group shot above in post#5 which is dated 1938), I am assuming that the location of the view in question showing the Fedpost Nummer is most likely either Neumuenster or Hamburg. Regards, John

Merci, Francois! Much appreciated. Is there any way of knowing geographically where Flak-Abteilung 263 was located in Germany (or elsewhere)?

Excellent! Thanks for your assistance, Rick. Under magnification of the photo, the sign on the fence clearly reads: 3 Pr.St. / L 30567 Does anyone have a source for identifying, or can anyone please tell me the details of, this Feldpost Nummer?

Photo #2 cursive:

Photo #2:

Photo #1 - cursive:

And here are two additional photos which came in the same lot, showing the same group of men with "Der Spiess", along with the cursive that appears on the reverse. These may further assist in identification. Photo #1 shows five men standing in front of a building. Photo #2 shows four men proceeding through a field toward a fifth man standing in front of the stone wall. The man in front seems to be carrying a white bag (perhaps their sausage, cheese and bread for a picnic?). The back end of a truck or vehicle from which they presumably descended can just be seen at the left. Photo #1

Excellent pictures in the link which you kindly provided, John. Thank you for this identification. I had totally missed the book stuck into the front of his uniform jacket. Can anyone comment on the group shot and a possible likely venue where that picture was taken, like maybe a factory where the flak guns were made and assembled? Would these folks have been technical workers, mechanics or similar? The men in the lighter-coloured longer coats, on the left and right, perhaps were foremen? And what about the two wearing visor caps (other than "Der Spiess") in the back row? Here is the difficult to read cursive which appears on the reverse of the photo of "Der Spiess", which may help in the identification of the man or the location. This is becoming interesting, and your input is appreciated. Thanks, John

Photo 2.

Great work! Thanks for the identification, Laurence. Here are two more photos that came in a separate lot, but of the same person (also unknown). The first picture shows him in uniform on which three gulls are visible on his left collar tab, two stripes on each of his lower left and right sleeves, and above that on his left sleeve a patch (introduced in 1937, I believe) indicating he is "Flak" personnel. Also visible are a DRA Sports Badge and a LW Marksmanship lanyard. The detail of photo one provided clues to the second photo (dated 1938) which shows a group of men in a factory, perhaps, wearing work coveralls - two of whom in front show rank chevron on the sleeves. Our man in photo one I believe appears in the back row on the right side, visible as wearing the visor cap showing LW insignia. They are all standing on and around what I believe must be an anti-aircraft/flak gun. There are numbered storage rooms behind them, and a mechanical dolly above them, presumably for moving heavy equipment, etc. Your confirmation of any of the above details and other related comments will be appreciated. Thanks, John

Thanks for the comments, Bill and Paul. I am glad to have the identification of his affiliation confirmed. Regretably, there is no name on the photos identifying this man. I also have a picture of him in his RAD uniform (pre-LW days) and several wedding photos. The only writing on the reverse is, in some cases, a date or other personal comments. Two other photos of this same fellow appear in my related posting here: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=16815 Thanks again, John

The inscription which reads (roughly translated): "To my true hunting friend Wilhelm Weier with heartfelt Christmas wishes Ramcke".

Nice posting, Bob, which spurs me to add to yours for the interest of fellow forum members. My German friend, Wilhelm Weier, who served under General Ramcke in North Afrika and was a close personal friend of his during and following the war up until the General's death, has a copy of the same book personally signed and dedicated to him. While he did not want to part with his own copy, he did give me this post-war edition of "Der Landser-Grossband 101" which features General Ramcke that also contains a personal dedication from him. They were hunting buddies and my friend, who was the only German licensed to guide for big game in Canada at the time, once brought him to Canada for a hunt. Regards, John