W.Unland

Late in the war the TENO came under police authority and it's members were authorized to wear a black police sleeve eagle. These are VERY rare as they were only used for a very short period of time. This is an example of a black Tenopolizei eagle on police green background. [attachmentid=43406]

Luftschutzpolizei "maintainence" personnel wore a white eagle on Luftwaffe gray as shown here. [attachmentid=43405]

This eagle is also on Luftwaffe blue/gray but the branch color is carmine pink. This eagle was utilized by the Luftschutzpolizeifeuerwehr, or the fire fighting service of the air raid police. [attachmentid=43404]

Late in the war some Psudo-police type organizations were brought under the authority of the police and were authorized to wear a police sleeve eagle. One such group was the Luftschutz, or air raid protection service. They wore a green eagle on a luftwaffe blue/gray background as opposed to a police green background for the Schutzpolizei. Here is an example of such an eagle on blue gray for use by the Luftschutzpolizei. [attachmentid=43403]

Officers of the Wasserschutzpolizei wore a gold bullion eagle on a dark navy blue background. I don't own one of these and I apologize to the owner of this eagle for posting without permission, but I lost its attribution, and it is the only original example I have seen. Note that the swastika is rendered in gold. [attachmentid=43402]

A late war "bevo" style eagle was produced for use by the Wasserschutzpolizei. It is identical in pattern to the grey "combat" and black "panzer" eagles shown above, but executed in yellow on dark navy blue. Here is an example of such an eagle. [attachmentid=43400]

A yellow on "flecked" police green "summer weight" HBT material is also known. It is assumed that this eagle was worn on an overall type uniform for dockside work when a double breasted blue service uniform would have been impractical. Photos also exist showing a "green" HBT summer double breasted reefer type jacket in wear. Here is an example of such an HBT eagle. [attachmentid=43399]

The Wasserschutzpolizei, or waterways police, wore naval type uniform reefer jackets. In keeping with "naval" tradition their insignia was in gold for officers and yellow for enlisted ranks. WSP eagles were NEVER named. This is an example of an enlisted ranks WSP sleeve eagle on dark blue wool for use on the service uniform. Note that the swastika is rendered in yellow, not black as with the other branches of the police, as a black swastika would not be visable on a dark blue/black background. [attachmentid=43398]

The Schutzpolizei d. Gemeinden was a short lived branch responsible for the policing of small to mid-sized municipalities during the pre-war period. It was merged into the Schutzpolizei early in the war so it's insignia is rather rare. They used a dark carmine red as their branch color, and their sleeve eagles are embroidered in this color. As this branch only existed between 1936 and 1940, all of their eagles should be named to the city of assignment. This is an example of such a named Schutzpolizei d. Gemeinden eagle. I have never encountered a "summer weight" HBT eagle for the GEMPO, but I must assume that they exist. [attachmentid=43397]

The Verkehrspolizei, or traffic police wore a white tunic and utilized red as their branch color. Their sleeve eagle was consequently embroidered in red. This eagle is an example of one for use on the white service tunic. Regulations seem to specify that a police green tunic was to be used by the Verkrhrspolizei for parade and formal purposes. Consequently a red on police green eagle must have been produced, although I have never found one. It may be that such eagles are mistaken for Feuershutzpolizei or Schutzpolizei d. Gemeinden as the colors would be difficult to differentiate. [attachmentid=43396]

Here is an example of an oval Feuerschutzpolizei eagle that has had it's district name removed to comply with late war regulations. [attachmentid=43395]

As with the other branches, a simplified, no name eagle was specified later in the war. Again, note that the swastika is rendered in black as differentiated from the Feuerwehr green eagle with carmine pink swastika. I have never seen a "summer weight" HBT Feuerschutzpolizei eagle, but I must assume that they exist. [attachmentid=43394]

The next branch of the police to be considered is the Feuerschutzpolizei. These were armed firemen, often assigned to protect captured factories and such, and were authorized to perform police duties in the absence of standard police forces. Unlike the true "firemen" of the Feuerwehr, the Feuerschutzpolizei never wore blue uniforms, but always police green. Their branch color was carmine pink like the feuerwehr, but their eagles have the swastika rendered in black rather than carmine pink as shown above for the Feuerwehr green uniform. Here is an example of an early prewar eagle with the district name embroidered above the eagle. Note the black swastika. [attachmentid=43393]

Mid war, the district names were ordered removed and Gendarmerie eagles were produced without the names. They were often "cut out" around the eagle, and can only be differentiated from army Feldgendarmerie" eagles by the color of the background material. Police green for the Gendarmerie, and field gray for the army. Many examples exist of Gendarmerie eagles, on an oval background, where the district name has been removed to comply with regulations. Officers of the Gendarmerie wore eagles identical to those shown for the Schutzpolizei. [attachmentid=43392]

Like the Schutzpolizei, a "summer weight" Gendarmerie eagle was also produced for use on the "flecked" green police summer blouses. This eagle is on cotton HBT material, for use on such a summer uniform. Interestingly, the vast majority of summer HBT Gendarmerie eagles that I have seen have been named to the "Regensburg" district. I can only assume a large cache of these was brought back after the war. [attachmentid=43391]

This second example is a more common pattern Gendarmerie eagle, again with the district name embroidered above the eagle. Although "Koln" was a large city it was also a rural jurisdiction, thus the Gendarmerie eagle so named. [attachmentid=43390]

The next largest branch of the police was the Gendarmerie, or rural police. They wore orange as their branch color, and consequently their sleeve eagles were produced in that color. As with the Schutzpolizei, pre, and early war eagles were embroidered with the district name that the wearer was assigned to. Here a very early, 1936 pattern, "coke bottle" Gendarmerie eagle for the district of "Ansbach". [attachmentid=43389]

A "bevo" style officer's eagle is also encountered. It is presumed that this eagle was the officer's eqivilent of the late war standardized "bevo" style enlisted ranks "combat" eagle shown above. Although I have not found a period photo showing these in use I believe them to be authentic, and it is possible that they were produced and captured after the war, but never actually put into use. The "shiny" highlights on this eagle are very interesting, and obviously intended to differentiate it from the enlisted ranks version. [attachmentid=43388]

Officers were also authorized a white cotton summer blouse, and a silver bullion on white wool eagle was utilized. These eagles were attached with snaps to allow for laundering of the tunic. The pattern follows the standard officer's format. [attachmentid=43387]

Officer's eagles were also embroidered in "subdued" bullion on wool "gaberdine" as in this example for wear on field uniforms. [attachmentid=43386]

Officers of the Schutzpolizei, as well as the other branches of the police wearing a green uniform, wore a silver bullion eagle on police green background. The swastika was rendered in black, but silver examples are known. The regulations called for three wing feathers on all officer's eagles. Officer's eagles were NEVER embroidered with a city or district name. This is a typical officer's eagle on police green wool. The wings on this example are rather oxidized. [attachmentid=43385]

In 1936, and for a very short period of time (6 months I believe), a white summer blouse was authorized for wear by NCO's of the Schutzpolizei. The eagle shown here is green on white cotton for use on this tunic. The eagle itself is an early pattern, poorly defined wreath, typical of eagles produced before the patterns were finalized. This is the only example of such a green on white eagle that I have encountered which I feel is genuine. [attachmentid=43384]

Finally, a standardized gray "bevo" style eagle was adopted late in the war for use by all branches of the police to conserve materials and simplify production. This eagle is often referred to as a "combat" eagle. It was mostly worn by field units of the Schutzpolizei, although theoretically it could have been utilized by any other branch late in the war. [attachmentid=43383]

A green on black "panzer" eagle is also assumed to have been produced although I do not have an example, and have never seen one personally that I have been convinced is authentic. A late war "bevo" style black eagle is known, however; and is shown below. It was worn on the black "panzer wrap" uniform by mechanized units of the Schutzpolizei [attachmentid=43382]

Later in the war, eagles were produced without the name to comply with regulations. These were ofter "cut out" around the eagle to conserve material. [attachmentid=43381]