Gordon Craig

Glenn J, Thanks for the quick response. I guess that I was putting too much weight on the shirt collar rather than the actual tunic. A lesson learned. Regards, Gordon

Glenn J, I have the same book but I did not see this exact uniform/shirt combination shown in the book. What page number are you referencing for your comment? I am not doubting what you say I am just trying to learn here. Also, where would I find the rank information that you reference in this book that we both have? Trooper D, Thanks for using the correct name or the photographer. That really helps with the time frame. Regards, Gordon

westfale, Interesting award. Here is some info from WIKI on this organization. Deutscher Wetterdienst From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Dwd" redirects here. For Wisconsin, United States state agency, see Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. For other uses, see subarctic climate. Deutscher Wetterdienst, Offenbach, Germany Wetterpark Offenbach, Germany The Deutscher Wetterdienst, German pronunciation: [ˌdɔʏ̯ʧɐ ˈvɛtɐdiːnst], commonly abbreviated as DWD, (translated from German as German Meteorological Service), residing in Offenbach am Main, Germany, is a scientific agency that monitors weather and meteorological conditions over Germany and offers weather services for the general public as well as specific services for e.g. nautical, aviational or agricultural purposes. Organizationally, it lies within the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The DWDs main task is to warn against weather-related dangers, as well as monitoring and rating changes in the German climate. The organization runs atmospheric models on their own supercomputer to help in the task of weather forecasting. The DWD is also responsible for running the national climate archive and runs one of the biggest libraries worldwide that is specialized on weather and climate. Contents [hide] 1History 2Numerical weather prediction 3Public Services 4Structure 5References 6External links History[edit] The DWD was founded in 1952 by joining the weather services of the western occupation zones. In 1954 the Federal Republic of Germany joined the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). In 1975 the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) was founded for numerical weather prediction up to ten days in advance. In 1990 the DWD integrated the weather services of the German Democratic Republic after reunification. Since the 1990s, the DWD continuously decreased the number of manned weather stations, which resulted in substantial staff cutbacks. According to the DWD, no reduction in forecast quality is to be expected, since techniques like weather radar or satellites have significantly improved weather data overall. Numerical weather prediction[edit] See also: History of numerical weather prediction and Numerical weather prediction The German Weather Service has been running their global hydrostatic model, the GME, using a hexagonal icosohedral grid since 2002.[1]They developed the High Resolution Regional Model (HRM) in 1999, which is widely run within the operational and research meteorological communities and run with hydrostatic assumptions.[2] The German non-hydrostatic Lokal-Modell for Europe (LME) has been run since 2002, and an increase in areal domain became operational on September 28, 2005.[3] Since March 2009, the DWD operates a NEC SX-9 with a peak performance of 109 teraFLOPS to help in the weather forecasting process.[4] Public Services[edit] Since 2005, the DWD publishes regional warnings against heat with the aim to reduce heat related fatalities. This decision was made because of the hot summer in 2003, when estimated 7000 people died from direct or indirect effects of the heat. Additionally it sends out sea weather reports as radioteletype and faxes. Since 2006, the pollen warnings can be subscribed to for free on the DWD web site. Within its duty of primary meteorological information, the DWD offers a free daily weather report for Germany which can be subscribed to by email on their official website. Structure[edit] The Deutsche Wetteramt belongs to the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs. This establishes a close link to the Germangovernment, communes, economy, industry, country and state ministries for purposes of cooperation and consulting. Its work is based on the law about the DWD (Gesetz über den Deutschen Wetterdienst). Currently, the DWD consists of roughly 2600 occupants. Besides the DWD central in Offenbach, there are regional centers in Hamburg, Potsdam, Leipzig, Essen, Stuttgart and Munich. Additionally, it runs Germany's densest network of meteorological measurement points with 183 full-time meteorological stations (60 of them manned), as well as about 1784 extraordinal weather stations run by volunteering amateurs (2014). Regards, Gordon

Paul, It probably is pre WWI but could be later as women wore these long dresses until after the war, Thanks to this second picture I was able to identify the sabre as a kk state officials saber M1889. It is great to have both pictures. My reference book only shows this type of sabre as a model 1935. All the earlier pictures show a degen being worn. The uniform details in the first photo are very good but the woman's clothing really helps us date the photo. Bad-Gastein is one hour from Salzburg in the Austrian Alps. Could not find anything on the net for the photography shop of Max Galde.

Paul R is correct. This is an Austrian Statsbeamten of some sort. This kind of tunic was worn from 1890 until? 1938 possibly? The tie was worn from the late 1800 but the shirt collar looks to me to be more in the 1930s. The sword is probably circa 1935. The hat style was worn for a couple of hundred years and as late as 1938. I have one of these hats in my collection. I would hazard a guess that he is a Railroad official but I don't have any reference material that shows the type of shoulder board he is wearing. If the woman had been included in the picture we could possibly get a better guess at time frame from the clothing she is wearing. Regards, Gordon

Feldjager1, Great photos. Lots of interesting uniform and accessory photos. Regards, Gordon

Gentlemen, Time to add something to this thread. When I started it I did not have the pin that went with the document in #1. Now I do so I can add it and some picture. I have a couple of questions; 1- This pin has a number (8942) stamped on the back. I have never seen that before. Were they numbered at issue at one point or would the person awarded the pin stamp the number from the document on the back?. It was established on the first anniversary of the July Manifesto PKWN under Order No. 155 Supreme Commander of the Polish Army, as a badge of merit for the defense of the country, and at the same time - souvenir participation in armed effort during the Second World War. According to the decree of the Department of Personnel HR, reproduced in the Official Gazette of the Polish Republic 1945 (No. 50), the right to issue Badges Grunwald had: Supreme Commander of the Army, Deputy Minister of Defence, Chief of the General Staff, commanders of military districts, commanders of regiments and the Presidium of the Board Chief Fighters Association Fascism and the Nazi invasion of the Independence and Democracy - an organization which in 1949 was in the composition of the Union of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy. The award entitled the soldiers of the Polish Army-formed in the USSR, members of the left-wing underground organizations operating in the occupied territories Polish, Soviet partisans or Yugoslavia, as well as the resistance movement in France, as well as all those who, with their attitude and service from 1 September 1939 to May 9, 1945 contributed to the victory over the Third Reich. This group also included veterans of Polish Armed Forces in the West, who returned to the country. In addition to the bronze badge I have read that there was a silver badge that was awarded to officers. Were the bronze and silver badges established in the Order No. 155? There appears to be silver badges in the photo below. Also shown below is a picture of General of Polish Army Wojciech Jaruzelski wearing what appears to be the silver pin on the left breast pocket of his tunic.

JapanX, Thanks again for this very enlightening answer. Regards, Gordon

JapanX, Thanks very much for your response. Would you be able to tell me the time frame that this disc was in use? Regards, Gordon

Gentlemen, I am trying to collect information on the disc pictured below. Any help you can give would be very much appreciated. Regards, Gordon

Here is a recently found chart of badges, shoulder boards etc that is worn by uniformed members of the Wasserwirtschaft. Regards, Gordon

Jock, Thanks for additional pictures. There was a thread discussing fake signs on the DDR Form on the WAF a couple of years ago but I can not find it now. I did find some comments on repro signs but the pictures were posted using a host and are no longer available. One of the most commonly faked signs are those from the concrete DDR border markers. I can not say anything about this sign pro or con except to say that repro signs are often, but not always, aged to make them look more authentic. I would only buy an enamel sign where I was sure of the provenance such as the one the one I directed you to. Regards, Gordon

Jock, A lucky find. I have never seen a DDR sign before where the enamel has not been chipped. Regards, Gordon

Paul, Very nice uniform. Regards, Gordon

Lukasz, Thanks for your comments about the cross. Very interesting for me. Also, thanks for the comments on the lapel pin. Perhaps more info will pop up in the future. Regards, Gordon

Uwe, Thanks for posting the method used to measure this cross. The comment by Lukasz on diametre confused me a bit. Your post make this comment clearer. While this somewhat complex method of measuring the cross may seem useful to some to me I don't think it helps much. I've spent a few days measuring my cross and I can get different measurements every day. Since there appears to be only small variations between what is considered an actual cross and a possible copy trying to tell one from the other by using a hand held digital micrometer may not be a totally accurate method of measurement. Also, there is one major measurement missing and that is the weight of a true cross. I would consider that a more accurate way of determining a true cross from a copy since a copy is probably not made from the same silver content as a true cross. Anyway. here are pictures of my cross and what I feel are the most accurate measurements of it that I have taken. Regards, Gordon

Gentlemen, I've just agreed to buy this tunic so now the research begins. What can you tell me about it? Time frame, rank etc. Regards, Gordon

Derek, I couldn't find anything on your man but I did find some info that after being taken to Halifax from Bay Bulls the crew of the U190 was dispersed to different POW camps in Canada. Unfortunately, there was no indication as to which camps these were. Regards, Gordon

Uwe, Thanks very much. That is exactly what I was looking for. It should have occurred to me to go to the Ordensmuseum.de to look for pictures of the back. The information on this site really expands collecting in the BVK field. Regards, Gordon

Uffz. Rolder, Interesting comment. Since this post I've been going through my BVK collection and doing some research and the one thing that is almost always missing is pictures of the back of the award. I have a few questions for you; 1-If I understand you correctly, you are saying that the back of the Verdienstkreuz am Bande was flat until the mid 50s and then was not? 2-If so, what did the back of the Verdienstkreuz am Bande look like when it was no longer flat? The reason I ask is that I have a Verdienstkreuz am Bande for a woman with a flat back that is 47 mm in size and according to "Die Orden und Ehrenzeichen unserer Republik" by Alezander v. Sallach until 1979 women received the men's 55 mm cross and only from 1979 on were they awarded the 47 mm cross. From your comment above I would not have expected the women's 47 mm cross to have a flat back. Here are pictures of cased women's one that I have that has a flat back. The case is marked to S&L. Regards, Gordon

Gentlemen, The sizes listed here confuse me somewhat. Perhaps we are talking about a miniature here and not a full sized cross? I've attached a picture of Soviet General Mikhail Sergeevich Malinin wearing his Cross of Grunwald 3rd class and it would appear to be much larger than the sizes listed. Or perhaps I am missing something here? Regards, Gordon

Gentlemen, This cross came to me in a bag of medals last weekend. It has what appears to be a unit badge attached to it. I have seen similar badges on the net IE different colours, but not one in red and white. Does anyone out there know which unit used this insignia? Regards, Gordon

Very nice miniature ribbon bar. Thanks for posting pictures of it. Regards, Gordon

Gentlemen, Thanks for your comments. I always wanted an MG 15 and ground mount kit to go with this set of saddle drums but was never successful. This is about the last of my firearms collection and I am just posting them for posterity before I sell them. While I'm at it, lets move on the the MG 13 magazines and their carriers that I have. I have a single canvas carrier containing three mags that is German marked. The mags are all marked well marked for use with the WR. I also have a complete carrier with both magazine pouches and the strap that joins them together which is unmarked. During late twenties and early thirties German arms-making concern Rheinmetall continued domestic developments based on WW1-era designs. By the early 1930s Rheinmetall had modified the 1918 pattern “Dreyse” LMG into a magazine fed, light machine gun which was known as Gerat 13 (device 13). Developed in the light of recommendations from German Army experts, this weapon was thoroughly tested and officially adopted by Wehrmacht as MG 13 in 1932. The MG 13 designation was selected as a disguise, in an attempt to represent a newly developed weapon as an older (1913 pattern) model in the eyes of Allied Control Commission which enforced the Versailles treaty. For a short time the MG 13 became the core of German infantry squad. Initially it was issued with a 25-round curved box magazine, but later on a special 75-round twin drum (Doppeltrommel 13) was developed to provide more sustained firepower, especially for AA missions. This double drum was based on, but not interchangeable with, the similar double-drum magazine developed for Luftwaffe’s MG 15 machine gun, which was widely used on German aircraft as an observer’s weapon. The MG 13 was withdrawn from service as it was replaced by the MG 34. The MG 13 was placed into storage or sold to Spain. Those weapons placed in storage were issued to second line troops late in WWII. Here are pictures of my MG 13 accessories and some pics of the MG 13 from the net. Regards, Gordon

Gentlemen, From my collection a rare set of three MG 15 saddle drums with their carrier. These carriers were used with the MG 15 ground mount kit. The MG 15 was a German 7.92 mm machine gun designed specifically as a hand manipulated defensive gun for combat aircraft during the early 1930s. By 1941 it was replaced by other types and found new uses with ground troops. The MG 15 was developed from the MG 30 which was designed by Rheinmetall using the locking system invented by Louis Stange in the mid to late 1920s. Though it shares the MG 15 designation with the earlier gun built by Bergmann, the MG 15nA (for neuer Art, meaning new model having been modified from an earlier design) has nothing in common with the World War II gun except the model number. The World War I gun used a tipping lock system while the WWII aircraft gun uses a rotating bolt/lockring. The World War II MG 15 was used in nearly all Luftwaffe aircraft with a flexible-mount defensive position. It was a modular design with various attachments that could be quickly attached or removed. Operation was easy and the bolt remained in the cocked position after expending the 75 round double drum (also called a "saddle drum") magazine, negating the need to re-cock once a fresh magazine was installed. The pictures show the three magazines in their carrier and the markings on the mags. I've added a few pictures from the web showing the MG 15 installed in aircraft and how these magazines were mount to the airframe. Also, pictures of the MG15 configured for the ground mount role. Regards, Gordon