Gordon Craig

The manufacturers markings. Regards, Gordon

A closer view of the hand sewn metallic braid around the collar.

Some closer photos of the rank insignia.

Steve, Sorry for taking so long to respond to your post. I tried to do that earlier but for some reason the post didn't take so here I go again. "Regulations, I believe, specified that this style of tunic was worn by NCOs of the rank of Unteroffizier mit portapee and above, with the addition of "Altgold" piping to the collar" Yes, this is correct. "this example is clearly below that rank and has never had such piping attached, which I understand was hand stitched in place! (yes it was-I have put pictures of an example from my collection below) so an anomaly ? or a clear disregard for regulations ? are we talking in terms of very short period in which regulations could of been misunderstood or neglected ?" For your other two questions - in the early days, and often afterwards, there was not a clear understanding of the uniform regulations. While your tunic doesn't seem to fit any specific regulation it looks to me as thought the rank insignia is original to the tunic but only you can tell for sure. As far as I know, there were three sets of regulations issued before the round ended shoulder boards were authorized in 1963. They were; 23 Juli, 1955; 30 Juli 1957; 8 Juni, 1959. This is still to be confirm though. The rank insignia shown on your tunic does not fit any of them. If I can find examples of these rank structures I'll post them here. Now on to the uniform pictures

Stogieman, I echo Dan's comment. Would love one myself. Regards, Gordon

IrishGunner, There are two possibilities for #5. They are; 1-Munkásõr Emlékérem - Workers Militia Medal 2- Magyar Nékõztársasági Sportérdemérem - Hungarian Sports Medal I always find medal bars difficult to decipher. Especially if you are only looking at a picture. Paper bars are specifically difficult as the paper ribbons often slide around inside the holder and unless you have the artifact in your hand what you say is only a best guess so here is my best guess at this bar; 1- Liberation Commemorative Medal; 2- Hungarian Order of Labour - possibly in silver; 3- Hungarian Order of Labour - possibly in Bronze 4-10 Years Long Service 5- Workers Militia Medal Perhaps my friends Charles or cimbinius will comment on this bar as well. Regards, Gordon

Phil, The qualification badge above the right breast pocket is for Kompany Feldwebel and would work with the rank of Stabsfeldwel shown on the shoulderboards. The piping colour of the collar tabs and shoulder boards matches the arm badge which is for the Head Quarters of the 10th Panzer Division. The breast hanger is for the 108th Security Battalion which would have been subordinate to the Divisional HQ. SichBtl 108 did serve with 10th Panzer. Regards, Gordon

Kevin, As far as I know, the NVA did not have any speciific mountain units as such. If the NVA paratroopers were trained in mountain warfare no doubt others would have been trained in this specialty as well. The NVA wolud have needed troops with some mountain experience if they had of been called upon to fight their way through the Voges Mountains in France as well as the Bavarian Alps. Regards,

Here are some pictures, from the web, of one of these helmets configured for use by ZS firebrigades. The red stripe does not indicate a leadership but marks the attack team. Other markings are use as well; blue (water group) or yellow (hose squad) markings. These marker were present in only a few institutions.

The next pictures show markings inside the helmets showing they meet the DIN specifications, who made the helmet (the word VOSS is inside the large V but doesn't show up well in the pictures) the size - 2, and that it meets the 1000 volt specification.

A picture from the web showing a lamp attched to the front of the helmet.

The interior of the helmet.

The quick disconnect catch of the chin strap.

A view of the back of the helmet. The visible hole is for a plastic clip that is only used on helmets destined for the Firebrigades of the ZS. The leather neck shield is attached to plastic devices on the liner.

A side view of this helmet. The red cross on the side indicates it was used in the medical services of the ZS.

When the German civil defence organization was first formed they continued to wear the helmets worn by the Air Protection Service of WWII. This helmet remained in use until 1966 when helmets of the same basic design, but made of fibreglass reinforced with polyester resin, were purchased. These helmets proved to be unsatisfactory as they were not strong enough for the purpose they were intended to be used for. Not long after their issue a new polycarbonate helmet was issued to replace the fibreglass ones. In 1971, work began on the development of new civil defence helmet, as the old form failed in some drop tests. The new helmet was to meet DIN 4840 specifications as well as several other requirements. Other main demands were: external smooth shape without vertical and horizontal surfaces, liner of the fire helmet type to meet DIN 14940 specs; forehead, temple and neck protection; able to mount a helmet lamp; electric breakdown strength of up to 1000V; retractable face shield; self-opening chinstrap during heavy strain; easy dismantling, by hand, for replacement of defective parts and a shelf life of 15 years. Between 1972 and 1974 two prototypes were developed. Despite being certified by the Manching airbase fire department, these helmets were not produced because they were too reminiscent of the army M56 helmets of the GDR. The development company left the project and nothing further happened until 1979 when another company continued with the project. The helmet manufacturer VOSS now took on the project. Here is what the VOSS company writes about the helmet they designed; "In 1979, the first helmets for the Federal Office of Civil Defence were built. Overall, however, only some 10,000 pieces were made by the end of the eighties, when the Federal Office of Civil Defence was closed. The form of the helmet used was the same as the one developed by the firms founder, Hans Voss, in 1944 as the possible successor to the Wehrmacht helmet. This is the helmet that was the basis for the GDR helmet that was developed after WWII. A visor was designed for this helmet with a clear surface over a fine wire mesh. This face guard was not popular and was discontinued early in the production. Therefore only small numbers of these visors were made." Now on to some pictures of the helmet from my collection.

Kevin, Interesting pictures of early FDJ members. Any idea where they were taken? They seem awfullyy chummy with the U.S. servicemen. The snap top beer bottles bring back many fond memories! Regards, Gordon

Gentlemen, Interesting pictures of this General. Certainly the athletic type from the badges and awards he wears on his tunic. As for the misaligned bars on the out of country medals, this is not unusual. They turn quite easily on some ribbon bars. Regards, Gordon

Zsolt, It has been a long time since we have seen each other or even talked on a forum. Good to hear from you again. Thanks for confirming the time period of the badge. Regards, Gordon

Aurora, I don't remember seeing this badge before but it looks like a cap bagde for a driver or attendant for a Red Cross ambulance. Possibly from the early 60s as it was common for cap badges of this period to have two holes in them to sew them to the cap. The Hungarian Red Cross has never responded to any of my emails asking for information on badges from the Communist period. I'll see what else I can dig up for you in my reference material. Regards, Gordon

Mark, Negotiations are on-going. I'll let you know if they are successful. Regards, Gordon

Steve, You are welcome. I had never heard of this firm before either so this news is welcome to me as well. Nice to see that for your first BW helmet of this type you got a rare liner maker. Regards, Gordon

Steve, The answer to the markings on your liner. It is from a helmet collector in Austria that I know. Regards, Gordon The maker of the Bundeswehr liner “HRS-Gr.Umst.” is the Firm of Hermann Römmler Spremberg –Groß Umstadt. This firm was quite famous for inventing a way to produce “artificial” wood panels for making furniture in the Thierties. The stuff they made and still made is known as “Resopal”. A not so often seen maker. I only have one of this maker.

Steve, Thanks for the pictures. I'll contiue to persue these markings with my friends. Regards, Gordon

Steve, I have never seen a marking like this on BW helmets so I have asked some helmet collector friends for their help. So far this remains an unknown mark. It is not one normally associated with a Romer liner. One recent question was "does the liner have a vent on the left side like the one in this picture". So I am passing the question on to you. Regards, Gordon