Skarp

Both are male, both presumably German... There are no other points of similarity. Nose, brows, ears, chin, eys, all different

I stand corrected. I was trying to make the point that you can't determine whether someone is a pilot by the uniform they wear, but I see that might not be the case when refering to enlisted pilots. I know more about the pilots and their planes than I do about uniforms.

The Germans did not have a specific uniform for their Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) in WWI. Men transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte served in the uniforms that they wore in their former service (Infantry, Cavalry, etc). Anytime you see a group photo of pilots from a Jasta, or Fleiger Abteilung, you will notice that they wear a wide selection of uniforms. The one most people are familiar with is Manfred von Richthofen in his Uhlan Rittmeister uniform. Enlisted pilots were promoted quickly if they survived long enough to show some proficiency. There were NCOs that scored very well in the Jastas. The most obvious example being Jasta 5 where three NCOs, Rumey, Konnecke, and Mai scored a large portion of the Staffel's victories. Rumey had over 20 victories before being promoted to officer rank.

I've come to this forum in a round-about way. I originally was drawn to the GMIC purely for the history. This place is a veritable gold mine of information. I have been registered here, and lurking about for a couple years. Because my primary interest is Imperial Germany it took me a while to start poking around in the 3rd Reich forums. When I did I saw the tremendous collections some of the members have aquired. It made me remember that I had a small collection of my own from a brief period when I was much younger. When I was in high school in 1964 I had several friends that were interested in the World Wars. One of them found an add for medals in the back of some magazine, and we sent off for a catalog. We received the "catalog" (several sheets of paper folded in half and stapled to create a mailable flyer). It was a very extensive listing of 3rd Reich medals, badges and some other items. Some were labeled as reproductions, most were not. I ordered a EK2, a PAB (Bronze), an IAB (Bronze), and repo Wound Badge in Black. I also got a Narvik Shield. None of the items was more than $5 - $8. The order came to us from an address in Lichtenstein. I have always kept them in a sturdy box (originally a necklace box, I think) that has spent most years at the bottom of one drawer or another. My wife is of Polish descent, and her parents were both Poles that were displaced by WWII. A tasteful display was not an option. So they sat mostly forgotten. When I started looking around in here, I discovered that there were "maker's marks", which made me curious, as I had never really looked at the back of my PAB (I can just see the eyes rolling in disgust right about now). Mine is an "R.S." (angular). Somehow, finding that information gave me a great deal of satisfaction. This old badge that had been sitting anonymously in a box for 50 years suddenly had a place in history. I think that is the kind of "Eureka!" moment that fuels the serious collector to seek the story behind the object. The pictures were taken with my iPhone. I do not have a camera at present. I will post pictures of my IAB in a separate post. Proud to be part of such a knowledgeable and civilized community.

August von Mackensen