Martin W

Not much going on in the award department lately so i am really enjoying collecting photographs and here are a few more recent additions. First is another potrait with the HK award in wear. The reverse is dated Dortmund,1 November 1941.

I just received this very nice and what i consider a very rare photo of what i beleive is a member of the "Sonderkommando Mausi". We can see that he wears the horizontal pin Deumer Minesweeper badge and the Luftwaffe Observer badge. These Luftwaffe units were involved in Mine clearing operations using modified Ju 52's and were therefore eligible for the KM Minesweeper badge. More here on the "Mausi Units". http://www.ww2.dk/air/seefl/mausi.html http://www.balsi.de/...mando-Mausi.htm Regards,Martin.

Another Gumprich signature while he was Commander of the HK Thor. This is an EKII document to a Thor crewman and again it is signed in Yokohama,Japan.

As above and signed on the same day by Kreisch.

Another example of Gerlach's signature on an EKII document to a Stier crewman.

Nice badge. A later unmarked example with the flat-wire catch and a little worn, but still a good addition to your collection. If i collected U-Boat badges,a tombak Meybauer would be on my list. Regards,Martin.

Fregattenkapitan Dr Karl Bohme. Bohme was the head of Heimastab Ausland (Home Service Abroad) from May 1943 to May 1945. Heimastab Ausland was formed in Kiel on 18 June 1941,(later moved to Laboe). The office acted as a liason command between ships in deployment overseas and families of the crewmembers. In regards to the Hilfskreuzers Bohme's signature can be found on documents from the ships operating in the far east such as the Thor and Michel and on posthumus award documents from the Pinguin and the 2nd cruise of the Michel. This particular HK award document for a crewman from the Michel is signed by Bohme on behalf of the Commander of the Michel's 1st cruise,Helmuth von Ruckteschell who was hospitalised after Michels arrival in Kobe,Japan on March 2nd 1943.

Another example of Rogge's signature,a written dedication to his 1st Officer from the inside cover of the book "Die Kriegsfahrt des Hilfskreuzers Atlantis".

Kapitan zur See Bernhard Rogge. Born:4 November 1899. Died: 29 June 1982. Knights Cross:7 December 1940. Oakleaves: 31 December 1941. Commander of the Hilfskreuzer Atlantis,Schiff 16.Rogge was promoted to Konteradmiral in 1943. Retired from the Bundesmarine as Konteradmiral 31 March 1962. His signature not only appears on documents but on many period photographs and postcards. Here is an example of his signature on a postcard.

Hi Morten, here is one of my favorite Narvik in wear photo's.A very nice hand coloured image. Regards,Martin.

Gunther Gumprich,Kapitan zur See. Born:16 January 1900. Died: 17 October 1943.Killed in action when Commander of the 2nd cruise of the Hilfskreuzer Michel.HSK 9.Michel was sunk on this date by the USS Tarpon. Gumprich also commanded the 2nd Cruise of the Hilfskreuzer Thor,Schiff 10,HSK 4.During this command he was awarded the Knights Cross on 31 December 1942. This example of the HK award document is signed in Yokohama,Japan.

Horst Gerlach,Kapitan zur See and Kommandant of the Hilfskreuzer Stier.HSK 6,Schiff 23. Born:11 August 1900. Died: 1970. The only Hilfskreuzer Commander in WWII that did not receive the Knights Cross.

Another example of Weyher's signature on an EKII document.Awarded at sea this document bears the Orion's stamp "Schiff 36".

Yep,a good original Juncker. Nice badge to have. Regards,Martin.

I agree with Norm, the only company i could attribute this zinc award to would be Schwerin. A very nice and hard to find late variant by Schwerin IMO. Super portrait of the award in wear also. Regards,Martin.

Here is the obverse view of the two Mayer awards showing definate similarities and the possibility that they came from the same set of dies. Regards,Martin.

Hi Hubert, as i mentioned above i had not seen the block hinge on the tombak Mayer award. However,they did use the block hinge on their later zinc production as seen here on the L/18 marked zinc award next to the unmarked tombak award. When viewing the two awards together i think we can see that both awards came from the same set of dies,or at least sister dies. BTW,these Mayer zinc awards are equally as rare as their tombak predecessors,i know of only two in collections. Regards,Martin.

Thanks guys. Besides the Japanese awards there are still a couple of S&L variants i would like and any badge that is named or comes from a known HK crewman with provenance. Hubert, to date the only badge i have seen that could be attributed to Mayer is the variant i have posted above.These are rare and i know of only three in collections. I have never seen a tombak variant HK from Pfortzheim with the block hinge that is on your Mayer MS badge.Hopefully,one day,who knows? Here is my HK along with Erik's L/18 marked Minesweeper and the definate link in the reverse hardware to it's production in Pfortzheim. Regards,Martin.

Thanks Erik, i know you have a very fine collection of U-Boat items and traditions cap badges..I guess we both have become somewhat specialized in our collecting preferences over the years. Here is the rest of the HK "fleet" to date. Someday,i hope to add one of the Japanese made HK awards to the collection.That would be the "icing on the cake" for me,i think. Thanks again,Martin.

Here are the four tombak HK awards we know of that were produced by German firms during the war.Three from Berlin and one from Pfortzheim. Juncker,Mayer,Meybauer and Schwerin. The Mayer is the only German made tombak award that is of single piece construction.The other three have the seperately attached,rivetted globes. Cheers,Martin.

The reverse showing the Mayer/Pfortzheim hardware.

This is one i have been after for a very long time,the Pfortzheim made tombak HK beleived to be made by BH Mayer. Next to the Meybauer tombak HK it is probably the rarest of the four known tombak HK awards that were produced in Germany during the war. I have to extend a big thank you to Erik for parting with this "gem" and sending it on to me. Thanks mate,you know it has gone to a good home. Regards,Martin.

I agree Gordon, the first of it's type that i have seen but i do not know the reason for it's issue other than being employed in the shipbuiling facility? Outstanding grouping Erik. Regards,Martin.

Here is a planchet i picked up that i beleive to be for the early 1957 Steinhauer & Luck HK award. From this obverse view we can the guide for where a hole would have been drilled and the globe would then be attached by a rivet. All wartime and early postwar S&L HK's had a rivetted globe. Interesting piece,i think. Regards,Martin.

The reverse.