Paul R

My heart skipped a bit!!! I did not know you had this!!! Amazing piece!

Thanks for posting these Bob!! I love the bullion insignia! Paul

Really cool set!! I have not seen a nicer one.

Thanks for the explanation. I understand...

Most amazing set!!! I remember this being sold on Norbert's site in '03. This was before I "found myself" and started focusing on LW!

Great badges guys!! Were these considered to be decorations or qualification badges? How were these earned?

Another stellar and sobering grouping, Prosper!! To think that he was one of millions who did not make it.

Yep... For clarification, all branches of the military went to the TSD. The Heer TSD boards look identical to the LW version except for the LW used their typical shiney braid versus the Heer's subdued/matte Russian braid. The waffenfarbe for the Heer TSD is lightblue as well. The KM simply applied the staff to regular KM officer's boards(no light blue waffenfarbe). The Heer transport waffenfarbe was more of a grayish color and did not utilize the mercurian cypher. Here are some examples from my collection: Heer TSD and tabs on the left and Heer transport board on the right. Notice the matte finish on all three boards. It contrasts to the type used on the LW judicial board above.

The shoulder boards had the single layer of wine red waffenfarbe and utilized the Roman short sword cypher.

Judicial Branch: Consisted of Officials who volunteered from the Courts Martial and Luftwaffe Legal branches.

Administration branch: This branch consisted of Officials who volunteered from the paymaster and personnel sections of the Administration Service. Here is an example of some collar tabs, to illustrate the waffenfarbe. The shoulder boards had the single light blue waffenfarbe. The boards had a gilt Mercurian Staff cypher.

Thanks Bob!!! I have never seen one like that before!!

It looks OK to me, but I am not a side cap specialist, but I do have several. I will do a comparision when I get home tomorrrow. Paul

How is the eagle attached? Snaps? Clips?

I would think that this would be a huge oversight, unless it fell off without him knowing about it.

Very nice photos with some rarely photographed equipment!!! Nice!!

This thread will be dedicated to the study of the Luftwaffe TSD (Truppensonderdienst = Special Troop Service). On 25Apr1944, the Luftwaffe Special Troop Services was formed due to manpower shortages in the Luftwaffe. This branch was to be a compilation of Luftwaffe Officials with certain specialities who were brought into the Regular Luftwaffe and were give the status of regular Luftwaffe Officers. This was strictly a voluntary lateral move from the status of an Official to that of Regular Luftwaffe Officer. There were stipulations based upon speciality, age, and physical standards. Officials who did not choose to be a Regular Luftwaffe Officer or were not qualified for other reasons kept their status as Officials. By 01Oct1944, the transition was to be complete. The TSD was open only to officer rankings. There were two Branches of the TSD. These branches were Administration and Judicial. Insignia: The Officials traded in their administrative collar tabs and boards for the standard Luftwaffe types. Rank was reflected on the collar tabs by the use of the wreath and gulls. The double layered shoulder boards were removed and replaced by the boards with the single underlay. Waffenfarbe: TSD Judicial- Wine Red TSD Administration- Light Blue

I really like that Kreta Display!

Bob!!! That is such an awesome visor!!! They do not get better than that!! If you ever need to have it live elsewhere, please keep me in mind!! It would look great with...

Fran?ois, That is one nice set!! I am envious! They look to be, actually worn pieces(collar tabs). John, Thank you for posting these great photos!! While the are not members of the Corps of Engineers(These are Construction Troops), they are very interesting! I would be interested in knowing if there is any writing on the reverse of the photographs as well. I will start a thread on the Construction Troops in the near future. Lets keep the conversation going... if you know of anyone who can make any additions, please ask them to join in! Regards Paul

Wow!! Another beautiful example... I bet that you do not have an Admin EM... do you?

I simply LOVE that photo!! The only one I have ever seen! Am I missing something, or are his shoulder straps missing a pip? Paul

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Here are three more... White- Guards Units Brown- Signals Black- Pioneer