lach470

.....and now:

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Here is Saint-Aubin sur Mer.....before:

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Here I am standing in front of the same bunker! It was soooooo cool!

Rob

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Hey gang! I was in Normandy last week and took some pics of some of the bunkers that are still "hanging around". I've posted them here for you to see along with period pics of the exact same bunkers!

It was an AMAZING experience and I recommend you all take the pilgrimage!

I had an awesome time and only wish that I would have had more time to spend there...

Cheers....

Rob

First up....a bunker on Juno beach (Bernieres sur mer)

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...and finally....a little trio shot!

Cheers gang!

Rob

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And finally, the most commonly seen SA buckle: the mobile swastika....

CHeers...

Rob

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Next up is the sunwheel swastika....

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Hey gang....with Joe's SA buckle post I thought I would show the three different types of swastikas used on SA buckles.

Now, there are other "types" of SA buckles but all used one of these three types of swastikas...

Here is the hardest to find: The horizontal swastika SA

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There are at least 30 (!) known eagle variations. I'm not sure about the position of the head (over or under rope) in regards to type of swastika. I know that all horizontal swas buckles have eagles under the rope.

Cheers...

Rob

...and the smaller one...

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Here's a closer pic of the larger buckle

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Both buckles are marked "DRGM"....

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Hey gang....there is also a multitude of smaller, trouser belt buckles that were used in the Third Reich. Here are two of my favorites.

One is clearly bigger than the other and the smaller one has more "decoration" to it's edges. I wonder if the large one was for males and the smaller one for females?

Here are some pics....

Cheers...

Rob

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Hi Chas.....no, the sunwheel swastika was just a pattern that was adopted by the SA for wear. It was first introduced in 1923 and was worn exclusively until the mobile or tilted swastika buckle was introduced a year later. At that point both types were worn at the same time.

The sunwheel, horizontal or mobile swastika do not differentiate between ranks...these were just different styles that were created by the buckle firms to try and sell buckles. It appears that Berg&Nolte as well as Assmann were the two major players when it came to introducing the different swastika patterns.

Hope this helps.

Cheers...

Rob

Great sunwheel pattern buckle you have there! I also like these. I have one of each pattern: horizontal, sunwheel and mobile....and though it isn't the rarest, I think the sunwheel is the coolest!

Thanks for showing!

Cheers...

Rob

Thanks Gary! It's one of my favorites as well......Sah-weet!

Cheers buddy!

Rob

The buckle on the left in this next picture is made of Kriegsmetal:

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In this shot, the buckle on the right is my fav HJ buckle. This catch system was only made by the Assmann company....you don't see too many of those floating around....

Cheers...

Rob

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Hey gang! I saw Gary's post on the crank catch so I thought I'd post some pics of my HJ buckles....if you have a look....they all have a different catch system.

Pretty cool.....makes me wonder though why there were so many varieties of catches on HJ buckles when compared to other buckles????

Anyhoot....here's the pics....

Cheers....

Rob

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Dan!!! I was so impressed with that hard to find '95 (with cross on top of crown rather than more common Iron Cross), that I went and bought one today!!

Thanks for making me spend more money on more buckles! hahahahaha

I'll certainly post pics when it comes in!!

Cheers!!

Rob

Ahh.....I understand....hopefully, that limit will disappear!

Looking forward to seeing some neat closeups when you can!

Cheers....

Rob

Thanks Tom....You're right...you don't see these that often anymore!

Cheers...

Rob

There's something to be said when comparing these West German buckles and their East German counter-parts. The quality is still there when it comes to WestGerman manufacturing....the East German buckles were all made cheap, low quality - in typical Soviet fashion!

Rob