Norm F

This one is a recent pick up.

Great photo,i think.

Twin brothers of the same rank,both radio operators and both with the Minesweeper awards.

Regards,Martin.

Amazing photo Martin! Looks like the only way you can tell them apart is by the darker waves on the left brother's Minesweeper badge!

Best regards,

---Norm

Martin and Gordon:

I have had occasion to hold/review/inspect three original issue HSK award sets from ATLANTIS crewmen presented on the original issue day where Rogge presented and Mohr assisted. (As pictured in the Mohr 1944 book). All of those were the brown cardboard box and brown tissue-type paper wrapper.

I firmly believe the blue boxed badges (and other laminated or colored period boxes) were period "after-market" or period pieces produced for issue or presentation after January 1942 (more likely: Apr 1942).

I've promised Martin that I'll scan my brown cardboard box, wrapping tissue and HSK badge for his review. Hopefully as a significant trade piece... (The only badges that I won't part with are ones personally given to me from HSK crewmen) The boxed/tissue wrapped badge I have was one of my early, early purchases. I need to get off my butt and post the photos of the set to see if anyone with HSK documents/portraits is interested in trading.

Joe Slavick

Hi Joe,

This is very interesting and I look forward to your photos!

Two questions:

1) What was the date of the Rogge and Mohr presentation session?

2) What allows you to date the blue boxes to after Jan, 1942?

Best regards,

---Norm

Here is my Belt Buckle No.2 with the same manufacturern and year.

All the best

Morten.

Another one! Excellent. Somehow they're all ending up in Norway! There aren't any in Canada....

Cheers.

---Norm

And here he is in Mürwik in 1938 at Marinenachrichtenschule, wearing a buckle that must have been much like yours!

Thanks for comment.Interesting that your dad was in the Kriegsmarine.Have you some picture of him to show?

All the best

Morten.

Hi Morten,

Here's my Dad in November 1937 in "Grundausbildung" in Stralsund.

Best regards,

---Norm

Hi Morten,

Fantastic! (That's exactly the type and year I'm looking for since my father was in the 3. Schiffstammabteilung in 1937.)

Best regards,

---Norm

Hi Norm !

Nope ! Badge is from two different places .

Jan Arne

Hi Arne,

Well, a happy coincidence. You'll notice they have the same reverse setup.

Best regards,

---Norm

Hi Jan Arne,

Another really nice badge. I agree with your assessment of an unmarked S&L.

Just out of curiosity, was this badge acquired along with the u-boat badge you just posted?

Best regards,

---Norm

Hi Jan Arne,

Very nice badge. It's the same as Michel's described in this this thread. I presume the round wire catch is applied end-on in the typical Lüdenscheid "question mark" fashion?

It shows the typical Type 1 die feature of the "squished laurel leaf". Personally I believe this to be the tombak S&L. The idea of a W&L attribution arises from the few Type 2 die "non-squished laurel leaf" examples that exist with W&L's "100" mark on the pin, raising again the ongoing discussion of a possible working relationship between W&L and S&L.

Best regards,

---Norm

More pics - second one.

Hi Hubert,

Please show the obverse of that last one. It looks like a beauty!

Best regards,

---Norm

Here is another opinion from Mike's great article:

http://members.iinet...ngePinCatch.htm

Cheers,

Hubert

In Mike's article on the Flotten-Kriegsabzeichen you see just we expect the statistics to suggest -- i.e. dome-head hinge pin associated with the round-bottomed "C", and flat or no-head hinge pins associated with the flat-bottomed "C".

There are probably a few flat-bottomed "C"s out there somewhere paired with leftover dome-headed hinge pins (and I think somewhere I may have seen a minesweeper like that), but I expect them to be the exception rather than the rule. You and I will just have to keep track of all the badges we see with attention to this detail!

Best regards,

---Norm

Hi Norm,

I would tend to say the opposite - flat-headed hinge pin, with or without crosshatching, or simply 'beheaded' paired with flat-bottomed "C" catches are still less common. But this is mu subjective opinion, might be wrong.

Cheers,

Hubert

Hi Hubert,

Just to be clear, I'm not saying the flat-bottomed "C" catches are more common than the round-bottomed "C" catches (quite the opposite since round "C"s predominate and therefore so do dome-head hinge pins); I was suggesting that within the sub-category of badges with flat-bottomed "C" catches, the dome-head hinge pins are less common than flat/waffle/beheaded collectively. But as you say, it's subjective without collecting a large series so I too could be wrong.

Regards,

---Norm

Hi Norm,

According to my observations I'd rather say that round-bottomed "C" catch is in fact correlated with dome-head hinge pins but later (zincer-like) flat-bottomed "C" catches could be met with all types of hinge pin heads and situated on both sides of the hinge. This is at least true in Schwerin's minesweeper line.

Cheers,

Hubert

Hi Hubert,

Sounds good. Is it not also fair to say that the flat-bottomed "C" catches are much less commonly paired with dome-head hinge pins than with flat-heads?

---Norm

Hi Norm,

Its a flat bottomed "C" and a plain smooth headed pin.

Thanks Gordon,

There are exceptions but my impression is that generally the dome-head pins correlate with the round-bottomed "C" catch (probably earlier) and the smooth flat-heads or waffle-heads (or no-heads) correlate with the flat-bottomed "C" catches. This seems to apply across the Schwerin badge lines. Has that been your observation as well?

Cheers.

---Norm

Another fabulous posting. Thanks very much Gordon!

Two questions:

1) Is that a waffle-head hinge-pin?

2) Is the flat wire catch in the shape of the rounded "C" or the flat-bottomed "C"?

Best regards,

---Norm

Stunning! Like being in a time warp, I feel like I'm witnessing an award ceremony.

Best regards,

---Norm

Nice closeups! Jan Arne's badge has the classic S&L-type catch which appears on a wide variety of S&L badges.

Martin, what catch is on your AC -- this characteristic metal catch like Jan Arne's or the generic flat wire catch?

Best regards,

---Norm

Back of L/21 U-Boot Badge .

Jan Arne

Hi Jan Arne,

You now have quite the collection of L/21 marked pieces! Nice addition!

Best regards,

---Norm

Hi Jan Arne,

A nice S&L attributed HSF with the rarer reverse hardware. This same setup can be found on the S&L zinc minesweeper, Coastal Artillery and Auxiliary Cruiser badges and it's the least common setup on all of them.

Best regards,

---Norm

Correcting my statement above. This rarer setup is found on the Auxiliary Cruiser badge (Martin has one), but I haven't seen this particular hinge block and pin combination on the minesweeper and Coastal Artillery (although the same catch can be found on all of them).

Cheers.

---Norm

Hi Jan Arne,

A nice S&L attributed HSF with the rarer reverse hardware. This same setup can be found on the S&L zinc minesweeper, Coastal Artillery and Auxiliary Cruiser badges and it's the least common setup on all of them.

Best regards,

---Norm

...

This is not an original print but one i just made in the darkroom from the original glass negative.

Regards,Martin.

Fantastic Martin! Not only the find of the negatives but also your darkroom skills...a rare talent nowadays.

Best regards,

---Norm

Very nice original, but not just for officers. These were worn by NCOs also.

Hi Gordon,

I know they'd be worn by a Feldwebel (senior NCO) but would they ever be worn by a Maat or Obermaat (junior NCO)?

Best regards,

---Norm

Thanks Norm!

I really like the hinge mechanism - a nice peice of enginering

This is my first breast eagle - are these reasonably scarce?

Dan

Hi Dan,

I wouldn't say they were particularly scarce. You see a fair number of these anodized aluminum eagles around but they are quite nice.

Cheers.

---Norm

Thanks Morten! Its my first one.

Yours and mine are almost identical! Any idea as to the maker?

Is this an officers badge or nco\enlisted?

Thanks for your help

Dan

Hi Dan,

The maker is J.C. Maedicke, Berlin. This is the eagle for the officers' white summer uniform.

Best regards,

---Norm

broken catch