J Temple-West

Photoghaph of Hans Rehfus as he was on his entry into the Reichsheer as part of 4 Komp. Aufklr. Abt.5

After seeing, bidding and winning what turned out to be a very inexpensive group of documents on ebay, I received all but one, of the following, from the seller. What we have, in essence, are the documents pertaining to the beginning and end of a career ?Luftwaffe? officer?s service, one Hauptmann Hans Rehfus late of Kampfgeschwader 6. As will be seen, these documents only cover his entry into the Reichsheer, his driving licence (obtained from another source), officer training, congratulatory letter for the lifesaving medal, then nothing until his disappearance in Sicily in 1943 during an attack on the city of Syrakus. The documents from this point are replies from various organizations, both military and civil, to inquiries made by the officer?s wife as to the status of her husband. Most of the advice is that she should be patient as POW reports, coming form the allies, would be delayed due to the ?situation? in the area. The most telling information comes in the form of a telegram from the commander of 1. Gruppe KG 6, Maj Helmut Fuhrhop, where he states that Hauptmann Rehfus failed to return from the raid? and the letter from the Red Cross where they say that the names of the crew were submitted to Geneva but were not on any POW listings. I?ve started the research on this officer, luckily came across his drivers licence?so at least we have a photograph. Any help would be much appreciated in filling in the blanks.

Luftwaffe..RAF..USAAF.

Reverse..

With regards to buntmetal Vs zinc Luft flak badges with the SW68 mark, I have come across what I consider to be a transitional buntmetal, SW68 marked piece, but as far as the RO/AG and AG/FE badges are concerned, I?ve only ever seen this late zinc series marked as such. Here's an example of the 'SW68' marked buntmetal piece I have on file.

Now that's what I call a tab.. Very nice, Mike.

And the L/21 marked screwback.

Truly impressive.. I shall have to frequent this section a little more.

Reverse..

That's a good idea for a thread, Jan.. I hope you don't have too many in the junk box? Here's another scary one.. The 'Hermann Aurich ' flat back fake.

Maker mark.

Reverse.

Another example of this maker mark can be found on the later Air Gunner/Flight engineer's badge. Instituted on 22nd june 1942, this badge is the same as the Radio Operator/Air Gunner badge but without the lightning bolts. It should be noted that there was a common practice to remove the bolts from RO/AG badges (post production) to make them into AG/FE badges to keep the costs of die production to a minimum. This particular badge was factory produced without the bolts. The same wreath die and reverse setup were used, but a new die was made for the eagle.

closeup of the badge in wear.

Maker mark.

Reverse.

Although a late example in zinc, it?s in very nice condition with nickel plated wreath.

One question I?m asked, on a regular basis ? ?Is the ?Juncker Berlin SW68? maker marking a period mark?? Yes, I reply, cite the timeframe, show examples of badges with the mark, etc. The next question is usually.. ?Okay, but have you ever seen any period photo?s showing these badges in wear?? Well, for those who have asked, here is a perfect example of one of these badges in wear. This Radio Operator/Air Gunner badge comes with a large portrait of the recipient.

This searchlight unit patch looks Okay. The dark background is possibly due to it belonging to a 'Luftschutz' unit.

Hi Mike, ye olde pilot ye. Welcome to the club, good to see you here. Re the posting size, there is a probationary period before being given full member status (this will give you a higher posting allowance) which shouldn?t last long if you were to honour us with some of your insights and expertise into the wonderful world of Luftwaffe collecting. In the meantime, if you use a smaller file size, you?ll be able to post some pretty decent sized pix. Example, which is less than 60kb.

Here you go, Paul... A letter of congratulations, for winning his life saving medal, from the Officer Corps to a pilot who flew long range fighters. Not a citation but quite an interesting document to do with the subject.

Very nice, Garth. I know where to come if reference material is needed.

[quote (I take it you're still in the same predicament and your will hasn't broken???)

Hi Neil, Good to see the wife is keeping that other para away from you until Christmas. Re the image size... If you lower the file size, you'll be able to post larger pix...give it a try.

That Deumer RO/AG is an absolute beauty, Kurt. Having the original Deumer case is a very nice thing to see. The JMME, as you say, is a Juncker parts piece, in wonderful condition. Congrats on both!