Austria-Hungary Austro/Hungarian personal cap badge on Field Cap

[Gordon Craig]

Gents,

On page 107 of The Emporer's Coat there is a picture of a number of persoanl cap badges shown on the side of a Field cap. One of them is a red cross with a lion in the centre and the year 1915. Can anyone tell me what this badge commemorates? Is the badge pictured below authentic?

Regards,

Gordon

[Josef Rietveld]

Hi Gordon,

the badge is a bulgarian red cross decoration (badge). unfortunately i don't know more about it. i have to look up my old catalogues at home.

regards

haynau

[Gordon Craig]

Haynau,

Thanks for the response. I suspected it was Bulgarian. Just to put things in context, here is a picture of all of the badges on the side of the cap where this red cross is situated. I hope that your catalogues turn up something useful.

I don't kno what the badge with the white U is either. Any ideas?

Regards,

Gordon

Edited January 22, 2007 by Gordon Craig

[Josef Rietveld]

Haynau,

Thanks for the response. I suspected it was Bulgarian. Just to put things in context, here is a picture of all of the badges on the side of the cap where this red cross is situated. I hope that your catalogues turn up something useful.

I don't kno what the badge with the white U is either. Any ideas?

Regards,

Gordon

IMHO the beadge with the U is a donation badge for the Austrian Unterseeboote (submarines). but i will try to look it up aswell.

regards

haynau

[Kev in Deva]

The one on the extreme left , middle-bottom and extreme right are unofficial Austrian "tinnies" which reflect military themes, regiments, occasions etc..... the Austro-Hungarian military were extremely tollarant of these unofficial devices which were sold to raise money for the war effort, and there are many differeant types.

The Gilt one is probaly along the same lines as it sports the coat of arms of Prussia or Austria, and Turkey as well as the Hungarian coat of arms.

Kevin in Deva

Edited January 22, 2007 by Kev in Deva

[Gordon Craig]

Kevin,

Thanks for your input. I knew they were tolerated but not their origin. The fact that they tolerated them makes a lot more sense to me now.

Regards,

Gordon

[Josef Rietveld]

Hi gordon, the enammelled crowned cross is a Spendenabzeichen f?r das Bulgarische Rote Kreuz 1915. You could buy it for a donation to the bulgarian Red Cross in 1915.

unfortunately i didn't ID the sub-badge though i hve seen it several times.

haynau

[Gordon Craig]

haynau,

Thanks for the info on the Bulgarian Red Cross badge. Your explanation of getting one for a donation to the Red Cross fits in with Kevin's post on the "tinnies" that were also worn on the hat. I guess I'll just have to wait on IDing the U shaped badge. Some time in the future someone will probably read this thread and post the answer. Is happened to me before!

Regards,

Gordon

[Kev in Deva]

haynau,

Thanks for the info on the Bulgarian Red Cross badge. Your explanation of getting one for a donation to the Red Cross fits in with Kevin's post on the "tinnies" that were also worn on the hat. I guess I'll just have to wait on IDing the U shaped badge. Some time in the future someone will probably read this thread and post the answer. Is happened to me before!

Regards, Gordon

Gordon I thought the U shaped was i.d. early on in the post??

"IMHO the beadge with the U is a donation badge for the Austrian Unterseeboote (submarines). but i will try to look it up as well. regards haynau"

The U is definatly linked with the U-boats because of a larger insignia issued by the Austrian military, I will see if I can locate it among my computer reference files.

Kevin in Deva

Edited January 23, 2007 by Kev in Deva

[Gordon Craig]

Kevin,

Thanks for the offer to lok up the U shaped badge. I am familiar with the I shaped Austrian sub. I was curious about the ushaped badge I posetd because of the flag. Unfortunatley I can not see what is printed on the flag in the picture in the book. Here is a scan of another U shaped badge in commemoration of an event. It is from the same period as the other U shaped badge.

Regards,

Gordon

[Niko]

IMHO the beadge with the U is a donation badge for the Austrian Unterseeboote (submarines). but i will try to look it up aswell.

regards

haynau

The badge shown should be the U-bootkappenabzeichen issued and sold by the Austrian Flottenverain as a way to raise funds for the building of a new submarine. The goal was successfully achieved: With the raised funds the new U 40 was launched on April 21th 1917.

This U-boot survived the war, but not for long. After the end of WWI, what was left from the K.u.K. Kriegsmarine was assigned to the winning Powers:Carried to Venice, U 40 was assigned to Italy in 1920 only to be dismantled the same year.

You can find an enlargement of this U-bootkappenabzeichen here: .

For something more on K.u.K. Kriegsmarine, included badges and U 40, see here: .

Regards, Nico

PS: Sorry for my broken English, but I'm not an English native speaker and it's my first post on this site too...

[Kev in Deva]

PS: Sorry for my broken English, but I'm not an English native speaker and it's my first post on this site too...

Hallo Niko

welcome to the forum and many thanks for the information you supplied, and your English is very good and easy to understand, I couldnt find any break in it

Kevin in Deva.

[Gordon Craig]

Nico,

Thanks very much for answering my question. I will certainly look up the URLs you sent. Welcome to the GMIC and we look forward to having you share your knowledge with us. As Kevin says, no problem with your English posting. It was excellent.

Regards,

Gordon

[Gordon Craig]

Nico,

I visited the sites you mentioned and they were very interesting. Particularly the one Marine one showing subs. Makes the badge I asked about even more interesting as that site indicated that U40 was built in Budapest where I live. Now I wonder where in Budapest it would have been built?

Regards,

Gordon

[Kev in Deva]

As that site indicated that U40 was built in Budapest where I live. Now I wonder where in Budapest it would have been built?

Regards, Gordon

Gordon you can narrow your search down to the left bank and the right bank of the Danube, probably at that time it (the Foundry) would have been on the outskirts of the city, so as the clang of hammer on iron would not spoil the sleep of the natives.

Kevin.

Edited January 29, 2007 by Kev in Deva

[Gordon Craig]

Kevin,

Thanks for the suggestion. I would suspect Csepel Island would be a good bet. It is on the outstirts of the city and has been an industrial area for a long time.

Cheers,

Gordon

[Ian]

Gordon,

I am away from home at the moment and don't have my reference books handy, but my understanding is that SMU-40 was built in Pola by Cantiere Navale and not Budapest. I think the only warships built in or around Budapest were the Danube River Monitors.

Regards,

Ian

[Gordon Craig]

Ian,

Thanks for straightening me out on that. A mistake on my part.

Regards,

Gordon

[Niko]

Gordon,

I am away from home at the moment and don't have my reference books handy, but my understanding is that SMU-40 was built in Pola by Cantiere Navale and not Budapest. I think the only warships built in or around Budapest were the Danube River Monitors.

Regards,

Ian

I think Ian is right.

Gordon, if you go on KuK-Kriegsmarine.at, you'll see that SMU40 was built in Pola by Cantiere Navale (in italian it means shipyard: Don't forget that at those times Istria, a mainly italian speaking land, was under the rule of Kaiser Franz Joseph...).

By the way, in my last post I forgot to give you another interesting site. If you go on the page , you'll see the changing of the Austro-Hungarian war flag during WWI (the same flag you see on the U-bootkappenabzeichen).

Regards,

Niko

[Niko]

Kevin,

Thanks for the offer to lok up the U shaped badge. I am familiar with the I shaped Austrian sub. I was curious about the ushaped badge I posetd because of the flag. Unfortunatley I can not see what is printed on the flag in the picture in the book. Here is a scan of another U shaped badge in commemoration of an event. It is from the same period as the other U shaped badge.

Regards,

Gordon

This U shaped badge should be the "Kappenabzeichen U 6 1688-1916", not commemorating any event in particular but simply dedicated to K.u.K. Ulanenregiment Kaiser Joseph II nr.6, based at Rzeszow (Poland) and composed by polish and rutenian troops.

Regards, Nico.