Kriegsmarine Meaning of AS

[John R]

Has it ever been resolved if the AS in a triangle is Adolf Scholze or A D Schwerdt? Weber's book on the Minesweeper badges has it as Adolf Scholze as do most posts in other forums--with the caveat that nobody knows really.

I just refer to it as AS but would like to see if any more information has developed concerning the maker of this badge. John

[Martin W]

John,

to the best of my knowledge nothing new has surfaced as to who the maker of these badges was.I recently had a talk with Philippe about these badges and the conclusion was "AS in triangle,maker unknown".

Regards,Martin.

[Gordon Williamson]

Long time back I had an AS badge in an original packet with the Scholz designation. Doesn't prove anything as of course badges can be put into any packet, but I'm not aware of any evidence of them being something other than Scholz.

[dond]

What badge was it Gordon? Mike Tucker found a badge marked AS Triangle in a Scholz marked packet too I believe.

[Gordon Williamson]

What badge was it Gordon? Mike Tucker found a badge marked AS Triangle in a Scholz marked packet too I believe.

It was many moons ago, but if emory serves correctly, it was a High Seas Fleet. AS only made three of the KM badges to the best of my knowledge. MInesweeper, Fleet and 2nd Pattern E-Boat, or at least these are the only three which I have ever seen AS marked.

[dond]

Hi Gordon, I don't suppose you have a picture of it do you?

[Gordon Williamson]

Sorry, this was back in the days before computers, scanners and digital cameras. The only reason I remember it is because KM badges have always been hard to find with the packet. AS marked Fleet badges are quire scarce in their own right, packeted or not.

This is an image I have had on file for a long long time. Can't remember where it came from and its not awfully clear but you can see the AS mark.

[Martin W]

Gordon,

i just found this for sale today.Seems to match the example you have posted.

Regards,Martin.

[Gordon Williamson]

Gordon,

i just found this for sale today.Seems to match the example you have posted.

Regards,Martin.

Hi Martin,

Yes, spotted that one at lunchtime today when I was doing my usual weekly trawl of the German websites. I was tempted to buy it just for the sake of getting good photos, but I have asked Philipp for permission to use his images meantime.

[Martin W]

Thanks Gordon and my apologies to Philipp for posting without permission.

Regards,Martin.

[John R]

Thanks Gordon and my apologies to Philipp for posting without permission.

Regards,Martin.

Heck, you did Philipp a favor to bring folks to his website. John

Edited November 30, 2007 by John Robinson

[Gordon Williamson]

Thanks Gordon and my apologies to Philipp for posting without permission.

Regards,Martin.

Hi Martin,

You misunderstand me, I wasn't refering to the images you posted here, I'm sure that's no problem, I meant that I had contacted him to ask about using his images in my book.

[John R]

I do want to mention that on the thread running at WAF on the AS HSF badge, the feeling is that it is a fake based on the Foerster and Barth design--so a little caution on this one for now I think. Checking other non-KM badges by AS, they all seem to have the ball hinge (like the Flak Badge). It also does look like a Foerster and Barth HSF.

Are there any badges by AS that have this kind of reverse setup?

Bottom line right now, based on the reverse hardware, still open for discussion.

Perhaps there is more evidence out there.

John

[Gordon Williamson]

I wouldn't like to say for sure that either of the pieces illustrated here is 100% good without examining them in hand, but I certainly wouldn't write off a badge simply because it has different hardware or reverse set up.

There are many examples where the same badge by the same maker have different hardware set ups and where the reverse face differs from others by the same manufacturer.

Take the U-Boat Clasps one with flush back, cast in hinge, one with seperate block hinge and recessed center. Recessed centre ? Name me one other Schwerin badge with this feature. Is one of them fake then ?

Take the Schwerin Blockade Breaker with the circular dished area on the reverse. Any other badges by Schwerin have this feature?

It may well be that these AS marked Fleet badges are wrong, but I don't see any logic to the argument that they could be wrong simply because of the reverse set up.

[John R]

Another to look at, courtesy of Roman.

[John R]

L/21 F&B badge type also from Roman, clearly not the same badge, but similar.

Edited December 1, 2007 by John Robinson

[John R]

Just a quick review of marked AS badges I have come up with the PAB, IAB, Flak, S-boat, and MS--all the same in reverse setup and marking.

That is about all I can add to the research on this maker.

John