Kriegsmarine Mayer tombak Hilfskreuzer award

[Martin W]

This is one i have been after for a very long time,the Pfortzheim made tombak HK beleived to be made by BH Mayer.

Next to the Meybauer tombak HK it is probably the rarest of the four known tombak HK awards that were produced in Germany during the war.

I have to extend a big thank you to Erik for parting with this "gem" and sending it on to me.

Thanks mate,you know it has gone to a good home.

Regards,Martin.

[Martin W]

The reverse showing the Mayer/Pfortzheim hardware.

[Martin W]

Here are the four tombak HK awards we know of that were produced by German firms during the war.Three from Berlin and one from Pfortzheim.

Juncker,Mayer,Meybauer and Schwerin.

The Mayer is the only German made tombak award that is of single piece construction.The other three have the seperately attached,rivetted globes.

Cheers,Martin.

Edited August 9, 2011 by Martin W

[Erik Krogh]

Martin,

What a great HK collection you have! Glad that the Mayer is in good company.

All The Best,

Erik

[Martin W]

Thanks Erik,

i know you have a very fine collection of U-Boat items and traditions cap badges..I guess we both have become somewhat specialized in our collecting preferences over the years.

Here is the rest of the HK "fleet" to date.

Someday,i hope to add one of the Japanese made HK awards to the collection.That would be the "icing on the cake" for me,i think.

Thanks again,Martin.

Edited August 11, 2011 by Martin W

[Bubba_Z]

Hi Martin,

I feel a thrill on my back each time I see your incredible HK display!

Great collection

I wonder if there is a chance that B.H.Mayer(?) also produced HK badge with variant reverse setup as shown on my two unmarked tombak Minesweepers?

Cheers,

Hubert

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[Gordon Williamson]

Stunning selection Martin. The "Big Four" couldn't have found a better home !

[Martin W]

Thanks guys.

Besides the Japanese awards there are still a couple of S&L variants i would like and any badge that is named or comes from a known HK crewman with provenance.

Hubert,

to date the only badge i have seen that could be attributed to Mayer is the variant i have posted above.These are rare and i know of only three in collections.

I have never seen a tombak variant HK from Pfortzheim with the block hinge that is on your Mayer MS badge.Hopefully,one day,who knows?

Here is my HK along with Erik's L/18 marked Minesweeper and the definate link in the reverse hardware to it's production in Pfortzheim.

Regards,Martin.

[Martin W]

Hi Hubert,

as i mentioned above i had not seen the block hinge on the tombak Mayer award.

However,they did use the block hinge on their later zinc production as seen here on the L/18 marked zinc award next to the unmarked tombak award.

When viewing the two awards together i think we can see that both awards came from the same set of dies,or at least sister dies.

BTW,these Mayer zinc awards are equally as rare as their tombak predecessors,i know of only two in collections.

Regards,Martin.

Edited August 12, 2011 by Martin W

[Martin W]

Here is the obverse view of the two Mayer awards showing definate similarities and the possibility that they came from the same set of dies.

Regards,Martin.

[Bubba_Z]

Hi Martin,

Thanks a lot for clarification. I can see same analogies between Mayer zinc and tombak minesweepers.

Cheers,

Hubert

[all1knew]

Beautiful L/18's there!

William Kramer

[Norm F]

The reverse showing the Mayer/Pforzheim hardware.

Actually the Schickle/Pforzheim hardware.

Best regards,

---Norm

[Martin W]

Hi Norm,

you may well be correct.In light of recent observations this Pfortzheim tombak HK award could certainly be attributed to Schickle now and not Mayer.

Regards,Martin.

[Peter BL]

Amazing display of HK's Martin and a great addition to the collection.