Bundesrepublik more private BW pics

[Jock Auld]

Guys,

 

More stuff rescued from the skip.

 

Were in an envelope dated 1961, when did the Germans get the G3?

[speedytop]

Hi Jock,

 

G3 since 1959.

 

I don't see weapons on the small pictures?

 

Uwe

[Jock Auld]

Uwe,

 

Now you have made me look closer I see they are FN rifles!  At a casual glance I thought G3 at first.  Perhaps these soldiers are not even German, some sort of competition perhaps.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Jock Auld

[Long Thrust VI]

My impression, based on uniforms, etc., is that those photos are actually pre-1961; perhaps mid-late 1950s.  From my personal observation at Wildflecken, some Bundeswehr Soldiers were armed with Belgian-made FN rifles as late as 1963.

[Jock Auld]

My impression, based on uniforms, etc., is that those photos are actually pre-1961; perhaps mid-late 1950s.  From my personal observation at Wildflecken, some Bundeswehr Soldiers were armed with Belgian-made FN rifles as late as 1963.

Thanks for the info, envelope states Fursten???brück 1961, it is only pened on so could be wrong.

[Long Thrust VI]

Chances are good the photos are from 1961.  I was thinking they may have been taken earlier & developed in 1961.  In terms of personal equipment, weapons, uniforms, etc., the Bundesheer was a new & dynamic organization in the 1950s & early 1960s.  A lot of insignia items were adopted & changed during those years.  Originally, West German Infantrymen wore crossed rifles insignia, reminiscent of that worn by U.S. Infantrymen.  That didn't last long & was soon replaced by traditional German "two-ribbon" collar insignia w/branch of arm colors.  By 1963, high, pull-on "dice-box" boots had replaced the original British-style lace-up short boots w/gators.  Early West German Soldiers wore "splinter" camouflage (not unlike the Wehrmacht) field uniforms replaced shortly thereafter by heavy wool dark-olive field uniforms referred to as "the felt louse" because of their rough, itchy texture.  Given that all, or nearly all, senior officers & non-commissioned officers were WW II Veterans, uniform items were influenced by Wehrmacht experience.  In the early 1960s, for example, West German military police wore traditional "chain dog" plaques, hanging by a chain around their necks, to identify themselves a MPs.

Edited February 8, 2015 by Long Thrust VI