Unteroffizieranwärter: Heer Nachrichtenpersonal

     A studio portrait of an Unteroffizieranwärter. An Unteroffizieranwärter (Non-Commissioned Officer Candidate) was a soldier who was considered by his superiors to be a candidate for attending Unteroffizierschule (NCO School). His rank (for the moment) is Gefreiter which was equivalent to a Lance Corporal and this is shown by the “V” shaped silver tress on a triangular wool backing. His status as a NCO school candidate is denoted by the single loop of silver tress on his schulterklappen (shoulderboards). Of interest is his Nachrichtenpersonal (Signals Operator) proficiency badge. This proficiency badge was given to those soldiers who excelled in the tasks required to operate signals equipment but more importantly, how to service, maintain, and repair communication equipment. The color of the “blitz” (lightning bolt) followed the same regulation as the Waffenfarbe (corps colors) and so in this case, it would appear that the Unteroffizieranwärter is infantry and so the “blitz” would be white. Had he been, for example, artillery, then the “blitz” would have been red (the corps color of artillery). As a note, the soustache (the inverted chevron) on his feldmütze (field service cap) would also match the corps color. So, as another example, had this Unteroffizieranwärter been with a Kraftfahrparktruppen (vehicle troop), the piping on the shoulderboards, the soustache, and the “blitz” would all be blue.

     The Litzenspiegel (more often called Litzen; collar patches), prior to 1938, would have matched the Waffenfarbe. However, it was seen that logistically, creating collar patches in all of the Waffenfarbe colors was simply impractical and would have burdened unit tailors with having to sew on new litzen if a unit changed missions (for example, transitioning from a cavalry unit to an infantry unit) or soldiers from other units transferred in. So, after 1938, a universal litzen was introduced with silver-gray threading on a green backing. By 1940, this was changed to a feldgrau (field gray) to more match the uniform but it was never popular and troops, when they could, would wear the green backed litzen and those troops who had the pre-1938 litzen with the Waffenfarbe colors continued to wear them as a sign of pride.

The Schutzmütze: Headgear of the Panzerwaffe

(Author's Collection)

     The official birthday of the German Panzerwaffe was October 15, 1935 when the first three panzer divisions were established. To set themselves apart, the uniform worn by tank crews was inspired by the Herzoglich Braunschweigisches Korps (Brunswick Ducal Corps) which was a mixed formation of infantry, Jägers (light infantry), and cavalry raised by the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Charles William Ferdinand in 1809. The unit was characterized by their black uniforms and use of the Braunschweiger Totenkopf (Brunswick Death’s Head [Skull]) and thus earned them the nickname Schwarze Schar (Black Horde). The Schwarze Schar, by 1866, became the Braunschweigisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr.92 and Braunschweigisches Husaren Regiment Nr.17 and upon the German defeat in World War One in 1918, the “Black Horde” was disbanded.

     Thusly inspired, the German panzer uniform was all black and used the Totenkopf on the collar tabs. The Waffenfarbe (Corps Colors) for panzer troops was pink and so the piping on the uniform seen in the photograph along the collars, on the shoulderboards, and surrounding the collar tabs was pink. The most distinctive piece of the uniform was the Schutzmütze, first issued in 1934. It appears as an oversize, floppy beret but in reality, the Schutzmütze main purpose was as a crash helmet. The beret portion of the Schutzmütze, which was removable, was made of black wool and formed the cover for the crash liner underneath. The liner was constructed of thick felt padding covered in black oil cloth. It also featured a leather sweatband and had six rubber lined ventilation holes. Featured prominently prior to World War Two, once the war began in 1939, the Schutzmütze fell into disuse and by 1940, had been officially replaced by a black wool version of the German Army’s Feldmütze (Field Service Cap) that the Army had been using since 1938.