List of Minesweeper Badge Manufacturers

[Norm F]

5.2.1

Here is a late war unmarked zincer that is most likely a S.H.u.Co product. This is the only minesweeper badge manufacturer to feature a catch which opens leftward instead of rightward, just as on the S.H.u.Co. Infantry Assault Badge.

[John R.]

Great. Do you need to update the pinned thread:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=452142

on classification by obverse design?

[Norm F]

Great. Do you need to update the pinned thread:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=452142

on classification by obverse design?

Well, the minesweeper classification thread already mentions the tentative attribution of the flat-waved minesweeper to S.H.u.Co.
Here's a comparison between the catches on the marked S.H.u.Co. IAB and Destroyer badges and the catch on the minesweeper. Notice the notch in the upper end of the round wire catch and the slight bevel in the lower end. An excellent match.

[Norm F]

...
Many think "AS in triangle" was Adolf Scholze but this is still unproven, and for what it's worth, contacts in the Scholze company 60 years later were unaware of the firm ever using this logo rather than a plain A.S. (as discussed previously on GCA and elsewhere in WAF as well).

Thought I'd better update this statement to reflect that Adolf Scholze is back on again as the likely maker behind the "AS in triangle" minesweeper, based on the interesting findings posted by Pavel from Gablonz in the thread "Unfinished AS minesweepers" from post #56 onwards.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

4.1.2

A tombak Hymmen & Co., Lüdenscheid, marked "L/53" -- the most bizarre of minesweeper badges.

[Norm F]

3.1.9

R.K., Gablonz-made, in zinc. 9-wave variant.

[Norm F]

machine embroidered

Minesweeper badge in cloth (also in this thread).

Type 1 has been seen in wear in a period photograph and Type 2 (the variation with 6 waves counted below the water column) is of similarly convincing construction and examples appear with convincing wear.

[Norm F]

2.11.1 and 2.11.2

A couple of Wilhelm Hobacher Minesweeper badges - marked and unmarked. Both show a gold undercoating beneath the silver finish on the water column.

[Greg]

4.1.6

Here is a zinc Hymmen & Co. L/53 type 4.1.6; not near as pretty as Norm's Tombak one above.

Over on the Heer/SS War and Qualification forum, Chet Sowersby once had a theory that the Hymmen owner must have had some real dirt on someone high up in the Party or Ordenskanzlei to be able to get away with crummy designs like this!

Best,
Greg

[Norm F]

4.1.5 - Hymmen - zinc

Here is a zinc Hymmen & Co. L/53 type 4.1.6; not near as pretty as Norm's Tombak one above.

The zincers are even more rare than the Tombak versions, so cosmetics aren't so important!

Here's a nice type 4.1.5 (prone block hinge), courtesy of BubbaZ.

[Norm F]

6.1.2 and 6.1.3

Adding to the reference thread, two examples of the unknown zincer dubbed the "Juncker-style", Types 6.1.2 and 6.1.3 in the Minesweeper classification system.

[Norm F]

2.2.1

In contrast to the "Juncker-style" in the preceding post, here's the so-called "Juncker-like", type 2.2.1. The obverse design is the common "Type 2".

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

2.1.6

And to complete the so-called "Juncker trio" here's the true "Juncker" zincer, Type 2.1.6, based on the same die as the Tombak version. Example of this type all show poor detail, and it appears as though the die was heavily worn by this time which makes sense given the enormous output of Juncker's Tombak version which was a standard award piece. This perhaps made it necessary to change tooling later in the zinc era?
A postulated timeline could be:
A) the "true" Juncker (same die as the Tombak version)
B) the "Juncker-style" zincer
C) the "Juncker-like" zincer

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

2.7.1 and 2.7.2

A few variants of the Otto Schickle Minesweeper (formerly called the "unmarked B.H. Mayer") 2.7.1 and 2.7.2.

[Norm F]

2.7.3 and 2.7.4

And the other two Schickle variants, 2.7.3 and 2.7.4.