Time for another classification thread — this time for the highly coveted Auxiliary Cruiser Badge.
Announced by Großadmiral Erich Raeder on April 24, 1941, the Kriegsabzeichen für Hilfskreuzer was the fourth Kriegsmarine service badge to be introduced (omitting the Blockade Breaker badge for now since it was a civilian award and approved for navy personnel only later in December, 1942). There had been an 8 month hiatus between the release of the Minesweeper badge in 1940 and the quick flurry of new badge announcements in 1941 between April and June.
Although announced on April 24, that announcement wasn’t published in Uniformen-Markt until June 1st in the same article announcing the Fleet badge (which had been instituted by Raeder on April 30). At the time it was stated: “Die Entwürfe zu den beiden vorstehend geschilderten Kriegsabzeichen sind, wie wir hören, fertig, aber die Muster noch nicht.”
“The designs of the two above-mentioned war badges are, as we hear, complete, but the samples are not yet ready.”
That design was by Wilhelm Ernst Peekhaus, a Berlin artist who would also design the S-Boat badge (1st and 2nd pattern) and later the U-Boat clasp. A photograph of the badge was finally shown in Uniformen-Markt on October 1, 1941, along with the other newly released S-Boat and Fleet badges.
Although the style is in keeping with the usual Kriegsmarine war badges to that point, it has some unique features which lend it an air of grandeur over previous badges. Given that Auxiliary Cruisers were converted merchant ships with a variety of appearances, rather than faithfully reproducing a navy ship the design instead features a romanticized Viking raider ship to evoke the action of this branch of the navy, dramatically portrayed spanning the globe. The height is 3 mm taller than the Minesweeper and Destroyer badges and also the oakleaves and acorns are rendered in a larger format with one fewer leaf on each side, giving the wreath a more robust look.
Whereas we usually see the products of C. Schwerin & Sohn in the first published images of new badges in Uniformen-Markt, this time we see the image of a C.E. Juncker badge, probably meaning that Juncker got the first production contract for the AC badge while Schwerin produced the Fleet and S-Boat badges shown in the same press release.
There are 12 makers of the S-Boat badge known to date, and these 12 makers can be grouped into 7 categories by obverse design. As with the Fleet badge, there is good consistency in the design between most makers so that the defining features for the categories are somewhat subtle, but the images will highlight the differences.
First I’ll define the 7 categories, following which I’ll post the eagles and globes for each manufacturer within each group for visual reference. Finally, a summary table will be presented which assigns an “Auxiliary Cruiser Classification Number” (AC#) to each of 36 variants.
Thanks are due, in advance, to all the collectors who have posted their badge photos over the years from which these compilations could be made, and especially to Martin and Hubert for the many postings from their outstanding collections.
Announced by Großadmiral Erich Raeder on April 24, 1941, the Kriegsabzeichen für Hilfskreuzer was the fourth Kriegsmarine service badge to be introduced (omitting the Blockade Breaker badge for now since it was a civilian award and approved for navy personnel only later in December, 1942). There had been an 8 month hiatus between the release of the Minesweeper badge in 1940 and the quick flurry of new badge announcements in 1941 between April and June.
Although announced on April 24, that announcement wasn’t published in Uniformen-Markt until June 1st in the same article announcing the Fleet badge (which had been instituted by Raeder on April 30). At the time it was stated: “Die Entwürfe zu den beiden vorstehend geschilderten Kriegsabzeichen sind, wie wir hören, fertig, aber die Muster noch nicht.”
“The designs of the two above-mentioned war badges are, as we hear, complete, but the samples are not yet ready.”
That design was by Wilhelm Ernst Peekhaus, a Berlin artist who would also design the S-Boat badge (1st and 2nd pattern) and later the U-Boat clasp. A photograph of the badge was finally shown in Uniformen-Markt on October 1, 1941, along with the other newly released S-Boat and Fleet badges.
Although the style is in keeping with the usual Kriegsmarine war badges to that point, it has some unique features which lend it an air of grandeur over previous badges. Given that Auxiliary Cruisers were converted merchant ships with a variety of appearances, rather than faithfully reproducing a navy ship the design instead features a romanticized Viking raider ship to evoke the action of this branch of the navy, dramatically portrayed spanning the globe. The height is 3 mm taller than the Minesweeper and Destroyer badges and also the oakleaves and acorns are rendered in a larger format with one fewer leaf on each side, giving the wreath a more robust look.
Whereas we usually see the products of C. Schwerin & Sohn in the first published images of new badges in Uniformen-Markt, this time we see the image of a C.E. Juncker badge, probably meaning that Juncker got the first production contract for the AC badge while Schwerin produced the Fleet and S-Boat badges shown in the same press release.
There are 12 makers of the S-Boat badge known to date, and these 12 makers can be grouped into 7 categories by obverse design. As with the Fleet badge, there is good consistency in the design between most makers so that the defining features for the categories are somewhat subtle, but the images will highlight the differences.
First I’ll define the 7 categories, following which I’ll post the eagles and globes for each manufacturer within each group for visual reference. Finally, a summary table will be presented which assigns an “Auxiliary Cruiser Classification Number” (AC#) to each of 36 variants.
Thanks are due, in advance, to all the collectors who have posted their badge photos over the years from which these compilations could be made, and especially to Martin and Hubert for the many postings from their outstanding collections.
Currently, 37 such variants are included in the Classification Table presented here. The same rules apply as to my other classification tables, namely variations in finish and atypical “one-offs” are excluded as are the “French-made” badges which, even if made during wartime, as far as we can tell were neither sanctioned by the KM nor worn by sailors. As before, I’ve included a column which equates the new numbering system to examples shown in “The Kriegsmarine Awards” Volumes I and III.
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