5 Feather Uboot

[Schütze0815]

Hi Gents,
I was asked from JAndrew if I can bring that badge here for discussion.
I had it on E-Stand and no doubt about the originality. I bought that one (and that was not the first 5 feather badge I bought) from a veterans family up in Kiel / Germany.
So lets hear your opinions on that one.

Regards
Sascha

[Norm F]

Hi Sascha,

Well, that's the most convincing example of the 5-feather U-Boat badge I've seen so far. And that's the first time I've heard of potential connection to a German vet so that's very interesting.

The controversy around these comes from the relative lack of examples with provenance and the presence of known post-war production hollow versions of this design which are described in this thread:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=560942

The earliest verified appearance to date of this design has been the photograph in Klietmann's pamphlet from 1957 so we knew they were at least that old if not older. My suspicion is they were a Lüdenscheid product and, as we know, an avid souvenir market continued there in the early post-war period. One possibility though (completely conjecture) is FLL for whom we have a Destroyer, a Minesweeper and a Coastal Artillery but no U-Boat.

The end result is these badges could be late war or early post-war or both. Like I say your badge looks very nice and on appearance alone many would give it the benefit of the doubt as it certainly shows "wartime-compatible" construction. That impression is enhanced by the story behind it, but you still can't rule out that it is acquired by the Vet post-war as a replacement for a lost award.

I want to believe in it and I'm certainly leaning in that direction, but for now some doubt remains just as it does for some of S&L's late-war zinc production.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

I bought that one (and that was not the first 5 feather badge I bought) from a veterans family up in Kiel / Germany.

Sascha, do you also have some other anecdotes around the other examples of this type that you bought in the past?

Best regards,
---Norm

[JAndrew]

Sasha,
The one I have in my collection is vaulted (and without any tool marks). Have any of the ones you have come across also vaulted? I don't think it has any influence on whether these are pre or post May, 1945 but I am curious.
JAndrew

[Schütze0815]

This 5 `er came from that grouping.....

[Schütze0815]

The first one I got, also a family pick up, came with this....

[Kecon]

Sasha,
The one I have in my collection is vaulted (and without any tool marks). Have any of the ones you have come across also vaulted? I don't think it has any influence on whether these are pre or post May, 1945 but I am curious.
JAndrew

I also have one that is vaulted. And without any tool marks. Has some normal looking wear on the higher points. I also have one that is flat backed.

Ken