S Boot badge with diamonds being worn ?

[90th Light]

The S-Boots are one of the unsung heroes of front line KM combat. That includes Afrika from 1941 to 1943 (also before Feb. 41 and after May 43).

The amazing picture below proves this. He is wearing not one but three S-Boot badges. A first model and two second models, I wonder if one of them is diamonds ??? Are any of those medal ribbons Italian ??? The EK1 also looks to possibly be an interesting version ???

In fact the KM would be the first Germans to engage Allied forces in Afrika as early as 1939 esp. the S-Boots & U-boots,

Chris

[90th Light]

Although I did not get this photo off WAF, here is what it says on this forum about him;


Soldbuch and photo of Kriegsmarine Fahnrich (Ingenieur) Albert Eggenhoffer. Page 25 shows the entry that Eggenhoffer "arrived Africa 8.1.1942" and "left Africa 17.5.1943". He was awarded the AFRIKA cuffband on 1.4.1944 at a time when he was assigned to a Schnellbootsflotilla in the Adriatic. The photo is interesting in that he wears not only the AFRIKA band, but also 3 E-Boat badges! Aditionallly, the photo is dated in winter, yet he is wearing his Kriegsmarine tropical tunic. Eggenhoffer either had a sense of humor or no sense at all!


Chris

[Ludwig]

Just another "Joker" IMO...

[AndyC]

It looks like a Photoshop thing to me


Andy

[JAndrew]

Or someone showing off their collection by hanging all their awards on a uniform. Not only the 3 sboats but also two different types of ribbon bars. I doubt a diamonds winner as I believe the criteria was similar to the uboat badge with diamonds in that the person had to be a RKmE awardee to qualify. He would certainly be showing that off!
JAndrew

[greg1878]

It looks like a Photoshop thing to me


Andy

I agree, looks contrived to me also.
Greg

[90th Light]

The photo is not "contrived"

it is featured here on WAF as part of the Afrika documents section written by COL Scott Pritchett. Have a look for yourselves at the bottom of the link page.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/camp..._documents.htm

The photo was taken some time in the winter of 1944. I came across this photo from a completely different source than WAF. My source has just confirmed that "Eggenhoffer" did have at least 3 S Boot badges. Interestingly one of them was made of real silver and this is the badge seen in the middle of the photo. I am trying to confirm if it was "800" grade silver or "935"

Is it possible to have a real silver S Boot with no diamonds ???

I have heard of such a badge but have never ever seen one and have assumed until now that it was nothing more than a fakers tail to peddle their whares.

Who knows, may be they did exist. It would be interesting to find out what Scott knows about him,

Chris

[greg1878]

Sorry Chris but I am still not a fan. I confess I am not a photograph or document expert but the sharp outline of the man is in contrast to the edges of the other objects in the shot. It would be interesting to see what the paper guys think, also the rear of the photo would help.
If it's already been discussed I would be interested to see what the conclusions were.
Cheers - Greg

[JAndrew]

Just because something is "featured on WAF" does not mean it is always legit. We have uncovered instances in the past were items shown were not good. Despite best efforts even the wisest are sometimes fooled or what was once accepted as good turns out not to be. And speaking of fools, if this photo is for real then it seems appropriate that he was awarded the Afrika cuff band on April Fools' Day.
JAndrew

[90th Light]

Yes I suppose anything is possible and one must keep an open mind in such matters. So far the guys on the photo and documents forum are not jumping up and down about it

Scott Pritchett is no April day fool and has looked at more photos and documents, than I have had hot dinners as the images below prove. In fact Scott's archieve of photos or knowledge of such archieves in advanced collections around the world today is impressive to say the least. If he used this photo then it would be based on sound judgement that it was both real (pre-May 45) and appropriate for the purpose.

Plus Scott also shows page 25 of Albert Eggenhoffer's Soldbuch which you can also see on the WAF linked page. Thus the dates of 8/ Aug/ 42, 17/ May/ 42 & 1/ April/ 44 will be based on fact from the Soldbuch itself.

Anyway I will drop Scott a line and see if I can find out more,

Chris

[Dietrich Maerz]

No matter what, one thing is sure: it was against all rules and regulations to wear more than one issue of such a decoration. Also, if he was awarded one S-Boat Badge (evidently the first model), he was not awarded two more. So he must have either borrowed them for the photo or bought the other two. To wear them officially is completely out of the question. At best, the picture was taken in good humor, but not as an official portrait photo.

Why should one of the badges be with Diamonds? Was the soldier an Oakleave winner? I guess not!

Dietrich

[90th Light]

No matter what, one thing is sure: it was against all rules and regulations to wear more than one issue of such a decoration. Also, if he was awarded one S-Boat Badge (evidently the first model), he was not awarded two more. So he must have either borrowed them for the photo or bought the other two. To wear them officially is completely out of the question. At best, the picture was taken in good humor, but not as an official portrait photo.

Why should one of the badges be with Diamonds? Was the soldier an Oakleave winner? I guess not!

Dietrich

Hello Dietrich,

I realise that he is breaking regulations by wearing 3 versions of the same badge. The point is, this is a period photo and the question is why ???

He is also breaking regulations by wearing a tropical tunic on European soil especially during winter months. However, that happened quite often with Afrika veterans. They wore those tropical uniforms with pride when home on leave in Germany and no one took them to task over it. Just like a 60 mission crush cap in the UAAF.

I would be very surprised if the middle S Boot badge is diamonds. As you have rightly stated, he did not qualify for such a grade. But is that middle badge made of 800 to 935 silver ? I am told that he had an S boot made of real silver but I do not know why ???

Chris

[90th Light]

Here is the photo from Delev Niemann's book show an S boot made of silver with diamonds being worn. Look at the brighter luster of the silver in this photo which compares nicely with the middle badge in the image which started this thread,

Chris

[90th Light]

Close ups of the S Boot with diamonds,

Chris

[90th Light]

Comparison of the silver "luster" of the two badges.

And we have the typical finishes the first model and other second model to also compare with,

Chris