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HHOX, Saxon Albert and a tale of two eagles

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    HHOX, Saxon Albert and a tale of two eagles

    I have taken over this bar (thanks Christian!) and inherited the case of a possible ID. This bar was discussed here before, but the wise could not reach a conclusion:



    EK 2 with Spange 1939, HHOX, Saxon AlbertX (1st or 2nd), Hamburg Hanseatic Cross, War Honor/Hindenburg Cross, 2 Long Service eagles, Sudeten Anschluss Medal, Austrian Military Merit Cross 3rd cl with war decoration.

    He was neither Reichsheer nor Reichsmarine.

    Big problem, the back:


    The second eagle clearly has been substituted! Two possibilites here, I think:
    1) This bar has been monkeyed with later. One eagle had fallen off, and some ?!!§$&!** thought it would be a good idea to have two GOLDEN eagles here. Quite probable, I would say. In that case, this officer had 12-17 years of service in 1939.
    2) Maybe he had just earned the next long service award in 1939, but the paperwork took so long it reached him only AFTER he had got the EK Spange, and he was too lazy to have a new one constructed. Problem: The next long service class after 12+4 would be 18+4, so two SILVER eagles. But it is clear that this WAS some sloppy guy. He had the Austrian in wrong place post-Anschluss. So maybe he just didn't care and simply exchanged the second eagle himself. Less probable, I think. But in this case, he would have had just about 18+ years in 1939.

    What to do? Did he make general? Looking through the Luftwaffe generals' bios for those with HHOX and matching service time and comparing this to the Saxon Albert list yields the following results:

    1) General der Flieger Helmuth Förster, HHOX, SA3aX, max. 17 years
    -> problem: His pic in the bios shows his ribbon bar, which looks different from mine. I see no Hanseatic Cross, for example.

    2) Generalmajor Dietrich von Trützschler Frhr. zum Falkenstein, HHOX, SA3aX, max. just 18 years
    -> problem: He had the crown to the Albert order as well! Should be there, I think.

    Others had too many years of service, I think, like Otto Langemeyer (HHOX, SA3bX, max. 22 yrs) and Erich Stein (HHOX, maybe SA3aX, max. 23 years). Albert Müller-Kahle had the PLM, and I'm not even sure about SA3bX.

    In an act of desperation, I turned to the 1945 Luftwaffe list and tried to find Obersten with Albert Order and HHOX. I came up with some vague possibilities:

    1) Kurt Reich, Oberst 1.6.43, SA3bX 25.5.17, HHOX 15.6.18 (IF that's him)
    2) Hans Schumann, Oberst 1.9.43, SA3bX 24.8.17, HHOX 20.6.1918 (IF that's him)
    3) Willi Westphal, born 1885, Oberst 1.1.42, SA3bX 28.3.1916, HHOX 12.6.17 (IF that's him)

    Has anyone got ideas about this?

    Regards
    Chris
    Attached Files

    #2
    Well for one thing I'd drop the assumption it was messed with. These little doodads catch on sleeves and coats. And for a few pfennings replaced by the owner's valet.

    Comment


      #3
      Brian,
      good point. Didn't think about that. So it was 12-17 years.
      Also, Hans Schumann and Willi Westphal can be excluded, as someone wiser told me!

      Regards
      Chris

      Comment


        #4
        Werner?
        In the last thread someone suggested you MIGHT have a clue as to who this bar belonged to...?

        Regards
        Chris

        Comment


          #5
          piHere is the pic of Helmuth Förster I was referring to. Judge for yourself:



          A closeup of the ribbon bar (couldn't get better):



          Hmmm, maybe Hanseaten and Saxon AlbertX after the EK? EK Spange left out here? HHOX worn from the buttonhole?
          Maybe it is him after all??
          Attached Files
          Last edited by webr55; 12-21-2004, 11:51 AM. Reason: pics gone

          Comment


            #6
            Ok, Förster is too improbable. But I am NOT WILLING to give up on this one yet!!!
            Judging from the combination, I think it cannot be ruled out completely that this was a WWI flyer. So I thought I'd have a look into the Neal O'Connor series. Here are the ones that had the Saxon Albert and the HHOX, were not Saxons and that I could not rule out at once:

            - Hptm Hermann Palmer, SA3aX 16.6.1916, HHOX, FliegBeob Kursus Königsbg
            - Hptm. Friedrich (?) Lohmann, SA3aX 10.1.1917, probably HHOX, FFlAbt 59

            I would say these are too old for my bar, being Hauptmann already during WWI. That leaves

            - Lt. Otto Eckstein, SA3bX 3.1.1916, HHOX, FFlAbt 24<o =""></o>
            - Lt. (Kurt?) Cleinow, SA3bX 11.2.1916, HHOX, FFlAbt 35
            - Oblt. Kurt Vogel, SA3bX 21.2.1916, HHOX, FFlAbt 24
            - Lt. Wilhelm (?) Baumbach, SA3bX 27.12.1916, HHOX, I. Marine FFlAbt (maybe father of Werner Baumbach???)

            Any ideas on these?

            Thanks
            Chris

            Comment


              #7
              Not sure if this can be called progress, but at least it is motion.
              A voice from above has told me that Eckstein and Palmer were from Württemberg and that Baumbach had a St Henry knight. So for a preliminary conclusion:
              Not excluded could be:

              - Kurt Reich, Oberst 1.6.43, SA3bX 25.5.17, HHOX 15.6.18
              - Lt. d.R. (Kurt?) Cleinow, SA3bX 11.2.1916, HHOX, FFlAbt 35 (no trace after WWI)
              - Oblt. Kurt Vogel, SA3bX 21.2.1916, HHOX, FFlAbt 24 (no trace after WWI)



              I just noticed: Why are they all Kurts??

              Regards
              Chris

              Comment

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