Kriegsmarine Reference Thread

[luftkrieg]

When looking at these badges, I think it´s time for me to stop hunt for medalbars and find some nice "boats" instead..

very nice thread!
Karl

I'm with Karl on that one!

Some great pieces Rüdiger, thanks for sharing.

Best regards
Pierce

[xmember]

Hi Rudiger,

You do have some great pieces. I love the e-boat badge. Anybody have any idea why they are so rare? You would think many were made for the veterans.
Regards
Rudy

[Seewolf]

Thanks friends, i am happy you like that summary

Tom,
a full cut out doesn´t always leads to a very early piece. I had to make that experience two times....without seeing the reverse. I thought from the cut out that the pieces were very early but got mid ones.
The cut out on the shown mid/late piece was done with a small saw or something else and not by a trimming tool from S&L. That was handmade work. Who that did? I still don´t know.
Partly mid or later pieces have the full cut out like the very early ones....why it´s so different.....we just don´t know.

Rudy,
the KM was a small unit compared to Heer and LW and so the KM pieces are mostly rarer than from the other units. Of course i can´t tell why especially the eboat is so rare because there were for example more eboat RK winners serving than minesweeper RK winners.

[Mike Yokum]

Thank you Rüdiger for this fine thread. It's a tribute to your collection and to your commitment to the collecting field. I'm very proud of you my friend. I know many will visit this thread often to learn and admire.

The photos are excellent and the text is very informative. Really great stuff all the way around. You have pieces spanning various makers and timeframes too!

I've added this to our Links to Comparison and Reference Threads section. I'm certain it will serve collectors for years to come.

Thanks again Rüdiger!

[Nigel N]

Rudiger...................Superb!!!!!
Thanks for this great thread, its one we can keep coming back to again and again!!!!!!
-Nigelsign0087.gif

[Arthur Spooner]

Very interesting thread Rüdiger.

Always nice to see these nice KM medals, cannot get enough.

[Patrick08/15]

Thanks for this very interesting thread.
Now you can good see the differences between St.&L and Deumer.
Especially at the finish.

[Tom C.]

Thanks friends, i am happy you like that summary

Tom,
a full cut out doesn´t always leads to a very early piece. I had to make that experience two times....without seeing the reverse. I thought from the cut out that the pieces were very early but got mid ones.
The cut out on the shown mid/late piece was done with a small saw or something else and not by a trimming tool from S&L. That was handmade work. Who that did? I still don´t know.
Partly mid or later pieces have the full cut out like the very early ones....why it´s so different.....we just don´t know.

.

thanks for the info its a mistery really

regards
tom

[Norm F]

...
Bottom piece is made by Deumer. Typical Deumer pin and hardware, closed hingeblock and thin catch. The gilding is at Deumer pieces not so perfecty like S&L pieces. Mostly the highlights are not polished and the colour has more the wartime tone. Design is slightly different to S&L.

Hi Rüdiger,

Wonderful reference thread. Thanks very much for the postings!

I can't resist commenting on the Minesweepers of course. I would just adjust the comment that the Deumer "design is slightly different" from S&L. In fact, they use the same design, and it appears that Deumer used an obverse die that was a sister to the S&L die but without the wreath flaw. As well Deumer lacked S&L's characteristic trimming stamp so the outlines of the Deumers show instead a lot of hand finishing such that the contours vary between examples. Like you say, those features plus the differences in finish and hardware make it easy to distinguish them despite using the same obverse design.

Great thread!

Best regards,
---Norm

[Seewolf]

Many thanks, Norm

Your explanation about the minesweepers is highly appreciated, of course

This is for everyone to learn and your input helps us all.

[Norm F]

The blockade breaker is a wonderful piece as the difference to wartime ones is very small. Only the very little swaz is missing. This one here is an early one by S&L.The design matches NOT the wartime design from S&L, it´s a complete new die.

I just want to add one more clarification to this great reference thread of Rüdiger's.

The S&L Blockade Breaker '57 design is indeed a match to their wartime design, and once again as with their other badges, the '57 die appears to be made from a modified version of the wartime die. The porthole pattern was "refreshed" in the '57 die with the addition of two round portholes, but other die details match the S&L wartime version quite closely including the anchor and the eagle design. Here you see the wartime design on top and the '57 version below.

Best regards,
---Norm