Fallschirmschuetzen-Abzeichen ( in Stoff )

[Eric Queen]

I thought it might be interesting to post some material relating to the paratrooper badge ( in cloth ). Here is a document to an officer ( Lt. Mohr ) whom served with von der Heydte ( as part of
I./FJR6 ) later in 1944. These documents for the badge in cloth
( in Stoff ) are actually somewhat difficult to find complete because most of the guys kept just the right side and used the left side during their next trip to the latrine.

[Eric Queen]

Here is a soldbuch to another man in I.(3.)/FJR6. Notice the entry for the "Fallschirmschuetzen Abzeichen in Stoff"

Can some other people please post some additional related material ( badges in cloth, photos of guys wearing cloth badges, other documents, etc ) Thanks !!

[ERIC S.]

My Two Cloth Badges

Hi Eric,
These are my cloth para badges The one on the left is the NCO padded type and the right the NCO flat cotton type.
ERIC

[ERIC S.]

Reverses:

[Willi Z.]

Very nice cloth badge document. Interesting to see that Lt Mohr attended jump school in Aug of '44 at Wittstock. I agree that the full document is tough to find..most of mine have the left side removed. Has anyone determined when they stopped issuing the badge in metal?? Knowledgable FJ historians know that late '43 and early '44 had the greatest number of FJs recieving jump training. Only logical that this period also led to a shortage of metal badges.

Willi

[Prosper Keating]

Has anyone determined when they stopped issuing the badge in metal?? Knowledgable FJ historians know that late '43 and early '44 had the greatest number of FJs recieving jump training. Only logical that this period also led to a shortage of metal badges.

Let me begin with my conclusion, I think that the cloth badge award idea had more to do with counteracting the effects of the morale-sapping delay caused by the way in which badges were authorised and awarded in the Wehrmacht then with any shortage of badges.

In general, unlike British and American practice, German paras did not receive their para badges at the parachute training schools they attended. This was standard practice from prewar days. Look for example at the photographs of the army's Fallschirm-Infanterie Kompanie receiving their para badges from their CO after exercises in Mecklenburg in September 1937.

A man completed his six jumps and returned to his unit, usually his training or depot unit, before being posted off to a a regular unit. Meanwhile, the school prepared his award document, signed by a training officer, and sent it off to Luftwaffe HQ in Berlin to be authorised and countersigned. The document was then sent on to the man's unit with a badge.

Often, the document and badge were sent to the man's training unit, which then forwarded it to the man's unit. Even under ideal conditions, this process could take weeks if not months. Under wartime conditions, with men being posted to units and then transferred again almost as soon as they arrived, the delay could be quite substantial.

It could sometimes take several months for the metal badge to catch up with the man once he had been posted to his unit and perhaps even transferred in the interim period. Quite a few simply bought their metal badges privately but they were not actually allowed to wear them because they could not yet prove entitlement.

You see, the paybook or soldbuch entry was made at unit level and only once the man had received his document and badge. This is why you often see FJ soldbuchs referring to parachute training and jump school along with other entries but none for the para badge or a para badge entry but with dates that do not seem to tie in with the man's para training.

Put another way, an FJ soldbuch without an entry for the para badge does not necessarily mean that the man was not a fully fledged paratrooper. However, a man who joined an airborne unit late in 1944 or in 1945 was unlikely by that stage to have undergone para training because of shortages and the consequent de-prioritisation of para training.

But I digress. The cloth badge and special certificate idea seems to date from early 1944 and was obviously conceived as a morale-boosting intermediate measure to promote 'paratrooperly' esprit de corps during the delay before they received a metal badge.

When a man completes parachute training, he wants something to show for it! I remember the incredible feeling I had as the CO of No 1 Parachute Training School at RAF Brize Norton pressed my wings into my hand and the even greater buzz we all got that afternoon as we studied our handiwork with our sewing kits in the bathroom mirrors, that magical little bit of clothwith its white parachute and sky-blue wings on our shoulders.

Well...the Fallschimjäger felt just the same way when they got their badges, except that until the schools came up with this brilliant but simple idea of handing out the cloth badges sold through the military stores, they had to go through this sometimes lengthy period without anything at all to show their wives, girls,mothers and the public-at-large that they were rufty-tufty paratroopers! This had a definite adverse effect on morale.

The 'Hitler' document comprises two pages of the same size as soldbuch pages, the intention being that the recipient paste the relevant part into his soldbuch. I have never seen this in practice but I have seen a couple of soldbuchs with entries for this para badge in cloth. Presumably, the man arrived at his unit, presented his cloth badge certificate, and the entry was duly made.

Once that was done, then he could probably get away with wearing a privately purchased metal para badge although it was still, technically, against regulations because the award certificate specifically referred to the Fallschirmschützenabzeichen in stoff.

Here is Walter Hümmel of SS-Fallschirmjäger Bataillon 500 wearing the cloth badge. His Fallschirmschützenschein dates from March 1944 so this picture is probably from around the same time. It was probably taken during his first home leave after his jump course. As you can see, looks as proud as punch in his jump boots - not visible in this scan - with his jump badge.

In a studio portrait taken later in 1944 in Neu-Strelitz, the garrison town of SS-FJ Btl 600, thereby dating it to October or November, Hümmel wears a metal badge that appears to be of good quality. Perhaps it was privately purchased but whatever the case, I am not sure that there was a shortage of para badges at this time.

There was a shortage of the Army Parachute Badge, reintroduced in June 1943, but they were churning out LW Para Badges at quite a rate. Assmann even came up with that injection moulding process that produced four badges at a time. I would say that the Luftwaffe had more trouble finding aircraft and fuel for parachute training by 1944 than they had in sourcing badges for newly-qualified paratroopers.

PK

[Akira Komiya]

LW Fallschirmschuetzen-Abzeichen in Stoff

I am a new member to the forum and am posting my first message.

I agree with Mr. Keating's analysis of the background relating to the cloth para badge certificates. I have a document lot to a member of the FAA 12 who graduated from the 9.(15o.K.) Fsch. Schtz.Lehrg.1944 and received the certificate for the cloth badge on March 24, 1944. He later received the ordinary RML certificate for the badge on June 30, 1944. With the fortunes of war running against Germany, if not for the cloth badge, many paratroopers would have perished without having ever worn the badge that they earned.

Since I can't post photos, I will take photos of the documents and will send them to Mr. Queen's attention.

Akira Komiya

[Prosper Keating]

I am sure that you will join me in welcoming Akira to the Fallschirmjäger Forum. It is good to have another serious collector and student as a member.

What Akira says is very poignant: imagine a young paratrooper dying in action without ever having been able to wear the badge that identified him as something other than a Luftwaffe airman, the badge that he had to earn by overcoming the sheer, gut-wrenching terror of making six military parachute jumps, to say nothing of the pre-para selection process.

Prosper Keating

[Greg S]

Akira welcome, Prosper, Eric, guys did the paras receive additional pay for being jump qualified? Did they receive Hazardous duty pay or some kind of compensation for being jump qulified or in a para unit? Who could go to jump school (just men who were to be posted to a para unit)? thanks

[Eric Queen]

I would like to join Prosper in welcoming Akira to the forum. Akira is a serious collector who has helped me with some very important images for my book which I am very thankfull for. Thanks again and welcome.

Regarding Gregs question, yes the paratroopers did have special pay. It was referred to as "Fallschirmschuetzen Zulage" ( jump pay ) or sometimes just "Flieger Zulage" ( flight pay )

[Eric Queen]

Eric,

Thanks for posting the images of the badges. The padded example is a real nice piece. I am sorry man but honestly I don't like the other one. The material doesn't look at all right to me.
Just my opinion but would like to hear what some others think.

Thanks again and hope to see you posting more often.

Eric

[ERIC S.]

No Biggie!

Thanks Eric!
The padded one is a real gem! The other one I picked up at a tag sale back in, like '95, for 5 bucks, along with a Mauser bayonet and a FG42 clip, figuring the clip and the badge could be related. The woman there told me it was her grandfathers stuff and she didn't know anything about it. So, what the hell, for 5 bucks? I thought it was real - if someone can shed some light on whether they think it's good / not good, I would be more than happy to learn!
ERIC

[Akira Komiya]

I am attaching photos of some documents belonging to the same man. First is his cloth paratrooper badge certificate awarded by Fallschirmschule 1 on March 24, 1944.



I'm sorry the images aren't appearing. (I didn't realize my Yahoo account does't allow public viewing of photo albums.)
Anyone interested please email me, and I will add your email to the album's viewer list, or better, can any one help me post the photos on the site?

[Akira Komiya]

Cloth Para Badge Certificates

The next is the formal RLM award document to the same man. Note the award document is dated more than three months after the cloth one, June 30, 1944. Judging from its date this must be one of the last RLM issue award documents as I have seen pilot badges issued by an officer's candidate school dating July 30 1944 so the RLM must have quit issuing award documents between these dates.

[Akira Komiya]

Next is an EK2 document to the same man signed by General Meindl. Unfortunately, it has been de-Nazified in a rather nasty way.