Souval U-boat Badge R.S. L/58

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello to all,

I bought this U-boat Badge over the weekend at a local gun show. It was in a box with a number of other items, all reportedly the personal bringbacks of a veteran.
The first thing that looked strange to me was the lack of the cut out areas on both sides of the eagle's head. Then I realized that this was just due to excess solder seepage from when the hinge was attached. It kind of filled in the area. The other thing I find unusual is an incuse-relief 'L/58' stamping to the immediate left of the 'R' in the maker logo. Is this an indication that the badge was put together postwar? The attachment hardware looks correct for wartime pieces. Not sure what to make of this. Postwar assembly with all original parts or wartime original?

Best regards,
Tom

[Tom Yanacek]

reverse:

[Tom Yanacek]

It's just about impossible to see, but the impressed rectangular area to the left of the letter 'R' has the 'L/58' marking.

[Tom Yanacek]

hinge:

[Tom Yanacek]

Here are the other items that came with the U-boat Badge. All unquestionably real.

[Tom Yanacek]

reverses:

[Martin W]

Tom,
it looks to me that this badge has all the features that we would associate with a wartime produced Souval badge?
I have no explanation for the double mm,which as mentioned is normaly beleived to be a sign of postwar production.
I wonder how long some of the vets remained in Germany after the war?
My father was back and forth from England to Germany up to 1950.
This might explain your theory of wartime produced parts but assembled postwar?
The badge could have been picked up later than 1945?
Just a guess on my part.

Regards,Martin.

[Tom Yanacek]

Martin,

Thank you for your comments. I guess we are on the same page when it comes to this one. Lots of ????????????????????????

Best regards,
Tom

[Militaria-Berlin]

An intersting badge Tom. I once had the SBoot 2nd pattern with RS and very tiny L/58 stamp which was also pronounce a repro on several forums.

Markus

[Tom Yanacek]

Hi Markus,

Thanks for ressponding. Do you have pictures of that S-boat Badge or a link to where it was posted? Did it have attachment hardware consistent with originals?

Best regards,
Tom

[mrg]

Hi Tom cant see anything wrong with that one, nice original would be my opinion , is not unusual to see awards with two different styles of mm, although they are linked to post war production at times. All the best

[Tom Yanacek]

Hi mrg,

Thanks for sharing your opinion about this badge. I am inclined to agree with you because there are many things I like about this badge. The base material, finish, detail, and hardware all look completely correct. I suppose it could be given the benefit of the doubt, but it is just hard to overcome some of the collector skepticism with regard to Souval badges. For instance, it took me almost twenty years to realize that there are original Souval badges having rounded letters in the R.S. logo. I can understand why so many collectors shy away from these pieces.

Best regards,
Tom

[Leroy]

I have always wondered why a company with an assigned LDO number would not have have used that number on at least some occasions.

[Martin W]

Tom,

i think Souval badges have always been a "dicey" subject,as they say in England.I can see nothing about this badge that would not lead me to beleive that it is a wartime produced piece,despite the theories we have stated above.
You have the badge in hand and i think your knowledge in this area is as good as anyones.
Gary,"mrg" is another person who's opinion i respect when it comes to U-Boot badges.
So,despite the double mm,we can presume that this may well be a period piece?


Cheers,Martin.

[mrg]

Hi Tom I agree with what you say in regards to this award, catch, hinge and the way they were fixed indicate wartime production to me, as well as the general appearance of the award. all look good . Personally I would be happy with it in my collection. As for the L/58 strike I have sometimes wondered if these were not employed as a form of on the spot stop check quality control, as this was employed in manufacturing and still is in some cases today (in fact I used to do it many moons ago).To my knowledge another theory is the possibility that they were added to private purchase awards at a higher cost. The foremost however is just my own theory and not fact. A nice collection you have picked up . All the best