Kriegsmarine number of awarded badges

[chrisgtv]

I wonder how many badges were actually awarded during the war for the following badges:
U-boots-Kriegsabzeichen
Minensucht-, U-Bootsjagd- unsd sicherungsverbände
Can't find info and hope someone has the approx.numbers
Chris

[Nordmark]

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[Simon O.]

Those numbers, at least for the minesweeper's are clearly wrong. 43000 i could believe but not 4300, the scope for the award of the badge was just too large, everything that floated smaller than a torpedoboot with the exception of the S-boote. It was the largest section of the KM and it's why you see more minesweeper docs than any of the other KM badges.

I wonder also about the U-boot numbers, did really only a third of all u-boat personnel receive the award?

[chrisgtv]

Awards awarded

Thanx for the reactions, but i have now more questions then before as numbers go from 1 to thenfold... are there other members who have useful info on the matter?
regards, chris

[Don D.]

I guess we should be paying alot less for the uboot badge and more for the minesweepers......

Wouldn't sailors that got killed in the line of duty qualify for thier badge?

[Simon O.]

This is how rediculous the minesweeper figures are.

I own 10 award docs for the badge, so apparently 0.25% of all those ever awarded. Now go around various dealer sites and add up how many award docs you can find currently for sale.

How large was the force elligible? Well if we take 80 men as an average for the crew of a minesweeper, ive seen an estimate of over 500 minesweepers being built\in use by the KM during the war. That includes R-boote with a crew of perhaps 20-30. Add all the other various craft like VP, UJ-boote and Landungs flottillas and you've got a force that in numbers was way above that of the U-boat arm.

A few years back i looked at how RKT of the KM were devided by which of the combat badges they qualified for at the time of their award. The U-boat arm came out on top of course but next, and way ahead of the reast, were those who qualified for the minesweeper badge. Now bare in mind the less glamourous nature of their job combined with the number of craft and flottillas it also gives an indication of the branche's size.

[Nordmark]

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[Uncle Goose]

there is of course a difference in terms of the number being awarded and the number being made. I guess a large quantity has been made but never awarded.

[Don D.]

I'm sure every ship had a basic prescribed load of badges in supply (except perhaps subs since space is at a premium. Then you had supplies ashore at the home base port, and in depots.

[Martin W]

I have no idea of how many of these badges were awarded.If you look at John's lists at the top of this page the number of makers that produced these badges should be a fair indication of how many were made in comparison to the number of makers that produced the HSF,Hilfskreuzer,Blockade Breaker and S-Boot.

Regards,Martin.

[John R.]

No idea how many but by extrapolation--something you can do on your own. First, check how many served in a capacity that could merit the award and how many could have qualified.

For example--very rough numbers. 40,000 U-boat personnel. You/your family got the badge if you were wounded or killed or had two patrols. I think nearly all of them either were (1) in the catagory of killed (80%) or (2) survived and had 2 or more patrols. How many U-boat men only had one patrol and survived the war?

The badge was instituted on 13 Oct 1939 so not like it was a late war award.

John

[Simon O.]

I'm sure every ship had a basic prescribed load of badges in supply (except perhaps subs since space is at a premium. Then you had supplies ashore at the home base port, and in depots.

Quite true, some might remember the thread on the badges recovered from the wreck of the Tirpitz. Even a couple of DKiG were in the stores.

[Diver]

Werry tru Simon, think your right about the number of minesweep badges that are awarded ! We also have found one minesweeper badge one ore dives on the wreck of the Tirpitz.

[Nordmark]

Did anyone buy the four rotten badges for 5000 grand?!