U-boat War Badge with Diamonds today!

[Sepp45]

Hi to all! I tried to make a thread yesterday about some KM badges with diamonds, but it was a very difficult task (near impossible ), since there where so many fakes and replicas (that I wasn't aware of). Thanks to the help of members that told me about those badges, I now have a little more info on what may be useful to post here or not.

That being said, I'm gonna make a thread about a rare badge that I think we can make a good database of photos, data and info. Checking for real ones, and also fakes. Attributed badges are the main goal


U-boat War Badge with Diamonds
The U-boat War Badge with Diamonds was a special issue award given to U-boat commanders who had received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. This award was not given based on certain merits and was not an official war decoration, but instead it was given as an additional token of regard to Oak Leaves recipients. It was usually presented after the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves was awarded.

It was instituted in 1941 and the badge was similar in design to the U-boat War Badge. Manufactured by the firm of Schwerin in Berlin, it was made of gilding silver and had nine small diamonds inlaid on the swastika with the medal. Approximately 30 were awarded with Admiral Karl Dönitz being one of the recipients. However, he uniquely wore a special version in which the wreath as well as the swastika was inlaid with diamonds. Dönitz also wore his WWI U-Boat War Badge alongside this badge on his uniform.


Recipients of the U-boat War badge with Diamonds:

1. Fregattenkapitän Albrecht Brandi
2. Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Bleichrodt
3. Korvettenkapitän Otto von Bülow
4. Admiral Karl Dönitz (special grade)
5. Korvettenkapitän Carl Emmermann
6. Kapitanleutnant Engelbert Endrass
7. Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Guggenberger
8. Korvettenkapitän Robert Gysae
9. Korvettenkapitän Reinhard Hardegen
10. Kapitän zur See Werner Hartmann
11. Korvettenkapitän Werner Henke
12. Fregattenkapitän Otto Kretschmer
13. Kapitänleutnant Hans-Günther Lange
14. Korvettenkapitän Georg Lassen
15. Fregattenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock
16. Fregattenkapitan Heinrich Liebe
17. Kapitän zur See Wolfgang Lüth
18. Korvettenkapitän Johann Mohr
19. Kapitänleutnant Rolf Mützelburg
20. Kapitän zur See Karl-Friedrich Merten
21. Korvettenkapitan Gunther Prien
22. Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke
23. Korvettenkapitän Adalbert Schnee
24. Kapitän zur See Klaus Scholtz
25. Kapitän zur See Viktor Schütze
26. Korvettenkapitän Herbert Schultze
27. Fregattenkapitän Reinhard Suhren
28. Kapitänleutnant Rolf Thomsen
29. Fregattenkapitän Erich Topp

30. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (disputed)

[Sepp45]

Korvettenkapitän Georg Lassen
Awarded the U-boat War Badge with Diamonds: October 22nd, 1944

[Sepp45]

Lassen's diamond badge, that belonged to collector Bill Stump

Editor's note: correct badge but not from Bill Stump's collection -- see posts #90-92

[Sepp45]

Korvettenkapitän Carl Emmermann
Awarded the U-boat War Badge with Diamonds :October 1st, 1943

Emmermann's grouping, with the badge visible on display.

[Sepp45]

Emmermann's badge, front and back.

[Sepp45]

Kapitän zur See Karl-Friedrich Merten
Awarded the U-boat War Badge with Diamonds :January 30th, 1943

Merten's badge, when sold by Herman Historica.

[Sepp45]

Korvettenkapitän Herbert Schultze
Awarded the U-boat War Badge with Diamonds: July, 15th 1941

On the right, Schultze's diamond notification, made by Raeder. It reads: "Dear Schultze! Honouring your outstanding achievement and your great successes, which you won as commander of U-48, I award you the U-Boot-Kriegsabzeichen mit Brillanten.

With friendly greetings and Heil Hitler!"

[JAndrew]

Sepp 45,
Thank you for turning attention to this diamond award now. I have followed your other threads on other diamond awards and have enjoyed them very much. I know they must be a lot of work to put together and I hope that members showing appreciation will make it seem worth while.Hopefully you will be getting contributions from members that now possess some of these awards.

I know that you are looking for attributed awards but there is a set on emedals that is not attributed for sale. It is actually listed twice.

I know that this is probably controversial but when Bill Stump visited GA Donitz after the war Donitz stated that he had 100 of these awards made up but only gave out the few listed. I don't recall Bill having asked the follow up question of where were the others then? Some folks say this is just some of B.S.'s B.S. and the man was known to spin a yarn or two but this statement was made to his companions immediately after the interview so perhaps there is a thread of truth there. It would be interesting if everyone that had or knew the where abouts of these badges came forth and the count went over 30!

Look forward to seeing more on this thread. Thanks again.
JAndrew

[Sepp45]

Sepp 45,
Thank you for turning attention to this diamond award now. I have followed your other threads on other diamond awards and have enjoyed them very much. I know they must be a lot of work to put together and I hope that members showing appreciation will make it seem worth while.Hopefully you will be getting contributions from members that now possess some of these awards.

I know that you are looking for attributed awards but there is a set on emedals that is not attributed for sale. It is actually listed twice.

I know that this is probably controversial but when Bill Stump visited GA Donitz after the war Donitz stated that he had 100 of these awards made up but only gave out the few listed. I don't recall Bill having asked the follow up question of where were the others then? Some folks say this is just some of B.S.'s B.S. and the man was known to spin a yarn or two but this statement was made to his companions immediately after the interview so perhaps there is a thread of truth there. It would be interesting if everyone that had or knew the where abouts of these badges came forth and the count went over 30!

Look forward to seeing more on this thread. Thanks again.
JAndrew

Thanks Andrew, appreciate what you said . I read what Mr. Stump said about his visit to Dönitz, a quite interesting story.. but don't know if it's true about that many awards. Probably a bit less, I guess

I'll be posting some more badges now, but unknown recipients I'm afraid...

Regards,
Sepp.

[Sepp45]

Nice badge, with case.

Editor's note: The view of the reverse of this badge (attributed to Peter-Erich Cremer) is seen later in post #97.

[Sepp45]

Two more.

Editor's note: The first badge (on the light blue background) is actually a standard Schwerin U-Boat which somebody "upgraded" with a diamond swastika. Discussed later in post #174.

[Sepp45]

The special badge awarded to Großadmiral Karl Dönitz was stolen in 1945, by a British soldier who also took his RK. Some say it's in London, within the collection of an important collector.

Bill Stump posted a postwar replica of this special badge, shown on the right.

[Pieter Verbruggen]

Two more.

...top picture in post 11 is a fake...
Pieter.

[Sepp45]

Now, some awarded sailors. My goal here is trying to show the soldier who got it, wearing it. Difficult, but no impossible

Fregattenkapitän Albrecht Brandi
Awarded the U-boat War Badge with Diamonds: July, 1944

[Sepp45]

...top picture in post 11 is a fake...
Pieter.

Hi Pieter, would you mind posting some originals?

Regards,
Sepp.