Classification of U-Boat Badges based on obverse design

[Norm F]

To kick off the new year, I’m presenting here a comprehensive new classification system for the U-Boat war badge based upon obverse design.

Introduced by Großadmiral Erich Raeder on October 13, 1939, the Ubootskriegsabzeichen later came to be produced by at least 19 different manufacturers with a proliferation of variations. Within this pool of producers, patterns of design emerge that allow them to be grouped into aesthetic categories.

The Minesweeper badge classification presented back in 2010 was based upon the wave pattern in the central motif. For the U-Boat badge classification, the system is based upon the general style of the eagle in the national symbol topping the wreath.

Back in 2009, Gordon Williamson presented a thread on GMIC titled “U-Boat Badge Design” in which he depicted U-Boat eagles divided into 10 types. This provided the inspiration for the modified system presented here which is organized into 8 categories.

First I’ll define the 8 archetypes, following which I’ll post the eagles for each manufacturer within each group. In addition to the eagles I’ll show the corresponding closeups of the conning tower and the stern of the submarine which is another good area to look at when distinguishing the different types.

Finally, a summary table will be presented which assigns a decimal "U-Boat classification number" (UC#) to each of 95 variants within the 8 categories.

Here we go.

[Norm F]

The 8 basic categories

Here are the 8 basic categories based on eagle aesthetics:

Type 1: “Schwerin-like”
Type 2: “Juncker”
Type 3: “Hymmen-like”
Type 4: “Schickle”
Type 5: “Meybauer-like”
Type 6: “F&BL”
Type 7: “RK-like”
Type 8: “5-feather”

[Norm F]

anatomy and terminology

Before more detail is presented it’s useful to define the terminology that is sometimes used for the wing feathers. The horizontal feathers are the “primaries” and the two inner curved rows of smaller feathers are the “greater coverts” (outer) and “lesser coverts” (inner).

These terms will crop up from time to time in the following discussion.

[Norm F]

The 19 makers by category

Here is a list of the 19 makers of the U-Boat badge by category. Nine makers made a Tombak version (7 of which produced also in zinc) and 10 makers produced zinc-only versions.

Type 1: “Schwerin-like” - narrow chest, fine feather pattern, small claws:

C. Schwerin & Sohn - Berlin (Tombak and zinc) - marked and unmarked
Steinhauer & Lück - Lüdenscheid (Tombak and zinc) - attributed
Wilhelm Deumer - Lüdenscheid (zinc) - attributed

Type 2: “Juncker” - bold muscular design with well-developed claws:

C.E. Juncker - Berlin (Tombak and zinc) - attributed

Type 3: “Hymmen-like” - “Art Deco” style with fine feather pattern:

Hymmen & Co. - Lüdenscheid (Tombak and zinc) - marked
Wilhelm Deumer - Lüdenscheid (Tombak) - attributed

Type 4: “Schickle” - five inner “lesser covert” wing feathers

Otto Schickle - Pforzheim (Tombak and zinc) - attributed

Type 5: “Meybauer-like” - wide, shield-like chest, angry expression:

Paul Meybauer - Berlin (Tombak and zinc) - marked
Boerger & Co., (Beco) - Berlin (Tombak) - marked and unmarked
Petz & Lorenz - Unterreichenbach (Tombak) - attributed
Foerster & Barth - Pforzheim (zinc) - marked and unmarked
B.H. Mayer - Pforzheim (zinc) - marked
Friedrich Orth - Vienna (zinc) - marked
Rudolf Souval - Vienna (zinc) - marked
Emil Ferdinand Wiedmann - Frankfurt am Main (zinc) - marked and unmarked
Alois Rettenmaier - Schwäbisch-Gmund (zinc) - attributed

Type 6: “F&BL” - pointed shield-like chest, seven “greater covert” wing feathers:

Funcke & Brueninghaus - Lüdenscheid (zinc) - marked and unmarked

Type 7: “RK-like” - short flat head, “tripod toes”:

R.K. - Gablonz (zinc) - marked
Gebrüder Wegerhoff - Lüdenscheid (zinc) - marked

Type 8: “5-feather” - five horizontal primary feathers, eight greater covert feathers, six lesser covert feathers:

Unknown maker (zinc)

[Norm F]

Type 1: "Schwerin-like"

Type 1: “Schwerin-like”

The eagle for these three makers is narrow but fully feathered up the neck and the claws are somewhat small and rudimentary. Although the Schwerin eagle is often criticized for its understated aesthetic, one might argue that the irregular chest feather pattern is more anatomically correct.

The Deumer-attributed zinc badge is so close to Schwerin’s that one might suspect a common die supplier for these two while the S&L-attributed U-Boat appears more likely from a separate source inspired by the Schwerin design.

[Norm F]

Type 2: "Juncker"

Type 2: “Juncker”

The Juncker-attributed eagle with its bold design and well-developed claws stands alone in its category although the shield-shaped chest is echoed later on in Types 5 and 6. Generally a crowd favourite.

[Norm F]

Type 3: “Hymmen-like”

Type 3: “Hymmen-like”

Both the Hymmen badge and the similar Deumer-attributed Tombak badge have a somewhat Art Deco style eagle, and this is the only type that lacks a propellor on the the submarine.

[Norm F]

Type 4: “Schickle”

Type 4: “Schickle”

The Schickle design stands alone as the only type with 5 “lesser covert” feathers (inner row) instead of the more usual 4 feathers found in other designs.

[Norm F]

Type 5: “Meybauer-like”

Type 5: “Meybauer-like”

Characterized by the broad shield-like eagle’s chest, with nine manufacturers this category is the largest, and is analogous to the “Type 2” category in the Minesweeper badge classification. Although the Meybauer design is distinct from the others, it shares the same basic aesthetic and feather pattern and the claws are similarly arranged to the sides of the swastika rather than clutching the top. All the others in this category show close homology to one another, including a very square, sharp-cornered conning tower on the submarine, raising the possibility of a common source of tooling. Beco and P&L in this category were the only two makers to produce their U-Boat badges only in Tombak with no zinc counterpart, and these two share an identical obverse design suggesting sister dies from the same master.

The eagles of Type 5 all have deeply down-turned mouths giving them an especially angry look, especially when compared with the benign expression on a Type 1 Schwerin. The fore deck gun on the submarine is symmetrical with a broad base, looking more like a hat than a gun.

[Norm F]

Type 5 continued

The last three in the Type 5 category have almost identical obverses which suggests sister dies from the same master.

[Norm F]

Type 6: “F&BL”

Type 6: “F&BL”

On first glance, Type 6 appears the same as Type 5 but on closer examination merits its own category based upon small yet distinctive differences. Aside from the often described “blob flaw” in the left wing that characterizes the Funcke & Brueninghaus badge, this type has a slightly smaller chest with a narrower diamond-shape feather pattern. There is a unique extended “keystone” feather at the bottom apex of the chest that is not seen in any other type, and seven “greater covert” feathers instead of the six feathers seen in the Type 5 badges.

[Norm F]

Type 7: “RK-like”

Type 7: “RK-like”

Not only do these two makers share a very similar obverse design to one another but also they are the only two that feature a cast-in reverse setup. Again, it seems likely that they shared a common source of tooling.

[Norm F]

Type 7 - continued

Aside from the short flat "pugilistic" eagle's head, a unique feature of the Type 7 eagle is the "tripod toes", 3 downward splayed toes reminiscent of a tripod.

[Norm F]

Type 8: “5-feather”

Type 8: “5-feather”

Another stand-alone, this unknown maker forged new territory with an eagle design featuring 5 horizontal primary feathers, 8 greater covert feathers and 6 lesser covert feathers. There is a stamped hollow Tombak version of this design that is clearly post-war, but the solid zinc version is potentially wartime. They are certainly old and have a very satisfying construction, but whether they are all pre-April 1945 remains unproven for the time being.

[Norm F]

Summary table

So there you have it.

At least 19 manufacturers of the U-Boat War Badge, examples of which can be found in the List of U-Boat Badge/Clasp Manufacturers thread.

9 of these 19 are Tombak makers, of which 2 are exclusively Tombak makers.
7 of those 9 makers made zinc versions as well.
10 of the 19 were zinc-only makers.

The controversial “French-made” zinc U-Boat (sometimes erroneously called “Bacqueville”) has been excluded from the classification system, not only because of the unanswered doubts regarding wartime provenance, but also because at least we can comfortably say these were not official award pieces worn by Kriegsmarine veterans.

So that makes 26 badges of Tombak or zinc to collect. But then there are the die variants, maker mark variants, setup variants, etc. so the number burgeons from there. Currently, 95 such variations are included in the Classification Table presented at the end of this thread which excludes variations in finish. I’ve included in this table a column which equates the new numbering system to the previous variant designations from the six individual U-Boat classifications systems that are included in the pinned thread “Classification Systems for U-Boat badge makers”.

Like in most areas of collecting, you’re never truly done collecting U-Boat badges. But in the end, they can all be grouped into the 8 categories I have presented in this thread.

Best regards,
---Norm

P.S. The latest version of the Classification Table of Variants will always be posted at the end of this thread.