Auxiliary Cruiser Pinguin - cap badge question

[NOR_collector]

Hi.

A person I know in Germany buys items from the family of veterans (he is not a big dealer, he does it more like a hobby). When he find any kriegsmarine items he always send me a message and ask if I'm interested. I just bought a small grouping from a soldier that was on Scarnhorst and a small lot from a soldier that was on hilfskreuzer Pinguin from him.

I know that Schnellbootes S58 used this type of emblem from 1960 to 1971, but on their page it says:
Tradition precursor:
Auxiliary Cruiser Penguin (1940 - 1941). Use in the Atlantic, Antarctic, Pacific and Indian Ocean. 08.05.1941 sunk by Seychelles cruiser Cornwall.

Does that mean that the hilfskreuzer Pinguin used this as a emblem (Bootswappen) and that the S-boot used it as a tribute to the AUC cruiser Pinguin or did the AUX cruiser Pinguin not have any cap badges or ship emblem at all?

I have done a lot of seraching for any type of badges and emblems made for the crew of the S-boot between 1960 - 71, but I cannot find any at all.
Is this cap badge a post war badge for the S-boot or wartime made for the Pinguin?

The AUX badge has been polished to death.. hehe

Regards,
André

[NOR_collector]

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[NOR_collector]

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[Martin W]

Hi Andre,

i wish i could say definitely that this cap badge was worn by a Pinguin Crewman,but i would like to think that it was.
The Pinguin was the first of Hilfskeuzers to be sunk on May 8th 1941 by the British Heavy Cruiser HMS Cornwall.
There was a great loss of life including 341 crewmen and 214 on board prisoners.
24 prisoners and 60 crewmen were rescued.
Prior to this the Pinguin captured 16 ships and at least 12 made it safely back to Bordeaux.
I think this is where your man comes into the picture.
He was probably a member of one of the "prize crews" that manned the captured ships and returned them safely to Bordeaux.
Here is a photo i have of Ludolf Petersen.He served on Blockade breakers early in the war,then served on the Admiral Scheer and was transferred to the Pinguin as a prize officer.
He made it safely back to Bordeaux on his prize ship and went on to serve as the 1st officer on the HK Stier.
Like i said i think your man was part of a prize crew from the Pinguin.

Nice little grouping there

Cheers,Martin

[Martin W]

Here is a photo i have of the officers of the Pinguin taken on board.
The Commander Ernst-Felix Kruder is seated in the center.
This is part of a set i have that probably made it back to Germany by a member of a prize crew.

Cheers,Martin.

[NOR_collector]

Thank you for all the information and for posting the pictures Martin. A lot of info that I did not know so I really appreciate it.

I have a really good feeling about this cap badge also. It is made of a non-ferrous metal and the size is 2,4 x 1,9 cm.

The aux badge has some few light-green spots of corrosion and the cap badge has a few spots on the front and a lot on the backside as you can see (most likely because of the polishing cream that once has been used), but I don't want to clean the cap badge to look for any makers mark.

Regards,
André