U-Boat Badge with Diamonds Kapitän Wolfgang Lüth

[Volksturmer]

Thanks Norm, I appreciate your response,
John

[Sepp45]

Strange that in this photo Lüth is not wearing the U-boot Diamond badge....

Or is he wearing it?

[Sepp45]

Zoom

[Volksturmer]

He won the Swords to the Knight’s Cross after he won the U Boat badge with diamonds, so I guess he must be wearing it.
🤔

[Norm F]

Strange that in this photo Lüth is not wearing the U-boot Diamond badge....

Or is he wearing it?

Impossible to say for sure from that photo, but it's certainly possible that it's the U-Boat with Diamonds. Here's a comparison to both a regular Schwerin and a Schwerin U-Boat with Diamonds.

Of course, it's also possible that the diamonds badge might not be worn for an official portrait since it was not a recognized KM award so much as a gift of personal recognition from Grossadmiral Raeder.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Volksturmer]

Thank you Norm.
Since it was privately awarded, could Lüth have had one privately commissioned?
Not to beg the question.

I believe Kretschmer had his awards stolen during the war?
Forgive me, I can be incorrigible at times.
John

[Norm F]

Thank you Norm.
Since it was privately awarded, could Lüth have had one privately commissioned?
Not to beg the question.

I believe Kretschmer had his awards stolen during the war?
Forgive me, I can be incorrigible at times.
John

Hi John,

Doesn’t seem right on several levels.

First, the badges were commissioned and presented by the Grand Admiral in the two formats mentioned earlier, along with a personal letter of recognition. It would be very strange and presumptuous for any officer to have a different one made in a different format for himself.

Second, that badge is apparently a cast reproduction of a Schwerin U-Boat badge cast complete with the maker mark; it would be very strange for Godet or any legitimate jeweller to copy the maker mark of a known badge manufacturer.

I think if an athlete lost their Olympic gold medal, they wouldn’t have a reproduction made from a gold coin, complete with a copied mark like the original maker.

Could someone in the Lüth family have purchased a fake badge with diamonds in 1970’s as a placeholder? I guess that would be possible, but it would nevertheless lack historical significance. The more likely scenario is someone acquired a grouping from the Lüth family and then swapped out the diamonds badge with a fake for the next transaction.

Best regards,
—-Norm

[leigh]

Wonder if Ulric is aware of this thread.