Original photo unterfeldwebel

[Lukius Bug]

Alguien tiene fotografías de algún Unterfeldwebel del año 1940 hasta el 1945 (HEER)?
Existe algún Unterfeldwebel que fue condecorado con la cruz de caballero?

[jacquesf]

Ek verstaan nie wat jy skryf nie.

[Lukius Bug]

Does anyone have photographs of any Unterfeldwebel from 1940 to 1945 (HEER)?
Is there an Unterfeldwebel who was awarded the knight's cross?

[HPL2008]

Is there an Unterfeldwebel who was awarded the knight's cross?

One is known: Reinhold Podrasa, an Unterfeldwebel and Zugführer with 3./G.R. 551 was awarded the Knight's Cross on 31 January 1945.

[Lukius Bug]

One is known: Reinhold Podrasa, an Unterfeldwebel and Zugführer with 3./G.R. 551 was awarded the Knight's Cross on 31 January 1945.

Thank you. Do you know why there were so few soldiers with this rank (Unterfeldwebel)?

[HPL2008]

Thank you. Do you know why there were so few soldiers with this rank (Unterfeldwebel)?

Because it could be skipped.

Unteroffizier and Unterfeldwebel were the two JNCO ranks; the SNCO ranks started with Feldwebel. It was possible and common to promote soldiers directly from Unteroffizier to Feldwebel.

If a man was actually promoted to Unterfeldwebel, he was typically a long-serving Unteroffizier who had performed well enough in that role, but who was not (or at least not yet) considered suitable material for further advancement and responsibilites. Thus, it was often a dead-end rank for those who held it.

This applied to the Heer and the Luftwaffe, but not to the Kriegsmarine, where the equivalent rank of Obermaat could not be skipped.

[pauke]

The rank of Unterfeldwebel was more of a peacetime rank that slows down advancement to a degree. In the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, 1949-present forum there is a recent thread about new ranks being introduced called Korporal and Oberkorporal which provide advancement and more responsibility but receive less pay, thus "saving" money in the peacetime budget. IMO a wartime Unterfeldwebel would be very unusual. If you were not fit to be promoted to Unteroffizier then you might end up as a long-serving Stabsgefreiter. I knew one fellow who was a Stabsgefreiter and excellent soldier, just not a leader according to another soldier who knew him. Just an observation.

[Lukius Bug]

Because it could be skipped.

Unteroffizier and Unterfeldwebel were the two JNCO ranks; the SNCO ranks started with Feldwebel. It was possible and common to promote soldiers directly from Unteroffizier to Feldwebel.

If a man was actually promoted to Unterfeldwebel, he was typically a long-serving Unteroffizier who had performed well enough in that role, but who was not (or at least not yet) considered suitable material for further advancement and responsibilites. Thus, it was often a dead-end rank for those who held it.

This applied to the Heer and the Luftwaffe, but not to the Kriegsmarine, where the equivalent rank of Obermaat could not be skipped.

Thank you very much for the information.

[Lukius Bug]

The rank of Unterfeldwebel was more of a peacetime rank that slows down advancement to a degree. In the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, 1949-present forum there is a recent thread about new ranks being introduced called Korporal and Oberkorporal which provide advancement and more responsibility but receive less pay, thus "saving" money in the peacetime budget. IMO a wartime Unterfeldwebel would be very unusual. If you were not fit to be promoted to Unteroffizier then you might end up as a long-serving Stabsgefreiter. I knew one fellow who was a Stabsgefreiter and excellent soldier, just not a leader according to another soldier who knew him. Just an observation.

Thank you very much for the information.

[Admiraal]

I agree with HPL2008. Its a "death-end" rank for long serving lower grade NCO's. Just like the Stabsfeldwebel was for higher grade NCO's and the Stabsgefreiter rank was for EM's (during wartime, not talking about pre-war).
Although those ranks got used more during the pre-war time for reasons that Pauke pointed out. The Unterfeldwebel rank is rare to see during the war, but i've seen enough examples.

[Lukius Bug]

I agree with HPL2008. Its a "death-end" rank for long serving lower grade NCO's. Just like the Stabsgefreiter rank was for EM's (during wartime, not talking about pre-war).
Although both ranks got used more during the pre-war time for reasons that Pauke pointed out. The Unterfeldwebel rank is rare to see during the war, but i've seen enough examples.

Hi thanks. Do you have any photos of any Unterfeldwebel from the war period?

[Admiraal]

I'm looking into my own collection for examples, but that's not easy as i don't have a list with ranks. But i can see that of the three mentioned ranks, the Stabsgefreiter is most common, second place to Stabsfeldwebel and most rare is Unterfeldwebel. I'll attach an example from a soldier that got promoted to Unterfeldwebel during 1944. He was an I.G. frontsoldier with the EK1. But it was not a death-end rank for him, a few months later he was promoted to Feldwebel.

[Lukius Bug]

I'm looking into my own collection for examples, but that's not easy as i don't have a list with ranks. But i can see that of the three mentioned ranks, the Stabsgefreiter is most common, second place to Stabsfeldwebel and most rare is Unterfeldwebel. I'll attach an example from a soldier that got promoted to Unterfeldwebel during 1944. He was an I.G. frontsoldier with the EK1. But it was not a death-end rank for him, a few months later he was promoted to Feldwebel.

Thank you.