Panzer beret with skull instead of cocarde

[PzV]

I picked up a photo album today with some unusual photos of the Pz soldiers wearing skulls (like on the collar tabs) under the eagle on the beret.

[PzV]

it appears that the protective padded portion is not being worn and only the upper portion of the Panzerschutzmutze as a beret

[PzV]

these pictures were obviously taken in France and the Schuztmutze was very much disliked by the soldiers

[JWL]

Jim, I belive they are wearing Legion Condor panzerbarets. The balkenkreuz with white striped indicates post '39 service, so these were indeed probably taken during the 'westfeldzug'.

Again some very nice and rare photo's! Just look at the grenades attached to the turret in the first post!

[PzV]

J.W. you may be correct and possibly they added the eagles after they came back as a Legion Condor beret had no eagle. I liked the grenades on the back of the tank also as well as the name above it. I am visiting with Karl-Heinz Münch this evening and will ask him if he knows the unit. The soldier was later in Afrika also and a few nice photos of this are in the album.

best regards,

Jim

[PzV]

J.W., K.H. Münch agrees with your opinion that they may be former Legion Condor Panzer soldiers who were also in action in France and took their "Baskenmutzen" along. He also mentioned that the Panzer looked to be from Pz Rgt 25. The only problem is the fact that none of them are wearing a Legion Condor PAB.

best regards,

Jim

[JWL]

Jim, I am no expert on these matters, but I belive when a soldier earned his '39 version of the PKA, he was supposed to wear this version.

There are also some other simple explinations:

- They didn't met the awardscriteria for the Conodor Legion tank badge

- They didn't serve in the Condor Legion at all, but due to shortages they were given leftovers from the Condor Legion.

[PzV]

J.W. thanks for your input. I will do a bit more research and see if I have other similar photos but I found these rather odd and it could be just a unit thing also.

best regards

Jim

[Mark Gibson]

Hello Jim,
very interesting photographs. I don't believe this is a unit thing restricted to the unit shown as I've seen a number of published photographs of PzRegt 5 troops wearing similar berets. Definitely different units because some of the PzRegt 5 troops are identified as being from Stab I. Abt/PzRgt 5, which displayed different numbers on their tanks during this period.
One particular soldier, I believe to be Gefreiter Heinrich-Gustav Schlieper, continued to wear this beret in North Africa. Schlieper added the cockade to his beret.

Mark

[PzV]

Mark, thanks for the additional information. Now this is getting interesting!

best regards,

Jim

[Akira Takiguchi]

Excellent! Is that a name on the rear of the Pz II turret? If he was KIA, his KIA location from Volksbund will help us to identify the unit.

[Richard P]

I had never seen this thread before and just stumbled across it. Extremely interesting photos to say the least. I think these berets would be a private purchase item adorned by each individual. They are way smaller than the standard beret cover and are quite a bit smaller than the Legion Condor berets I have seen in photographs. These barely fit on their heads and appear tight on most of them...possibly kids berets.

Does anyone have any more photos of them in wear?

Richard

[Michael H. Pruett]

My guess is that these shots are from Panzer-Rgt. 5. I do recall a film clip of a Panzer officer wearing Feldmütze and Condor Panzer badge. In the clip he is barking orders to some Panzer IV crews who are all wearing the small berets with regulation beret insignia mounted on the fronts. This clip was in the old BBC series SOLDIERS. Here are a few shots of II./Panzer-Rgt. 5 taken at the end of the French campaign. Each vehicle is marked with the name of a fallen crewmember. "Richard Schwandt" was a Leutnant der Reserve.

[Michael H. Pruett]

Obergefreiter Willy Schlantholt's memorial is painted on a vision flap.

[Mark Gibson]

Nice shot showing the name Michael. I do have a '35 dated panzer wrap from this very company so am always interested in seeing photographs related to it.

Mark