Luft Bayo W/Knot

[SwordFish]

Can someone post a photo of 98 Luft EM or NCO bayo with approved portepp? Im in the market for a bayo that will go well with the bayo knot I bought and am hoping to get some ideas. If you have a luft bayo you trying to dump, please keep me in mind. As a non-bayo collector, this is pretty foreign to me. I guess a luft bayo would be wafamt and marked as such and also to deliniate the Luft as opposed to Heer 98 bayo.

Thank you fellas and id love to see some good photos.

T

[Scott C.]

id love to see some good photos.
T

Me too!

[Nimble1]

Luft Bayo

Here is a pic of my Luft bayo that ai have had for about 5 years or so. It is not mint but has a lot of honest wear.Came from a guy in Germany that used to sell on Epier.

[SCHUPO]

Swordfish,

The bayonet that Tom shows is a standard KS98 bayonet. It should normally be the short model with a 20cm blade that was regulation for NCOs. It has the same Luftwaffe NCO Faustriemen on it that you have (I believe). The frog is early brown, which is correct. The bayonet has yellow felt in the slot that indicates the fellow was assigned to a Fliegertruppen. The knot is correctly tied.

As FP mentioned on GDC, you could also use a S84/98. There would be no specific WaA markings on an issue S84/98 that differientiate between the Luftwaffe and Heer or Marine. The bayonet WaA simply indicates the bayonet passed Wehrmacht inspection. If you want a S84/98, you should look for one with an "L.B.A." marked frog in brown or black and make certain that the scabbard and bayonet maker, date, and serial numbers match.

Good luck!

George

[Scott C.]

George,
Please forgive my ignorance, but a couple of questions for clarification...

- Did the color of the slot felt really indicate branch color? This is the first in yellow I've seen (elsewhere I've seen red, green, and white)
- For dress bayos: short blades indicate NCO and long blades indicate enlisted ranks? Was that by regulation?
- What's the difference between a "KS98" and an "S84/98"? Is the KS98 the dress bayo, and the S84/98 the combat bayo? Was there a designator that differentiated long and short dress bayos?

Thanks!!

[SwordFish]

Thank you guys for the images. Also our frinds at GD posted some as well. Nice looking examples. I never would have been in the market for a 98 if I hadn't bought the marked Luft bayo portepee.

Thank you again and happy collecting

[SCHUPO]

George,
Please forgive my ignorance, but a couple of questions for clarification...

- Did the color of the slot felt really indicate branch color? This is the first in yellow I've seen (elsewhere I've seen red, green, and white)
- For dress bayos: short blades indicate NCO and long blades indicate enlisted ranks? Was that by regulation?
- What's the difference between a "KS98" and an "S84/98"? Is the KS98 the dress bayo, and the S84/98 the combat bayo? Was there a designator that differentiated long and short dress bayos?

Thanks!!

Scott,

The colored felt in the slot could indicate branch assignment. According to the period Eickhorn catalog, you could order the different color felts for your new KS98 bayonet when you bought it. Goldgelb was the color that identified flying troops. Red was the general default color for the Wehrmacht so that it why rote is the normally seen color. It could certainly be found in a Luftwaffe bayonet as rote also indicated Flak-Formationen in the catalog. Yellow was not listed as Heer color.

Short 20cm KS98 blades were sold as either Officer or NCO private purchase "dress bayonets" according to the same catalog. Longer 25cm blades on KS98 were sold as enlisted walking out "dress bayonets." These KS98 were almost all private purchase (although some were items of issue) during WWII so the soldier could buy whatever he wanted. But, I am sure that some ever vigilant Feldwebel would point out the error of his ways if he were a Private wearing a short bayonet off duty.

The KS98 (Kurtz Seitengewehr 98) is the proper designation for the bayonet that Tom shows above. This is often called a "dress bayonet" or "walking out bayonet" by collectors but some were issued. the KS98 nomenclature is correct for either the 20cm or 25cm bladed examples. These were generally privately purchased by soldiers and come in quite a few variations on the theme. The S84/98 is the blued bayonet that is often incorrectly called a "K98" bayonet. This is a misnomer as the K98 is the rifle it fits on. The standard blued steel "combat" bayonet with smooth wooden or groved plastic grips was usually an item of issue and it is designated as the Seitengewehr 84/98 (S84/98).

Probably more than you ever wanted to know about the KS98...

[Scott C.]

Probably more than you ever wanted to know about the KS98...

Perfect! Thank you George

[landsknechte]

Scott,

The colored felt in the slot could indicate branch assignment. According to the period Eickhorn catalog, you could order the different color felts for your new KS98 bayonet when you bought it. Goldgelb was the color that identified flying troops. Red was the general default color for the Wehrmacht so that it why rote is the normally seen color. It could certainly be found in a Luftwaffe bayonet as rote also indicated Flak-Formationen in the catalog. Yellow was not listed as Heer color.

What would green indicate?

[SCHUPO]

What would green indicate?

Green indicated either Jäger-Formationen or Flieger-Aufsichtstruppen according to the Eickhorn catalog. I have also found green felt in Polizei bayonet slots.

[landsknechte]

Stupid question perhaps, but what are Flieger-Aufsichtstruppen?

[SCHUPO]

Flieger-Aufsichtstruppen were actually "Air Policemen" who wore Luftwaffe uniforms with green piping and collar tabs. The term best translates into Air Traffic Control Troops. According to Angolia & Taylor, state Luftpolizei were transfered to the Luftaufsichsdienst on 1 April 1935. They ceased to be police officials and became part of the military on 1 september 1939.