Very unusual Heer officers pennant

[Patrick W]

Hi Guys

Thought I would show this very unusual fender pennant I just got. I am assuming very late war. It is made from a melamine board type material with the insignia spray stencilled on. The details to the eagles are hand applied using ruler and stencil by the looks of it. Fittings are rivited and in silvered zinc.

It also has the company name and patent which is pretty faint

To-Go Patentamt gesch.
Walther Goldbach Berlin Wilmersdorf

Any one seen one like this before? I think its great!

[Patrick W]

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[Patrick W]

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[paulj]

I've seen similar pieces over the years...few and far between. Very cool item. I don't know anything about them. However, I wouldn't necessarily call it a "late war" piece. It probably became clear early on that embroidered cloth flags weren't very practical for field use. The metal versions were no doubt cheaper as well.

Perhaps someone, someday will search patent records, provided they survived, and date these.

[Patrick W]

Thanks Paul, I agree it is a really neat pennant. Interesting that you have seen some in the past also, its a first for me

[Napalm]

Never seen one of these before, very cool and will be looking out for them in the future...Thks for sharing...

[paulj]

I've seen army in various forms and Red Cross (square and pennant form). I've collected for decades and seem to recall seeing an SA in metal as well.

Since these are thin sheet metal I presume many were recycled into tools or otherwise after the war. They don't turn up frequently.

[oldflagswanted]

masonite pennants ???

I've seen army in various forms and Red Cross
(square and pennant form). I've collected for
decades and seem to recall seeing an SA in
metal as well. Since these are thin sheet metal
I presume many were recycled into tools or other-
wise after the war. They don't turn up frequently.

paulj:
Although this pennant seems to be maker marked,
it is IMO a pennant appearing to be made of Masonite
or Isorel ---> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masonite
Masonite hardboard is formed using heated & pressed
wood chips, and IMO is not a very strong material to
vibration with susceptibility to water absorption and
subsequent delamination - something not very good
for an auto fender pennant subjected to field uses.
This pennant might fall into the "late war" materials
substitution program - but also often just an excuse to
explain odd material use or less quality in militaria.

PS/ See WAF thread t=450966 on a post WW2 Masonite flag example.

[paulj]

Guess I should read more closely. I saw the brown spots and figured it was rust. I presumed this pennant was metal.