Uniforms I Wouldn't Buy

[Zauberflöte]

Aren't they Luftwaffe-Feldivisionen under Heer control ?

No, I don't believe so.
There is nothing else to believe these are in fact LW soldiers.
But even if these were LW Feld.div. men, this would still be a interesting configuration since in that case they often worn FB without any collar tabs and certainly not with Einheitslitzen.

[Graham G]

Looks to me like mr. Heinz has a Heer officer's breast eagle attached to his sleeve

[besslein]

Looks to me like mr. Heinz has a Heer officer's breast eagle attached to his sleeve

yes,its not uncomon.will be glad to find somewher this wraper

[PaulR]

Talkin' about fakes... Here's a british period fake of a cloth pilot cualification badge. You can read the explanation in the second volume of the Brian L. Davis' Luftwaffe book.

A question was asked about this a while back in this thread-

This British pilot wore this badge because he test flew captured German WW2 aircraft.

[teutonen(Jeff)]

The key to judging all tunics etc. is to examine the item itself, photos will show you the variations, and exceptions to the rules but again to get from the photo to a tunic 70 years later and a different example etc. is another matter.

Items still need to be looked at in hand. The materials considered, the information of where it came from, the reputation of the source etc. the photos are useful for examples of what was worn but they do not prove that a piece in modern times is real.

These threads surface about once a year and most people understand that they are interesting examples of atypical items used during the period. That said they also can be "used" by people to try and substantiate things they have as real. The flip side of that coin is other people who will claim anything unusual that is not textbook is fake. Both positions are equally wrong.

Sort of "authentic by association", it does not work that way. Most odd things are mistakes people made restoring or fakes etc. but of course there are some real items that do not conform to "textbook" The key is the tunic or uniform item in hand, it can not be authenticated by photos of other odd examples etc. All the photos can do is show that there is variation and there are some exceptions. Anyone who has being collecting awhile, studies period clothing etc. and who looks at photo histories will know this.

This is very true. It reminds me of the Antiques dealer in Rothenburg on der Tauber (excuse my spelling) - not too far from Nurnberg. If you were a GI back in the 80s stationed nearby, I am sure you probably know who/where he was located there.

He had a few WW1 items in front to get the militaria collector in his shop. He would take you in the back to show you his WW2 items. I remember quite vividly him telling me about the photos he had on the wall (just a few) to show people that there were variations to items. True, BUT... he had an inordinate amount of fake cloth and medals (some pure fantasy). Yes, he got me too on a few fakes(LOL).

[415]

Here's a picture of my Great Grandfather, members of the Reichbahn serving under the command of the Wehrmacht. Note the collar tabs indicate which Reichbahn unit, my Great Grandfathers buddy on the left you can see the Reichbahn Kraftwagen symbol on his left sleeve and of course the breast eagles are on the wrong side. Photo is from Rouen 1942, they were heading home on leave.

[MauserCollector]

I really enjoyed seeing these pictures, a lot of odd variations!

Best
Morten

[OSS]

Here's a picture of my Great Grandfather, members of the Reichbahn serving under the command of the Wehrmacht. Note the collar tabs indicate which Reichbahn unit, my Great Grandfathers buddy on the left you can see the Reichbahn Kraftwagen symbol on his left sleeve and of course the breast eagles are on the wrong side. Photo is from Rouen 1942, they were heading home on leave.

Very interesting photo of a little-known unit, thanks very much for sharing this bit of family history with us.

[JasonA]

This thread should be pinned...it serves as an invaluable lesson to uniform and headgear collectors.

J-

[415]

In 1940 after the German offensive in the West the Wehrmacht had captured a lot of enemy vehicles. His Reichbahn unit was taken by bus to Brussels and they were to drive these vehicles back to Germany. (I have picture of him with the captured vehicles.) After they had brought the vehicles back to Germany, the Wehrmacht said they did a good job and asked to have then transferred under their command. That’s when they switched from the Reichbahn uniform to the more Heer style. His unit designation was 1.Kol.Kw.Trsp.Abtl.(DR) 353 and then it changed again to 1.Kp.Kw.Trsp.Abtl.(DR) 353. They were used mainly on the Eastern Front. (Smolensk, Minsk, Kiev, Stalingrad ect.) They were transferred back to the West to take part in the Battle of the Buldge. At the end of the war he no longer was a truck driver and was in Marsch-Kompanie 164 where he said it was a mix of different branch of service of the Wehrmacht.(Heer, Kriegsmarine Luftwaffe ect.) Lots of the guys where actually wounded soldiers from a hospital and were able to still fire a gun I guess. He surrendered to the Americans on March 3, 1945 near the village of Zulpich in Germany. He was held as a POW for a year and a half. It’s interesting to see how a seemingly un-militaristic job like being a truck driver in the Reichbahn turned into being a soldier on the front lines.

[415]

Here's another variation with Reichbahn collar tabs applied.

[FBB]

Here Foto from my Collection.Nice GD Tunic but I never would have bought it

Regards

Sebastian

[Tony T-S]

Great thread, I recall even Fritz Witt wore a Heer eagle on his sleeve at one point. There's a good shot of one on his coat in SS Regalia by Robin Lumsden p118

[OU812]

Great thread, I recall even Fritz Witt wore a Heer eagle on his sleeve at one point. There's a good shot of one on his coat in SS Regalia by Robin Lumsden p118

A lot of SS officers wore WH eagles on their sleeves - nothing unusual about that

[DOC_KÜSTENART]

This one is from my collection,

Young coastal artillery enlisted man wearing a bevo cap eagle behind a metal cap eagle on the breast... And what appears to be a Luftschutz medal ribbon!?