POA Luftwaffe arm shield?

[Txrgr1911]

Nice worn shield Matt, but as it was pointed out - there is a chance that it could be on French Horizont Blue wool - that was the captured wool germans used to make POA uniforms from.

By the way - where does the photo of POA Luft visor insignia comes from? I never seen it before.

Originally i first saw it from a Coin Auction about 2014, but been on eBay for $2-3000 on and off for the last couple months. I offered a more than fair price and he didn’t even blink.

Here’s the rest of the pics from my archives.

[GAMS1]

You are confusing the feldgrau uniforms with the grey-blue uniforms. The grey-blue uniforms what were worn by POA were made from captured French wool.

????
I do have and had more M44 POA blue grey uniform items and no one has been made with french cloth !
Typical german made wool but in blue grey , like the Bahn Schutz Polizei wool uniforms for example ...
The eventually larger stocks of french blue grey captured wool were long gone already in 1940 in the french Army !
So in 1944 having still larger stocks of it ? no way ...
Of the khaki one : yes .
Nick

[DennyB]

????
I do have and had more M44 POA blue grey uniform items and no one has been made with french cloth !
Typical german made wool but in blue grey , like the Bahn Schutz Polizei wool uniforms for example ...
The eventually larger stocks of french blue grey captured wool were long gone already in 1940 in the french Army !
So in 1944 having still larger stocks of it ? no way ...
Of the khaki one : yes .
Nick

In the early to mid '90s at a Houston Gun/Militaria show there was a dealer that had stacks of Russian uniforms and equipment on his tables, much from the '50s and '60s but some WWII vintage stuff. While looking through the piles I came across a French Blue tunic with a POA sleeve insignia on the left sleeve and a faint shadow of a breast eagle. The buttons were unpainted German 19mm pebbled grain type. I had two friends along who were more knowledgeable on Third Reich militaria than I and asked them if that was a Luftwaffe tunic, they both said that in their opinion it was a French tunic. I later wished that I had bought it.

[GAMS1]

In the early to mid '90s at a Houston Gun/Militaria show there was a dealer that had stacks of Russian uniforms and equipment on his tables, much from the '50s and '60s but some WWII vintage stuff. While looking through the piles I came across a French Blue tunic with a POA sleeve insignia on the left sleeve and a faint shadow of a breast eagle. The buttons were unpainted German 19mm pebbled grain type. I had two friends along who were more knowledgeable on Third Reich militaria than I and asked them if that was a Luftwaffe tunic, they both said that in their opinion it was a French tunic. I later wished that I had bought it.

It was then may be a captured M15 or M22 french jacket in horizon blue colour , which is something different than to produce the M44 POA uniforms with rolls of french wool ...
Nick

[Askold]

GAMS1

You mentioned that you went through "numerous" blue wool POA uniforms. Can you post some photos of such uniforms?

Here is example of one of such uniforms - I believe it to be made out of french horizon-blue:

[DennyB]

Askold, that is like the tunic I saw. Seeing it reminded me that it was a pullover type.

[GAMS1]

I'll do for what i have home as i'm also not at home now ...
and i don't keep pictures of every uniform piece i had in my hands for almost 50 years of collection .
Your nice POA jacket is made of german wool : same as WH feldgrau wool quality but in blue grey ...
The french wool is different , a lot thicker quality and was produced only until 1935 maximum , when the french Army officially changed the uniform colours to khaki .
Did you ever had a french horizon blue jacket or any piece of this uniform to compare with ? the difference is evident ...
Nick

[Askold]

Not sure how hard it is to pull up photo of French interwar tunic and compare. Here, let me do the homework for you.

Looks the same to me:

[GAMS1]

I did my "homework" ...for a long time already on this subject !
I collect also french uniforms and have a "certain" base of reference in this field .
Please compare 3 different french jackets in horizon blue colour with the POA side cap for example ?
I still have a POA jacket but not with me .
The side cap has a typical german wool quality as almost all items in this field
i've seen ?
Many shoulder straps were found made in LW blue grey wool as well , with LW Tresse for most of the NCO/OFF ones : for LW volunteers units ?
Or simply to be closer to the new M44 blue grey colour uniform than the dark green or feldgrau straps ?
I had a LW Fliegerbluse with a M44 WH eagle on the breast , POA collar patches+ dark green straps . Found directly in Prag in the 80's , directly from barn ...
Nick

[Askold]

Thank you Nick for posting the photos. Although they are very lightened, I can see the subtle differences.

This brings up another question though - the pictures of blue POA tunic that I posted - is this Luftwaffen blue wool then? Looks so much bluer than the Luft grey-blue luft tunics.