Kriegsmarine Trade Badges

[gdfuseddie]

Could anyone help me regarding Kriegsmarine trade badges?

I have a dark blue, traditional sailors 'square-rig' uniform. On the sleeve I have a Matrosengefrieters chevron. I also have a signals trade badge (crossed flags) embroidered in red on blue cloth. In relation to the chevron, where does this badge go?

I have been told that trade badges were in different positions depending whether it was primary or secondary trade, and the badges were also embroidered in different colours to display this.

If anyone could shed some light on this I would appreciate it, thanks.

[Martin W]

From this photo i have here it appears that the secondary trade badges in red are placed below the primary trade badges in gold.
Hope this helps.

Regards,Martin.

[gdfuseddie]

Thanks for that image.

Do you know if the rank and secondary trade were usually together on one patch, as this photo appears to show?

Or were they sometimes seperate?

Cheers

[NOR_collector]

You could try to ask KM-Spain
He's the right man to ask when it comes to uniforms, equipment etc.

[km-spain]

Hello, the colocation of the KM privates arm badges is not complicate.

Above the rating chevrons, in this case a Matrosengefreiter, were wore the round career insignia (sea service, engine, marineartillerie, ...), in this case the signal career with two crossed flags.

Bellow the rating chevrons privates could wore one or more spacialists badges (gun chief, diver, motor, ...).

The rating chevrons and the career insingnia could be separate or together in one piecem, but the specialist emblems were always in separate piece.

In this picture you can see a Matrosenobergefreiter with Boatswain career emblem above, and automatic flak weapons gunner and hydrophone specialists emblems bellow.

[gdfuseddie]

Thanks for your pictures guys. Your explainations are better than what I'm reading in books.

Can you confirm what I now believe to be how the badges worked on the
blue winter uniform:
The career badge is above the rank chevron and is stitched in yellow. The specialist badges are worn below the rank chevron and are stitched in red.

Another question I have is regarding both of tha photos you guys have attatched. Some of specialist badges appear to have a rank chevron combined.
However in the last picture this conflicts with the main rank chevron. Does this show to what level the individual is trained to despite what their actual rank is?

[km-spain]

First at all I'm not sure if understand what you mean with the stitching of the emblems, the career badges are embroidered in yellow thread and the specialist badges in red thread, and both are stitched with blue thread.

Your belive about how badges worked is right, carrer emblem above the rank chevron and specialist ones below.

About the chevrons below some badges, these are levels of the badge. In the fist picture those men are junior NCOs so the carrer badge is in gold metal (intead the rank chevron and the round career badge) and the below chevron denoted the Obermaat rank (without it is only a Maat). On the specialist badges is different, in some cases indicate different range in the specialist course (motor), some times is to indicate different specialist course (diver, 2 chevons for torpedo, 3 for u-boat and salvage, ...), sometimes the time (gun chief, with 2 chevrons after 3 years, with 3 after 6 years, ..), ... you have to check it with all the badges to know the meaning of them.

[gdfuseddie]

Thats great. I understand this a lot better now.

Thank you for your help.