NCO Shoulder Board Question

[Bob Hritz]

I bought a bunch of badges, some ribbon bars and cloth from the grandson of a vet. However, these SS mountain troop boards were in the box and I have not seen this style of manufacture. I have not seen the loose Italian wool used for the reverse or the lighter tan/gray colored cotton for the underside of the slip tabs.

I would appreciate any help on these.

Bob Hritz

[Bob Hritz]

Detail of button holes

[90th Light]

Hello Bob,

what is coming across on my monitor does not look like Italian wool on the reverse side. Those look to be early/ mid tapered Waffen SS boards with perhaps the first of the rayon piping. I wonder if the reverse wool and the tan/gray cotton underside are SS-VT earth-grey left overs, scraps.

In fact I am wondering if I have seen field grey wraps made of that type of underside wool with the "trenched" weave pattern of the cloth showing through the pile ?

Is the NCO tress silver/ aluminium wire, artificial silk or celleon ?

Chris

[Bob Hritz]

The tresse is gray artificial silk or rayon. The green piping is the standard rayon silky type as normal for shoulder boards.

Bob Hritz

[90th Light]

I am just looking at Micheal Beaver's books on the subject. Have a look at the board that he shows on page 230 of the 1939-1940 section. This illustrates a white piped board like your one with earlier celleon tress that matches what is on the tunic. I am also comparing the earth-grey wool and tan/ gray cotton on the reverse with the examples that he shows on pages 92 to 125 (also page 315) of the same volume in that series (nothing with that "trenched" type weave however).

What other branches of the Waffen SS used green piping in 1940/ 41 ? ( SS Schutzen/ Rifle units, SS Polizei division, SS Security forces ?)

To my eye, based on a computer image and not being able to hold them in hand. They look to be an early war to mid war type as opposed to later,

Chris

[Ian Hulley]

As I said on a PM the other day the only thing that I find odd is that the underside material resembles very worn wool. As if they've re-used worn-out, scrap tunic remnants rather than use new wool.

Ian

[90th Light]

As I said on a PM the other day the only thing that I find odd is that the underside material resembles very worn wool. As if they've re-used worn-out, scrap tunic remnants rather than use new wool.

Ian

Hello Ian,

that is certainly a possibility and I agree. On the other hand however, they also used the salvage and crap wool off the sides of the bolts of cloth for the undersides of boards. I have attached an image to show what I mean,

Chris

[Johnny R]

The wool shown for the backing material in the first pair reminds me of the fabric used for RAD tunics, it has the same course texture and weave. I have seen it used on Heer boards before for this as well.

[90th Light]

Here is a cut off early hammerhead eagle that Patrick W has for sale on the estand at the moment. Not how the "trenched" weave cloth of the tunic which remains is a very close match to what is on the reverse of Bob's green piped boards.

Interesting and again I say early ?

Chris

[galizien41]

The boards that are the subject of this thread I do not like. The second pair looks very nice though.

[RD Rygaard]

As I said on a PM the other day the only thing that I find odd is that the underside material resembles very worn wool. As if they've re-used worn-out, scrap tunic remnants rather than use new wool.

Ian

Ive seen this wool as backing material on fez tks & adlers...I have one but I dont want to remove them to prove the point