Jagdverbande Mitte trench art ring.

[Glenn R]

Hello Chaps, I don't stop by here often so I hope you dont mind my picking your brains. I have an interesting "trench art" alloy ring that I picked up at a flea market stall some years ago. It was in the bottom of a box along with some house clearance rubbish and I would have overlooked it if it wasn't threaded onto the ribbon of a Russian Front Medal. The ring is a typical alloy ring. On the front is crudely but quite accurately engraved an SS pattern totenkopf. Inside the ring is enscribed (again crudely) " SS Jagdverbande Mitte". I showed the ring to Malcom Bowers at a show a few years ago and he felt that it was period but could tell me nothing about the unit. I've photographed it with it's medal as I found it but my camera really struggles to pick out the detail. If you squint you can just make it out. Can anyone enlighten me as to the unit etc.

Many thanks, Glenn.

[Glenn R]

Further view...

[Glenn R]

Any idea's guys?

[Robin Lumsden]

Records indicate that at least two Irish SS men (SS-Uschaf James Brady, alias Charles de Lacy, and a chap Stringer, alias Willi Lepage) were posted to SS-Jagdverbande Mitte from Sennheim in March 1944. There were several Jagdverbande units (Nord, Ost etc) and they seem to have been mainly ad hoc combat groups. The best known was the one commanded by Skorzeny.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Glenn, I like the look of the ring. It is certainly of the era in design and form. Like Robin has mentioned, these units were ad hoc affairs.

Cheers, Ade.

[Matt Starr]

I wonder why the suspension ring is rusted so much but the medal is fine? Perhaps it was one of these sacrificial reactions between the ring and the suspension ring, where one metal rusts in sacrifice for a less reactive metal it is touching.
Matt

[Robin Lumsden]

I wonder why the suspension ring is rusted so much but the medal is fine? Perhaps it was one of these sacrificial reactions between the ring and the suspension ring, where one metal rusts in sacrifice for a less reactive metal it is touching.
Matt

The ring is iron, but the medal is zinc.

[Glenn R]

Thanks chaps that's very interesting. Robin is quite right it is a zinc medal with an iron ring. The medal is a bit zinc corroded too. The finger ring is a type of aluminium alloy so is quite fine. It has obviously been put away and forgotten for years hence the condition. Robin, would it have been likely that a man from this unit would have been in Russia at some point?

[Robin Lumsden]

Glenn.

Yes, very likely.

[Glenn R]

Thanks very much. Appreciated.

[Ian Jewison]

SS-Jagdverband Mitte

Formed 10.11.1944 through renaming SS Jäger Bataillon 502; should have existed with 3 Schützen, 1 schweren Kompanie and 4 fremdvölkischen (Foreign nationals) Companies (however Feldpostübersicht only lists 1.-4. Kompanie).

Under: SS-Jagdverbände: January 1945 Hohensalza, then Sachsenhausen (Nordbahn)

Also see: http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=1746

/Ian

[Glenn R]

Thanks Ian, very interesting info and link.

[Dan E. Moe]

Hi, could I see some more photos of the ring?