BeVo Coastal Artillery Breast Eagle

Product Description: This BeVo Coastal Artillery Breast Eagle is a textbook original example. It’s machine woven, and is the style that was factory applied to the field gray wool and HBT uniforms worn by members of the Coastal Artillery branch of the German Navy (Krigsmarine). It features a German national eagle in swastika emblem, executed in gold rayon thread on a dark green background. The backing of this insignia is a thin light green rayon, which has some insect damage at the edges as well as a few holes at the top. This damage is limited to the backing fabric and does not affect the woven eagle emblem. The reverse of this Bevo Coastal Artillery breast eagle is typical, and shows details of the machine woven construction. This is an unissued eagle that was never folded or sewn on to an uniform. The colors remain strong, with only extremely slight age toning.

Historical Description: The German Armed Forces (Wehrmacht), as formed in 1935, and as they existed until the end of World War 2, consisted of the Army (Heer), the Air Force (Luftwaffe) and the Navy (Kriegsmarine). The Waffen-SS fell under the command of the Wehrmacht during the war. Each of these branches of service had a unique eagle design that was worn on both the formal dress and parade uniforms, and the field uniforms, of the members of that branch. These eagles were worn on soft headgear, including service and field caps, as well as on the uniform jacket. In the Heer, the Luftwaffe, and the Kriegsmarine, this eagle was worn on the chest of the tunic; collectors have termed these “breast eagles.” The Heer and the Luftwaffe generally used the same eagle style, though variations in color of the eagle or the backing distinguish between the two. The Luftwaffe used their own flying eagle emblem. The Waffen-SS sleeve eagle (and cap eagle) had wings that came to a distinctive tapered point. The cap, breast and sleeve eagles used by the various military branches were manufactured in many variations. There were machine-woven and machine embroidered versions, usually used by officers and NCOs. Hand-embroidered bullion wire eagles were typically for officers. There were metal eagles, for caps, or for uniforms that were intended to have detachable insignia. There were even eagles embroidered on camouflage fabric, intended for use on special field uniforms. There were also eagles in specific colors for use on tropical uniforms. Some of these eagles were mass-produced and are still common today. Others were, and are, very rare.

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