Luftwaffe 1st Lieutenant Boards & Collar Tabs

Product Description: This Luftwaffe 1st Lieutenant Boards & Collar Tabs is a very nice set. The shoulder boards are the scarce “T” form used on white summer uniforms. These were made to be removable so the white tunic could be laundered. The aluminum wire braid on these is the bright style, typical of Luftwaffe boards both before and during the war. The wool underlay is the bright yellow color used by the Flight branch (and also Fallschirmjäger). Each board has a single gold finished rank pip, indicating the rank of Oberleutnant; the pips are complete with their original prongs. The collar tabs are beautiful, with nicely hand embroidered bullion gulls and oak leaf devices on a bright yellow wool backing that is a near perfect match to the shade of the boards. The twisted cord piping around the outer edges of the tabs is hand sewn as is typical. On the reverse, the tabs have some stitching remnants at the corners that may have once been used to affix snaps that would allow these to be mounted to a white summer tunic.The condition of all four pieces of this Luftwaffe 1st Lieutenant boards & collar tabs set is excellent, with no mothing, no stains or other damage. These would be perfect for completing a uniform and also make an eye-catching display on their own.

Historical Description: The German military as well as civil, political and paramilitary organizations traditionally used shoulder straps and shoulder boards as uniform insignia, to denote the rank or function of the wearer. After the Nazi rise to power in 1933, there was a tremendous increase in the number of groups and organizations in Germany wearing officially sanctioned uniforms, and most of these organizations used shoulder straps and shoulder boards as a component of their regalia. The exact color of piping utilized, the material color, the type of braid or Tresse that was used, and the number or location of devices and pips present, allow shoulder boards to be tracked to the exact organization that issued them, and often yield even further detail such as the wearer’s rank and even his specific military unit. Normally worn in pairs, the boards were in some cases plain, and in other cases adorned with detailed embroidery or metal emblems. Some shoulder boards were made in the millions, others were specific to a single individual.

Collar insignia, in the form of collar tabs (Kragenspiegel) or simple woven Litzen, were very widely used by many German civil, political, military and paramilitary organizations, before and during WWII. In some cases, for example on collar tabs of the Luftwaffe, the collar insignia were rank specific, with devices or rank Tresse that changed as a soldier was promoted. In other cases, such as the pre-1938 Litzen used on enlisted field tunics of the German Army, the collar insignia had no rank identifier, but bore “Waffenfarbe” branch colors that identified a soldier’s unit type. Some German collar insignia were adorned with unit or branch specific metal emblems, while others featured hand or machine embroidery, and still others were made using hand applied wire bullion. Less commonly, collar insignia emblems could be directly applied to the collar itself, rather than being a removable patch. Collar insignia intended for field use was often different from the formal dress insignia used by the same organization. It is no exaggeration to say that many hundreds of different collar patterns were in use during the Third Reich, with some organizations having multiple patterns as regulations changed during the 1933-45 period. Some collar insignia, which was mass produced for large organizations, remains relatively common today, while other insignia types such as those for officers of the highest ranks, or for small organizations, are very scarce.

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