SS divisional "shield insignia"

[Ivan Ž.]

Hello, Frans, and thank you for the interesting video, which I haven't watched in years.

1'54" A Sd. Kfz. 251 passes by with on its right-hand wing/fender a tilted capital letter E or "epsilon" over a tilted white stripe or maybe sword. The halftrack seems to have an SS license plate. Think of the first (and unpopular) German-designed collar patch for the 20. W.Gren.Div. d. SS (estn. Nr. 1): a tilted sword superimposed over a letter "epsilon".... . Is this a crude divisional sign for this division or do I have a rich imagination?

I don't know what the marking is, but I do know that it's not an Estonian - nor a divisional insignia. If you look carefully, you will notice the yellow "Das Reich" divisional insignia on the right (next to the licence plate) on the very same half-track.

(See my previous post for the real Estonian divisional insignia.)

Then have a look a the Opel Blitz at 2'29" with on its right-hand wing/fender a capital letter L with a vertical stripe to the right of it. Again, this vehicle appears to have an SS license plate. Think of the alleged divisional symbol for the 15. W.Gren.Div. d. SS (lett. Nr. 1)... However, this division wasn't in the Protectorate Böhmen-Mähren (now Czech republic) at the time.

I don't know what this marking is either, but it surely isn't Latvian and it probably isn't a divisional insignia.

Cheers,
Ivan

[FransN]

Hvala lijepo Ivan! Thanks for your reply! And for an actual prove of a divisional sign of the Estonian division. Would be interesting, however, what the tilted "E" + stripe from the YouTube film stands for.
You are right, indeed "divisional shield sign" is a very interesting thread! Hope to see pictures!
Zdravo, Frans

[Ivan Ž.]

Cheers and thanks for participating. You have a very good eye for details, by the way.

Ivan

[Ivan Ž.]

Another LSSAH insignia that hasn't been posted so far: the "LAH" monogram

1SS3.jpg (147.4 KiB) Viewed 1923 times

(Source: NARA)

Ivan

[Harro]

Another LSSAH insignia that hasn't been posted so far: the "LAH" monogram

AFAIK only used by 15.(Krad)/LAH during the Western Campaign

[Ivan Ž.]

Yes, I forgot to add - not mass-used. Thanks, Harro.

Cheers,
Ivan

[Ivan Ž.]

A real insignia of the 13th SS Division (as printed on the cover of one of its "Handžar" magazines in late 1943): a hand swinging a khanjar with SS runes in the background. It is still not known how official the design was. Another drawing of the same motif can be found in the NARA files. There are no known (at least to me) examples of any unit's insignia on vehicles.

13SS.jpg (96.29 KiB) Viewed 1869 times

(Source: "Muslime in der Waffen-SS", Zvonimir Bernwald)

A clearer example of the divisional insignia, from a (period) divisional photo album:

13SS2.jpg (143.56 KiB) Viewed 1869 times

(Source: Bundesarchiv)

Ivan

[Arto O]

Thanks Ivan Z.,
for this inteeresting and important topic. You wrote that existed a "Handzar" magazine. It would be interesting to see a copy of it. Thanks very much.
Arto
Here for 17th "Gotz von Berlichingen":

Source: worlwarphotos.info

[Ivan Ž.]

Thank you, Arto, for the photo - which, I think, I haven't seen before!

Here's a scan of the front page of the 1st issue of the "Handschar" magazine (from Bernwald's "Muslime in der Waffen-SS" p. 329).

Note that the division itself was NOT officially named "Handschar" at the time (July 1943). It was named "Handschar" 10 months later (May 1944).

Cheers,
Ivan

[Arto O]

Thanks a lot Ivan.
regards
Arto

[Ivan Ž.]

The real insignia of the 3rd SS Division: a Totenkopf (without a shield). The style of the drawing changed depending on the artist.

Another unusual Totenkopf:

3SS2.jpg (155.45 KiB) Viewed 1386 times

(Source: Bundesarchiv)

Cheers,
Ivan