Seekampfabzeichen der Luftwaffe

Discussions on Axis awards and decorations. Hosted by John G & William Kramer.
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Richard van Kempen
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Seekampfabzeichen der Luftwaffe

#1

Post by Richard van Kempen » 17 Jul 2002, 19:35

can anyone show me a picture of this badge??

What was it awarded for??

i don't know anything of this award .....AND I WANNA KNOW :wink:



regards
Richard van Kempen

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Marcus
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#2

Post by Marcus » 17 Jul 2002, 20:08

Here is a photo of it.

Image

/Marcus


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Richard van Kempen
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#3

Post by Richard van Kempen » 17 Jul 2002, 20:14

thank you Marcus

is it yours?


Richard van Kempen

Paddy Keating
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#4

Post by Paddy Keating » 17 Jul 2002, 20:14

First of all, there is no proof that this badge was ever awarded. It was one of several Luftwaffe war badges instituted in November 1944 on Göring's orders but there is no proof that it was ever more than a design on paper or, at most, a die-cutter's or engraver's prototype. There are pictures of badges made after the war, based on the wartime design, in most reference books from Kleitmann onwards.

It falls into the category of badges like the LW Tank Badge, numbered LW Ground Combat Badges, the LW Close Combat Clasp and our old friend, the Army Balloon Observer Badge. There are Soldbuch entries and provisional, field-made award documents that suggest that the LW 25 Ground Combat Badge and the Army Balloon Observer Badge in Bronze were awarded but the ones I have seen looked dodgy to me. The badges are very unlikely to have existed.

For various reasons, I have known many former Fallschirmjäger and quite a few members of the Hermann Göring Division. Not a single one of them remembered anyone ever received Luftwaffe CCCs, numbered Ground Combat Badges or LW Tank Battle Badges, numbered or otherwise. One would imagine that had these badges been awarded, men of these units would have been the first to qualify!

The Army Balloon Observer Badge is another example. It would have been a highly prestigious award from the viewpoint of those involved in such dangerous activities. Easily as prestigious as a Para Badge. If it had been awarded in any class, Bronze, Silver or Gold, the ceremony would have been photographed and reported in the military press. It was always a sore point with men who served in these units that they never got a badge even though it was belatedly instituted. It simply didn't exist before May 1945.

As for the LW Sea Battle Badge, sometimes described as the Air-Sea Rescue Badge, any example you see will be a postwar fabrication. Instituted in November 1944, it would not have been available before, say, February 1945. At a time when U-Boat and other KM crews were being formed into ground fighting units because of a lack of fuel for KM vessels and less need for a sea capability as Germany was squeezed between the Western and Eastern Fronts, how would the Luftwaffe have managed to send airmen to sea? Why would they have sent men to sea?

Hope all this helps...

PK
Last edited by Paddy Keating on 17 Jul 2002, 20:20, edited 1 time in total.

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Marcus
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#5

Post by Marcus » 17 Jul 2002, 20:16

Richard van Kempen wrote:thank you Marcus
is it yours?
No, the photo was provided by Roger Honts for my site a long time ago.

/Marcus

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Richard van Kempen
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#6

Post by Richard van Kempen » 17 Jul 2002, 20:28

thank you for the information Prosper


so in short it's a legend like the balloon badge a never was but now is(fantasie piece??)

Richard van Kempen

Benjamin Fanjoy
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#7

Post by Benjamin Fanjoy » 17 Jul 2002, 21:09

This is very suspect badge, I would not invest any money into one.

Ken Jasper
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#8

Post by Ken Jasper » 17 Jul 2002, 21:16

Richard,

I agree that it is highly unlikely this badge was ever awarded. Some unscrupulous individuals may offer you a photo of the badge in wear. What they will probably show you is a doctored photo of a Luftwaffe enlisted man at the helm of a air-sea rescue boat. An undoctored vesion of this photo (i.e. no badge) appears in John Angolia's book on military awards of the Third Reich.

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Marcus
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#9

Post by Marcus » 17 Jul 2002, 21:22

Ken,

I don't have a copy of that Angolia book, can you (or someone else) please scan that photo and post it here?
Thanks.

/Marcus

M. Schroeder
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#10

Post by M. Schroeder » 17 Jul 2002, 21:23

Here is an article I wrote about this badge.

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/war_bad ... battle.htm

Ken, funny you should mention that doctored picture. I remember when that was shown over at Wehrmacht Awards. I had recently finished the above article, and Angolias book was one of my resources I used when compiling the information, so the real picture was still fresh in my mind.

All I could do was laugh, and immediatly shoot down that bogus picture. Least he could have done was use an unpublished picture!
Last edited by M. Schroeder on 17 Jul 2002, 21:32, edited 2 times in total.

Ken Jasper
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#11

Post by Ken Jasper » 17 Jul 2002, 21:29

Marcus,

Sorry I don't have the capability to scan the page. For those that do have the book, however, it is on page 218 of the first edition of "For Fuhrher and Fatherland Military Awards of the Third Reich" by Ltc. John R. Angolia. Again the photo in the book shows the Luftwafe crewman without a badge. I have seen the doctored photo at militaria shows and the badge has been added to the left pocket.

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#12

Post by Richard van Kempen » 17 Jul 2002, 21:36

great article Mark !!!!!

thanx


when i see it somewhere ill................do nothing :? but only say that it as never produced :mrgreen:

Richard van Kempen

Benjamin Fanjoy
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#13

Post by Benjamin Fanjoy » 17 Jul 2002, 22:52

Very good article Mark.

I hope anyone who has any interest in this badge will read it.


Regards, Ben

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Marcus
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#14

Post by Marcus » 17 Jul 2002, 23:17

Here are a few images provided by William.

/Marcus
Attachments
luiftwaffe sea battle badge in forman.jpg
luiftwaffe sea battle badge in forman.jpg (75.08 KiB) Viewed 1216 times
luftwaffe sea battle badge berlin auction house.jpg
luftwaffe sea battle badge berlin auction house.jpg (34.08 KiB) Viewed 1217 times
luftwaffe air sea battle badge cloth.jpg
luftwaffe air sea battle badge cloth.jpg (68.95 KiB) Viewed 1213 times

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Marcus
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#15

Post by Marcus » 17 Jul 2002, 23:19

One more.
Attachments
luftwaffe sea battle badge document.jpg
luftwaffe sea battle badge document.jpg (138.55 KiB) Viewed 1211 times

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