David A. Suter for Wehrmacht-Awards.com
symbol
The various symbol used encompass some of the most common and
some of the rarest devices used during the Third Reich. The most commonly mistake is to identify the Mercurian staff used by the TSD as
Medical. This is due, of course, to the fact that that device is commonly used today for just that purpose.
Letter |
Branch Color |
Designation |
|
caduceus |
cornflower blue |
Medical Officer Early (WWI) style was flat. Changed to raised style 10 Sep 1935.
|
|
caduceus |
cornflower blue |
Senior Medical Corps Officer Candidate Introduced 6 April 1935. Prior to that numerals were used, along with a sleeve patch.
|
|
caduceus |
red |
Medical Corps General Officer |
|
caduceus |
blue-grey |
Sonderführer |
|
caduceus + Z |
cornflower blue |
Dental Officer Introduced 6 Feb 1942
|
|
caduceus + Z |
cornflower blue |
Senior Dental Officer Candidate |
|
serpent(+ No.) |
crimson |
Veterinary Officer Early (WWI) style was flat. Changed to raised style 10 Sep 1935.
|
|
serpent |
crimson |
Senior Veterinary Officer Candidate. Introduced 6 Apr 1935. Replaced the sleeve insignia. |
|
serpent |
blue-grey |
Sonderführer
|
|
crossed cannon barrels |
red, orange red |
Ordnance Officer Introduced 15 May 1935. On 7 June 1944 the official color changed from bright red to orange red.
|
|
cogwheel |
orange |
Corps of Engineers Officer, Officer Academy, Senior Officer Candidate Introduced 1 Apr 1939. The Corps was disbanded on 19 December 1942. Interestingly enough, the Officer's Academy wasn't disbanded until 1 December 1943.
|
|
cogwheel |
black |
Fortress Shop Foreman |
|
cogwheel + No. |
black |
Water Supply Troops |
|
Mercurian staff |
light blue |
Special Service Officers (TSD) Introduced 22 Apr 1944
|
|
Roman sword |
wine red |
TSD Judiciary Corps Introduced 3 May 1944.
|
|
winged shell |
red |
Army Antiaircraft Branch created 15 Jun 1941, insignia introduced 18 Jul 1941.
|
|
Lyre |
various |
Band Leaders, Music Superintendents Lyre device introduced 10 Sep 1935. Two color cords introduced 4 Apr 1938.
|
|
Lyre (+ No.) |
white |
Army Music Schools In effect 1 Apr 1939. Arabic number for school, Roman numeral for Military District.
|
|
Wehrmachtadler |
white |
Armed Forces Military Territorial Commander |
|
Wehrmachtadler |
green & grey |
War Administration Official
|
|
cross |
white |
Division HQ, 44th Infantry Division & 134th Grenadier Regiment (Stalingrad Cross) Introduced 31 Dec 1942.
|
|
Runic emblem |
various |
'Feldherrnhalle' Units Formed 1 Oct 1939 from SA-Strandarte of same name. Unknown device introduction date. (This board is on page 365, Uniforms & Traditions, Volume 1.)
|
|
death's head |
golden yellow |
5th Cavalry Regiment Insignia authorized 3 Jun 1944, but worn unofficially since mid-1943.
|
|
horseshoe |
golden yellow |
Farrier Instructor
|
|
anchor + No. |
black |
Engineer Landing Unit |
All
pictures from the David A. Suter collection unless otherwise noted.
Text and Content David A. Suter, Layout Sebastian Bianchi.
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