Corps colours (Waffen-SS)

Selection of weapon colours

Corps colours, or Troop-function colours (ge: "Waffenfarbe(n)") were means the German Waffen-SS used to distinguish between different branches of service, corps, services or troop functions.

The scheme of colors to indicate troop types was similar to that of the Wehrmacht Heer (German Army) from 1935 to 1945. The colours appeared mainly on the piping around the shoulder boards showing a soldier’s rank.

The table below contains some corps colours used by the SS from 1938-45.

Regiment or Battalion type Colour Example Remarks
General Officers

Personal staff of the RFSS

 silver-grey    
SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer and all generals of the Waffen-SS
Infantry
* Motorized infantry
* Panzergrenadiers
 white Flagge SS-PzGrenRegt 40
* SS-Oberführer of the Waffen-SS
* SS-Standartenführer of the Waffen-SS
Artillery
* Assault guns (Sturmgeschütze)
* Flak		 scarlet Artillery flag
SS-Obersturmbannführer of the Waffen-SS
Veterinary service carmine red SS-Sturmbannführer of the SS-Veterinary service
Legal service bordeaux red no example
Geologists light pink no example
Transport salmon-pink no example
* Panzers
* Panzerjäger (Tank destroyers)		 rose-pink
SS-Scharführer of the Waffen-SS
* Signals
* War correspondents		 lemon yellow
SS-Untersturmführer
identical corps colour to Heer (German Wehrmacht)
* Cavalry
* Reconnaissance (1942–45)
* Armored reconnaissance		 golden yellow
SS-Hauptscharführer of the Waffen-SS
* Feldgendarmerie (Field police)
* Special services		 orange
* SS-Unterscharführer of the Waffen-SS

* SS-Standartenjunker (officer candidate OR-6) of the Waffen-SS
Reconnaissance (1938–42) copper-brown
* Standartenführer of the Waffen-SS
* Oberführer of the Waffen-SS
Concentration camps light brown
SS-Hauptscharführer of the Waffen-SS
Security service

(Sicherheitsdienst)

 poison green
SS-Sturmscharführer of the „Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS“.
Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops) Meadow green
SS-Untersturmführer of the Waffen-SS,
identical weapon colour to the Heer of the German Wehrmacht
Recruitment service (de: Ersatzwesen) also: SS-Sonderführer and SS-Reserve officers dark green
SS-Obersturmführer
Supply light blue
SS-Hauptsturmführer of the Waffen-SS
Administration bright blue
Hauptsturmführer of the Waffen-SS
Medical service cornflower blue
* Standartenführer of the Waffen-SS medical service
* Oberführer of the Waffen-SS medical service
SS-Engineers corps
* Assault engineers
* Construction engineers		 black
SS-Oberscharführer der Waffen-SS
identical collar patches
example SS-Unterscharführer
(all collar patches to enlisted men, NCO-ranks, officers and generals)
main color of the uniform field-grey equal uniform colour as to Waffen-SS, Heer, and Militärverwaltung
Remark

The colour of the Kragenspiegel is  black in SS and NSKK,  cinnabar-red in the staff headquarters of the so-called Motorobergruppen ("senior motor groups") and independent groups,  carmine-red in higher staff headquarters of the NSKK.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Quotation as to: Schlag nach!, Bibliographisches Institut AG, Leipzig, 1938, p. 203.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.