General Officer Rank Insignia
WW2
The Luftwaffe:
Shoulderboards
The Luftwaffe in World War Two indicated
General Officer rank via insignia located on the shoulder and collar. The shoulderboards
began with a base pattern of intertwined gold and silver cording. This base
pattern, un-adorned with rank pips designated the lowest General officer rank
of Generalmajor (equivalent to a Brigadier General in
the U.S./British forces). From this
base board pips were added consecutively as the rank increased up to a maximum
of three pips for the rank of Generaloberst (Colonel
General).
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Generalmajor Gold celleon cording with silver
inner cord over white underlay, no rank pips. (private collection) |
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Generalleutnant Gold celleon cording with
aluminum inner cord over white underlay, single rank pip. (private collection) |
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General der Flieger Gold, matte bullion cording with aluminum inner cord over
white underlay, two rank pips. (private collection) |
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Generaloberst Gold brite bullion cording with
silver inner cord over white underlay, three rank pips arranged in a triangle
fashion. (private collection) |
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Generalfeldmarschall All three cords in Gold bullion (as per regulation, April, 1941) over white underlay, with crossed, silver batons which bore resemblance to the actual Luftwaffe Marshal’s baton. This example is from GFM Erhard Milch’s uniform tunic. (Holzauge Historical) |
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Reichsmarschall All three cords in Gold bullion over white underlay, with
a gold device depicting the Wehrmacht eagle with
downturned wings and clutching a swastika, surmounting crossed marshals batons.
This example is from the uniform of Hermann Goring. (Brian Maederer collection) |
Collar Tabs
The collar tabs show marked difference
between the German armed forces in the designation of General Officers. The Luftwaffe, unlike the Army or Kriegsmarine, chose to display the individual’s
General officer rank on the collar tab in addition to the shoulder board. The rank was indicated by a base gold
wreath and a series of ‘wings’ consecutively added in the middle
for each progressive rank upgrade from Generalmajor
through General der Flieger. Generaloberst
and Generalfeldmarschall each had a flying eagle,
clutching a swastika overlaying the base wreath. Generalfeldmarschall
had the addition of silver, crossed batons.
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Generalmajor Gold celleon embroidered wreath
over white underlay, with a single set of wings centered within the wreath. Notice the dark gold bullion wire
highlights. It was very common
for the Luftwaffe to use a mixture of celleon and
bullion for Generals rank insignia and you will often find a mix both on the
tunics and headgear. The reason
for this is unknown. |
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Generalleutnant Gold bullion embroidered wreath over white underlay, with
two set of wings. |
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General der Flieger Gold celleon embroidered wreath
over white underlay, with three sets of wings. Notice the dark bullion highlights to
the wings as well as the bullion edge piping around the tab. (private collection) |
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Generaloberst Gold bullion embroidered wreath, detailed with celleon highlights, with Luftwaffe flying eagle clutching
swastika superimposed over a white underlay and edge piped in celleon. In
this interesting example, celleon is used as the
highlight. (private collection) |
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Generalfeldmarschall Gold bullion embroidered wreath, with Luftwaffe flying
eagle clutching swastika over white underlay, adorned by a set of silver,
crossed batons. (private collection) |
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Reichsmarschall Gold bullion embroidered laurel wreath surrounding highly detailed,
gold crossed marshals batons over a silver brocade fabric. (private collection) |
Click here for additional examples of Luftwaffe
Generals insignia and groupings
