Generalleutnant Kurt Student

Generalleutnant Kurt Student General Student was one of the more progressive thinking Generals in the Luftwaffe and as a result one of the pioneers of airborne troops in modern warfare. Both a Jaeger infantryman and a fighter pilot in WWI, he took these combined experiences and was instrumental in the early development of the Luftwaffe paratroops that became so respected and feared by their enemies. Early in the war Student was awarded his Knights Cross for the masterful capture of a Belgian fort by his glider troops, and the Battle of Rotterdam, a campaign in which he also received a head wound as a result of friendly fire. Student also commanded another well known mountain top glider mission; the raid to free Mussolini from captivity. Student served the last four years of the war as the commanding general of paratroops, with his units fighting battles from Crete to the Normandy front.

General Kurt Student’s Kleiner Rock Uniform

(Wolfe-Hardin collection)

This is Kurt Student’s Kleiner Rock, a special dress tunic specifically made for General Officers featuring white lapel facings and white piping down the front panel and on the French cuffs.

Visor Cap

This close up shows the very fine, high quality doeskin fabric of Student’s visor and a typical General officer quality visor cap eagle in bullion thread with gold wire swastika.

Shoulderboards

Left shoulder Luftwaffe General officer shoulderboard of gold/silver cord over a white underlay, with a single pip for the rank of Generalleutnant.

Right side shoulderboard.

Collar Tabs

Generalleutnant rank Luftwaffe Generals collar tab, rank indicated by the two gulls, for the left side of the tunic. Note the gold edge piping around the collar of the Kleiner Rock.

Right side collar tab.

Breast Eagle

Luftwaffe Generals breast eagle in gold bullion thread with yellow yarn highlights. Note the eagle is on a white backing, which adds a nice contrast and compliments the broad white lapel facings and white piping of the Kleiner Rock.