Luftnachrichtengerat” Signals equipment personnel Cloth Patch
The typical patch consisted of a grey wool base (matching the colour of the Luftwaffe tunic) onto which was machine sewn a design designating the wearer’s specialty in lighter grey cotton thread. Many designs represented a caricature signifying the specialty, such as tires for motor vehicle administration, lightning bolts for communications personnel, or winged propellers for flight crew members. For other professions, single letters such as a “V” for Verwaltungsunteroffizier (Administration NCO) or “F” for Feuerwerker (armorer).
NCOs often wore versions with silver twisted cords (made of cloth, aluminium or bullion) around the outside patch borders, while exceptional performance in a technical discipline was shown through the addition of a gold twisted cord border to a wearer’s patch (along with a presentation document warded for recognition). Some privately produced patches of silver wire on a grey felt background or finely hand-sewn bullion thread with gilded highlights were available for purchase. A few patches seemed out of context for the general operations of the Luftwaffe , such as those bearing horseshoes for farriers (a design copied from the German army patch) or ship’s wheels over anchors for Luftwaffe marine pilots.
Luftwaffe soldiers continued to proudly wear their uniform insignia until Germany’s eventual defeat with the ending of the Nazi government in 1945. Due to the millions of men and women who served as technical specialists, specialty patches are somewhat common on today’s collecting market, making them a relatively obtainable—and comparatively inexpensive—addition to a modern collection
