Seesportabzeichen der HJ

[christianlohmann]

Now that is surely enough proof for the oval ones.
Thanks to Daniel.
But is there any proof on photos (pre1945) of the round ones?

 

[pimpf]

Thanks for this great sample Daniel.
@christianlohmann : I only know this picture

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[Garry]

The patches Darin showed in post #5 were described by Weitze as being for those who took the A, B or C tests whilst participating on a Wehrertüchtigung course (pre-military training). Patch 2 in Darin's post shows a patch with lightning which Weitze describes as being for Level C of the marine signalling test. Now, I'm looking but I can't find anything in the regulations about these particular patches. We are all familiar with the usual MHJ qualification patches but those in Darin's post are a mystery to me. In 1942 an agreement was reached between the HJ and the Kriegsmarine to provide training for the 'Marine-Wehrfunk' which was designed to provide a pool of boys with training in German navy signals procedures (MHJ Wehrfunker). I'm wondering whether the patches with anchor and lightning were for wear by these boys but I have nothing confirming that.

I'll keep looking but does anyone else have any more info?

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Aircrew kindly uploaded a shot of a sample board which confirms that the patch with the lightning is for the Marine-HJ Wehrfunker (see left for blown-up shot of one of the round versions of the badge which is clearly marked as being an "Armscheibe für Wehrfunker"). These round patches can't be seen in regulations etc before 1942 so that year seems to be the logical place to begin looking for further info.

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The agreement I mentioned between the RJF and the Kriegsmarine describes the MHJ Wehrfunker patch as a red anchor with lightning. It goes on to say that once the boy had satisfied the requirement for award of the "Seesportfunkzeugnis" he wore a red chevron beneath the anchor. Badges matching that description are shown in the book "Marine-HJ im Dienst" and can be seen over there to the right. Clearly, these are oval and not round so it remains unclear when the latter were introduced. They were introduced at some point (as evidenced by the photo uploaded by Debertex here) but we're still not sure when that was. We have to be looking at a date after March 1942 though, that's for sure.


Here is a chap who would have worn a Wehrfunker patch:

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[pimpf]

Hi Atze,

I don't have a picture of a real one but here is the version worn on dark shirts/jackets

On blue shirts/jackets: blue cloth with red anchor
On white shirts/jackets: white cloth with blue anchor.

The patch was introduced in 1938 and was worn on the upper right arm.

Not the better shape but good IMO.

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[pimpf]

Decent contion for this one.

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[Garry]

Took a while but I finally found a full description of these Marine-HJ Wehrfunk patches in a primary source from September 1943. They appear to have been introduced in that year as part of a new agreement between the Kriegsmarine and the RJF (previous agreements had been reached in 1939 and 1942 with regard to signals training in support of the Kriegsmarine) and are described as follows:

1. Anchor, lightning and one chevron: awarded to boys aged at least 14 who had transferred from the regular Marine-HJ into a Marine-HJ Funkkameradschaft and who had been in Marine-Wehrfunk training for between six and eight weeks.

2. Anchor, lightning and two chevrons: awarded after having passed the intermediate tests.

3. Anchor, lightning and three chevrons: awarded after passing the Seesportfunk test and after receipt of their final performance report.

With these patches being introduced so late in the war and with material shortages in mind, that might explain why Daniel's photos show irregular versions of the patch although an official, approved version clearly existed.

Also, these badges are not described as being for qualification stages "A", "B" and "C".

 

[pimpf]

Thank Garry for this additional information about these badges.

 

[mkholst]

Garry - many thanks for the latest info on the Marine-HJ Wehrfunk patches.

I don't see anyone commenting on the other patch without the lightning bolt - mentioned in post 11 - any new information ??

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Michael