patches Posted October 24, 2022 #1 Posted October 24, 2022 Lets start one for the Nationale Volksarmee, a catch all topic like the one we started for the Bundeswehr and the Post War to Current Austrian Bundesheer. This is from sometime in the 70s,Leutnant? has no Pips as we see. also, not sure on the shoulder straps, lot of Green in it, anyone know Arm?
Proud Kraut Posted October 24, 2022 #2 Posted October 24, 2022 Good call, Patches! I'd say the shoulder boards are Volkspolizei Unterwachtmeister.
patches Posted November 10, 2022 Author #3 Posted November 10, 2022 Magazine cover ARMEE Rundschau 1972. Paratroopers right.
Proud Kraut Posted November 10, 2022 #4 Posted November 10, 2022 Yes, Fallschirmjaeger (paratroopers), the only NVA soldiers I´m aware of who wore berets. The (later) Luftsturmregiment 40 had an interesting history. It was disbanded one year after reunification in 1991. Great photo!
SARGE Posted November 12, 2022 #5 Posted November 12, 2022 Here is an interesting photo of Volkspolizei dog handler training. Notice some are wearing collar tabs while some are not.
patches Posted November 15, 2022 Author #6 Posted November 15, 2022 NVA Female Type 1970s. Beret looks Green, VoPo???
SARGE Posted November 15, 2022 #7 Posted November 15, 2022 The pic is a little fuzzy but it looks green for Volkspolizei. Female wreath insignia on caps were the larger Officer style like this.
Proud Kraut Posted November 15, 2022 #8 Posted November 15, 2022 I checked my files again. Obviously I was wrong in my last post (#4). Beside Airborne troops femal NVA personnel wore berets (NVA term: "Baskenmuetzen") as well. Attached a scan of the corresponding NVA uniform manual´s page. So referring to the visible shoulder board my guess would be that the last photo shows a femal NVA NCO.
patches Posted November 16, 2022 Author #9 Posted November 16, 2022 Here's another in Dress Uniform, a Sergeant.
SARGE Posted November 16, 2022 #10 Posted November 16, 2022 Females wore several styles of caps. Here are a selection.
Proud Kraut Posted November 16, 2022 #11 Posted November 16, 2022 Nice shots! Here are some pictures of the felt kepi (Kaeppi).
patches Posted June 3, 2023 Author #12 Posted June 3, 2023 In a Helmet Factory we guess, sometime in the 1970s.
patches Posted June 19, 2023 Author #13 Posted June 19, 2023 Another Sergeant, this time of the Air Force, sometime in the 70s.
SARGE Posted June 19, 2023 #14 Posted June 19, 2023 Aha! Look closely at this Air Force Sergeant and you will see she is wearing a pair of Officer shoulder boards under her NCO boards. So this shot was taken at her Officer course graduation ceremony. At the end of the ceremony the newly minted officers remove their former rank insignia. No wonder she is smiling. Nice photo!
Proud Kraut Posted June 19, 2023 #15 Posted June 19, 2023 Sarge, you are spot-on. So she´s most likely an "Offizierschueler 4. Studienjahr" (officer candidate, 4th academic year), wearing a "S" on her shoulder boards. Faehnrichschueler (Warrant officer candidate) boards were marked by a "F". Attached an image from the corresponding chapter of the NVA uniform manual.
SARGE Posted June 28, 2023 #17 Posted June 28, 2023 And... here is an example of the Winter version of the white foul weather coat for the Volkspolizei traffic cop. BTW, the photo above was also used for the cover of a DDR coffee table book about the Volkspolizei.
Mr. Bushido Posted July 6, 2023 #19 Posted July 6, 2023 On 2023/7/5 at 午後1時7分, patches said: VoPo ポスター、今回は 70 年代のもの。 Very interesting picture! I've seen very few good pictures of VoPo NCOs from the 70's. The peaked cap insignia in this photo looks like an early model. Also, the lapel insignia is an early one similar to those used in WWII. I'm curious as to what kind of uniform these insignias were used in combination with. I thought I would be able to fasten the first button of the jacket, but unfortunately the buttonhole was hidden by the bouquet.
SARGE Posted July 6, 2023 #20 Posted July 6, 2023 It looks like this fellow has dark green backing on his collar tabs and shoulder boards which makes him a Meister der VP, or regular policeman. Therefore he would wear an open collar tunic as shown. If he had light green backing on his collar tabs and shoulder boards he would be a Meister der Kasernierten Einheit des Mdi. or a barracked policeman. Then he would wear a tunic that could be worn with an open or a closed collar. Barracked policemen could also wear some military insignia such as marksmanship cords and collar Tresse.
Mr. Bushido Posted July 7, 2023 #21 Posted July 7, 2023 Sarge, thanks for the additional post. There are fewer books on NVA, and even fewer on VoPo. I learned a lot from your explanation.
patches Posted August 3, 2023 Author #24 Posted August 3, 2023 A 1957 photo of Ho Chi Minh posing with Sailors of the Volksmarine during a visit to East Germany.
Mr. Bushido Posted August 3, 2023 #25 Posted August 3, 2023 7 hours ago, patches said: A 1957 photo of Ho Chi Minh posing with Sailors of the Volksmarine during a visit to East Germany. Interesting photo taken shortly after Volksmarine activation. I would have mistaken it for VP-See without your note.
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