Corps colours of the Luftwaffe (1935–1945)

Colonel in the General Staff of the 1941/1942. The photo shows the later Generalinspekteur of the Bundeswehr Heinz Trettner
Lw-General with lampasses in corps colour "white" 1934.

Corps colours, or troop-function colours (ge: Waffenfarben) were traditionally worn in the German armed forces, the Wehrmacht, from 1935 until 1945. to distinguish between several branches, special services, corps, rank groups and appointments of the ministerial area, general staff, Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, down to the military branches Heer, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. The corps colour was part of the uniform piping, gorget patches, shoulder straps, arabesque and lampasse ornaments of general and flag officers. It was also part of the heraldic flags, colours, standards and guidons.

In the Luftwaffe, there was a strictly defined system of corps colours for collar patches, piping and coloured edging around the shoulder boards or straps. The chevrons on special clothes for Luftwaffe soldiers, e.g. flight suits and jumpsuits, also showed corps colours.

Synoptic table and examples to military persons in uniform

The table below contains some corps colours and examples used by the Heer from 1935-45.

Troops, unit, appointment Cops colour Example Remark
white (weiß)         Generaloberst
lampasses (uniform trousers, breeches)
white
(close patch)
deep-red
(piping)
Unterwachtmeister
  • Anti-aircraft troops
  • Air Force artillery
deep-red (tiefrot)
officers in general staff service (Generalstabsoffiziere) carmine (karmesin) Oberst i.G. (colonel in general staff service)
gold-yellow (goldgelb) lampasses (uniform trousers, breeches)
Military judicial service (Militärgerichtsbarkeit) purple (purpur) Stabsrichter
Field chaplains purple
(#C154C1)
Aviator engineer(ing) service (Fliegeringenieurdienst) pink (rosa) from Generalleutnant (engineer) OF7 to Leutnant (engineer) OF1a
  • Aviator troops: pilots and ground personnel
  • Parachute troops
gold-yellow (goldgelb)
  • RDAR units
  • Air traffic control
bright-green (hellgrün) Hauptgefreiter
Paratrooper (Fallschirmjäger) hunter-green (Jägergrün) troops standard airborne infantry battalion
universally to the Militärverwaltung of the Luftwaffe dark-green
(#00703E)
main color of the
  • uniform gorget
  • collar patches´backgraund
  • Transport units (Transporteinheiten)
  • AF reserve (Luftwaffenreserve)
light-blue (hellblau)
AF medical corps (Sanitätstruppe) blue (blau) Stabsgefreiter
Air communications corps (Lufnachrichtentruppe) saddle brown (braun)
  • Major
  • corps standard communications battalion
  • construction engineer corps (Baupioniere)
  • AF engineer corps (Luftwaffen-Pioniere)
black (schwarz) Stabsfeldwebel

Particularity

Special regulations applied to corps colours of units, services, and special troops, attached permanently to the ground services of the Heer.

See also main articles

References

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