wwii axis reenactment forum

I was talking to someone yesterday whose grandfather was in the Fallschirmjäger. He didn't know much about him, apart from that he was a Waffenfeldwebel and that he was killed in Köln in 1945.

I'm not really sure what a Waffenfeldwebel actually is, does anyone here know? Is it actually to do with weapons, or is it more to do with regimental police?

Second question, if he was serving with a formed Fallschirmjäger unit (rather than an ad-hoc formation) which unit is it likely to have been? Any ideas?

Cheers
KB

Can only help with the Waffenfeldwebel rank part of your query. According to the Brian Davis book he was an ordnance NCO and was distinguished by a patch with two crossed rifles in yellow on a dark blue-green circular background worn on the lower right sleeve.

Photo example given on page 50 of the book.

Hope this helps.

Cheers TacAide, I hadn't thought to look in the Brian L. Davis book. Got it now, it's also mentioned on page 66 of vol. 2 of his Luftwaffe Uniforms and Insignia book.

I was unsure as some US websites had it listed as being a Sergeant at Arms, which is obviously something totally different.

KB Martinsen wrote:Cheers TacAide, I hadn't thought to look in the Brian L. Davis book. Got it now, it's also mentioned on page 66 of vol. 2 of his Luftwaffe Uniforms and Insignia book.

Happy to be of help, the Davis book is a mine of information and indispensible to the researcher.

Waffenfeldwebel is a rank that still exists in Finnish army (borrowed from the Imperial Prussian & German armies at first), his duties include taking care of the ammunition distribution within a company, and also to take care of the weapons etc. For example, if a soldiers rifle was destroyed or malfunctioned, he would inform Waffenfeldwebel about it who would then arrange a new weapon for him. He would also make sure that men had ammunition, grenades etc. when they needed them and so on.