Corps colours of the Luftwaffe (1935–1945)
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.
Colours and examples
The table below contains some corps colours and examples used by the Heer from 1935-45.
| Troops, unit, appointment | Corps colour | Example | Remark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
white (weiß) |  |
 |
 |
Generaloberst | |
 |
lampasses (uniform trousers, breeches) | |||||
|
white (close patch) |
 |
Unterwachtmeister | |||
| deep-red (piping) |
||||||
|
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 | ||||
|
gold-yellow (goldgelb) |  |
 |
 |
| |
|
bright-green (hellgrün) |  |
 |
Hauptgefreiter | ||
| Luftwaffe Field Divisions (prior to changing to white under Heer control in 1944) | hunter-green (Jägergrün) |  |
troops standard | |||
| Universally used by the Militärverwaltung of the Luftwaffe | dark-green (#00703E) |
main color of the
| ||||
|
light-blue (hellblau) | |||||
| Air force medical corps (Sanitätstruppe) | blue (blau) |  |
 |
Stabsgefreiter | ||
| Air communications corps (Lufnachrichtentruppe) | saddle brown (braun) |  |
 |
 |
| |
|
black (schwarz) | N/A |  |
Stabsfeldwebel | ||
Exceptions & special cases
Special regulations applied to corps colours of units, services, and special troops, attached permanently to the ground services of the Heer.
- Division Hermann Göring: Kragenspiegel and shoulder strap piping ( Schulterklappenvorstoß) "white", collar patches´ piping (Kragenspiegelvotstoß) in corps colours:
- white (with black border line): infantry,
- scarlet: artillery and anti aircraft defence (Flugabwehr)
- golden-brown: communications
- black: engineer
- rose-pink: armor, antitank (Panzer jäger) and armored reconnaissance (Panzeraufklärer).
- Air Force divisions: Collar patch main colour: green piping to collar patches and shoulder straps in corps colours:
- yellow: cyclists (Radfahrer) and reconnaissance (Aufklärer),
- rose-pink: antitank troops (Panzerjäger)
- scarlet: artillery and anti aircraft defence (Flugabwehr)
- bright-blue: Supply (Nachschubtruppe) and Administration (Verwaltungstruppe)
- golden-brown: communications
See also main articles
References
- Glossary of German military terms
- Adolf Schlicht, John R. Angolia: Die deutsche Wehrmacht, Uniformierung und Ausrüstung 1933-1945
Vol. 1: Das Heer (ISBN 3613013908), Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1992
Vol. 3: Die Luftwaffe (ISBN 3-613-02001-7), Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1999
(very detailed information and discussion but no coloured images) - Corps colours of the Wehrmacht according to the order of the Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht from October 14, 1942, here a selection only.