Shoulder Boards - EM Luftwaffe

Shoulder Boards – Luftwaffe Enlisted Men

These shoulder boards are associated with enlisted ranks of the German Luftwaffe, the air force of Germany during the Second World War.

Within the German military uniform system, shoulder boards were used to indicate both the rank category and the branch of service. Enlisted personnel wore relatively simple shoulder boards made from cloth without braided metallic cords, unlike those worn by officers.

Luftwaffe uniforms were distinguished by their blue-grey or dark blue fabric, which clearly differentiated them from the feldgrau uniforms of the German Army. In this example the shoulder boards are made of blue cloth with green piping along the edges, indicating a specific service branch within the Luftwaffe.

The boards follow the typical flat construction of enlisted shoulder boards and include a tongue and button fastening system, allowing them to be attached to the field tunic (Feldbluse) and other uniform garments.

They formed a standard component of the Luftwaffe enlisted uniform, produced by various military textile manufacturers supplying the German armed forces during the war.