- Waffenfarbe
Waffenfarbe (German: “corps [or troop-function] color”) is a means the
German military uses to distinguish between different corps or troop functions in its armed services. The waffenfarbe is the colour of the collar badge, of the cord around the shoulder boards and - for enlisted ranks - of the cord around the collar and the "schiffchen" cap. (In the latter places, NCO's wear cords of dark gold, officers silver, and generals gold.) [ [http://www.bundeswehr.de/portal/PA_1_0_P3/PortalFiles/C1256EF40036B05B/N264JEZ8237MMISDE/BMVg_93_A5+Brosch_INTERNET_neu.pdf?yw_repository=youatweb Official brochure on Bundeswehr uniforms (in German)] (Waffenfarben of the army p. 14, of the air force p. 17)]Army
The
German Army uses a "waffenfarben" scheme of colors to indicate troop types. The colors appear as piping (colored edging) around shoulder straps showing a soldier’s rank. Although soldiers’ berets are also coloured, the colours are slightly less differentiated than those of the piping, and corps or troop function is indicated by a badge rather than beret colour.Air force
The German Air Force only uses a small spectrum of colours for the purpose. While the normal colour for the air force is a golden yellow, officers in the general staff service (today there is no "general staff" as such) wear wine-red and generals, bright red. Generals’ and general staff service officers' collar patches ("kragenspiegel") also differ from the normal air force design, being the same the army wears.
1935-45, the air force used a larger number of colours, including bi-coloured.
Navy
The
German Navy does not use function-specific colors to distinguish between corps. This is done instead by anchors (emblems) above the rank stripes on the sleeves.Examples
Similarities in other armies
The use of colours to distinguish between troop functions was not unique to the
German Army during theSecond World War . TheSoviet Army also used colored shoulder boards after 1942 to distinguish troop functions: ground forces general officers and infantry used red, cavalry used blue, and artillery, tank troops and the rest of the ground forces used black, while the air force and airborne troops used sky blue. Likewise theBritish Army utilized coloured strips of cloth on the sleeves to likewise identify troop functions.Today, waffenfarbe schemes are also used in Japan, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy and Finland. For a full list of troop function colors currently in use in the US Army, see
United States Army branch insignia .References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
