Germany - Third Reich: Kriegsmarine Artillery Medical Officer Candidates trade sleeve badge. A very good early quality example, possibly pre-war, the navy blue wool base with a hand embroidered Asklepian and four, fine, hand embroidered outer edge stripes all in gold wire threads. With full paper backing to reverse. A excellent example of type, and relatively scarce.
Condition: light evidence of age and handling, overall Good Very Fine or better.
On entering Kriegsmarine service all personnel were assigned and trained for a specific career. These careers consisted of a wide variety of specialty trades and functions with some of the careers restricted to certain rank groups. On successful completion of the appropriate training, personnel were issued distinctive career insignia. Junior and Senior NCO personnel selected as Fähnrich and Oberfähnrich, (Junior and Senior Officer Candidates), and were allotted specific uniform items and insignia as identification of their position as Fähnrich or Oberfähnrich respectively. The career insignia of Fähnriche and Oberfähnrich was basically the same as regular EM/NCO’s with the addition of four outer edge border stripes. Fähnriche and Oberfähnrich personnel wore their career insignia in matching pairs, on the lower sleeve of the uniform. Regulations dictated that the base color of the insignia was to match the color of the uniform it was worn on.
