Kriegsmarine Aircrew Uniform

Hi Jack,

Nice one! The WW1 figures would convert very easily indeed, especially the rating. I'm an ex-Royal Navy leading hand and I still have my uniform (somewhere) to copy  - the German uniform is almost exactly the same. As you say, the officer's shirt, tie and cap need work, as does the jacket. Once again, my own present uniform (I'm now an officer in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary) can be used as the reference as our jackets are identical in cut to the German navy. In both navies, the uniforms, especially the dress uniforms, really haven't changed overly much for a long time. I have to say your help has been fantastic with this one, and I'm sure going to try to track these figures down. Many thanks once again.

Kind regards

Nick Moore

Nick , no problem - interesting subject.

For the Kriegsmarine  I think I've seen in the past some 54mm u-boat crew figures that might do the job.  Andrea (maybe some other brands out there too) has 5 individuals linked here

This one looks best for your project:

There is also an obscure Austrian manufacturer that has a couple WW1 figures that would easily convert - Wiener Modelbaumanufactur

For the officer his bow tie would have to be replaced with a necktie and his cap needs more peak and flare at the sides.  The sailor, you would have to remove the shirt pockets along with the underneath striped shirt, and add the special black tie in front.

regards,

Jack

Hi Jack,

Thanks for the info mate, I had a sneaking suspicion that this may be the case, but I just couldn't find any supporting evidence. I think that I'll paint the aircrew in flying kit the same as I'd paint a Luftwaffe crew, but with the maintenance scene I'm going to see if I can find a Kriegsmarine figure - either that or start stretching myself and try to sculpt one! Once again, many thanks and happy modelling in 2012.

Kind regards

Nick

I've a very heavy illustrated book on navy uniforms of WW2 by Andrew Mollo and there is no mention, let alone any provisional artwork of a navy pilot.  Unlike most major navies the Kriegsmarine did not have their own aircraft.   A Luftwaffe general attached to OKM would assign  pilots to the Kriegsmarine, and I assume, would keep their regulation uniform.  No doubt some airplane mechanics were sent along with them.  It is reasonable to assume that the ship would also make available some of it's crew as part of the Arado's "ground crew".

Image google searches should help with your badge queries.

The above photo is of an Arado on board the Tirpitz.  More photos here.

Looks like Luftwaffe had the dark overalls while naval crew had white - again this is just an observation.

regards,

Jack