Corps colours (Waffen-SS)

Corps colours, or Troop-function colours (ge: "Waffenfarbe(n)") were means the German Waffen-SS used to distinguish between different branches of service, corps, services or troop functions.

The scheme of colors to indicate troop types was similar to that of the Wehrmacht Heer (German Army) from 1935 to 1945. The colours appeared mainly on the piping around the shoulder boards showing a soldier’s rank.

The table below contains some corps colours used by the SS from 1938-45.

Regiment or Battalion type	Colour		Example	Remarks
General Officers Personal staff of the RFSS	silver-grey			SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer and all generals of the Waffen-SS
Infantry * Motorized infantry * Panzergrenadiers	white			Flagge SS-PzGrenRegt 40
				* SS-Oberführer of the Waffen-SS * SS-Standartenführer of the Waffen-SS
Artillery * Assault guns (Sturmgeschütze) * Flak	scarlet			Artillery flag
				SS-Obersturmbannführer of the Waffen-SS
Veterinary service	carmine red			SS-Sturmbannführer of the SS-Veterinary service
Legal service	bordeaux red			no example
Geologists	light pink			no example
Transport	salmon-pink			no example
* Panzers * Panzerjäger (Tank destroyers)	rose-pink			SS-Scharführer of the Waffen-SS
* Signals * War correspondents	lemon yellow			SS-Untersturmführer identical corps colour to Heer (German Wehrmacht)
* Cavalry * Reconnaissance (1942–45) * Armored reconnaissance	golden yellow			SS-Hauptscharführer of the Waffen-SS
* Feldgendarmerie (Field police) * Special services	orange			* SS-Unterscharführer of the Waffen-SS * SS-Standartenjunker (officer candidate OR-6) of the Waffen-SS
Reconnaissance (1938–42)	copper-brown			* Standartenführer of the Waffen-SS * Oberführer of the Waffen-SS
Concentration camps	light brown			SS-Hauptscharführer of the Waffen-SS
Security service (Sicherheitsdienst)	poison green			SS-Sturmscharführer of the „Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS“.
Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops)	Meadow green			SS-Untersturmführer of the Waffen-SS, identical weapon colour to the Heer of the German Wehrmacht
Recruitment service (de: Ersatzwesen) also: SS-Sonderführer and SS-Reserve officers	dark green			SS-Obersturmführer
Supply	light blue			SS-Hauptsturmführer of the Waffen-SS
Administration	bright blue			Hauptsturmführer of the Waffen-SS
Medical service	cornflower blue			* Standartenführer of the Waffen-SS medical service * Oberführer of the Waffen-SS medical service
SS-Engineers corps * Assault engineers * Construction engineers	black			SS-Oberscharführer der Waffen-SS
identical collar patches				example SS-Unterscharführer (all collar patches to enlisted men, NCO-ranks, officers and generals)
main color of the uniform	field-grey			equal uniform colour as to Waffen-SS, Heer, and Militärverwaltung

Remark

The colour of the Kragenspiegel ist  black in SS and NSKK,  cinnabar-red in the staff headquarters of the so-called Motorobergruppen ("senior motor groups") and independent groups,  carmine-red in higher staff headquarters of the NSKK.

See also

• Comparative ranks of Nazi Germany
• World War II German Army ranks and insignia
• Corps colour
• Corps colours of the German Heer (1935–1945)
• Corps colours of the German Luftwaffe (1935-1945)
• Corps colours of the SA (1939-1945)

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)

External links

• Waffenfarben of the Wehrmacht Heer
• German WWII Army & SS Rank & Insignia