History

During the Second World War, German troops stationed in northern Africa are generally referred to as the Afrikakorps. Technically, this is not entirely correct, since some German units operating in Africa were not actually part of the DAK (Deutsches Afrikakorps), and some units of it were, in fact, Italian ones. However, for the purpose of collecting so-called “tropical” uniforms and insignia, collectors have simplified the meaning of the term.

The first German troops were sent to northern Africa in February of 1941, to support their Italian allies against the British. The climate of the African continent made it necessary to wear specialised uniforms and gear that not only supported the soldiers in serving in a hot and arid environment, but also helped them in blending in with the landscape, which, in general, presented itself as brown, olive, khaki, or sand/tan in colour. Worn over long periods of time under the blistering desert sun, some uniforms were eventually bleached to white or off-white. Uniforms and insignia in these colours are often referred to as “tropical”, and it is worth noting that they weren’t just worn by members of units stationed in Africa, but in the entire Mediterranean theatre of war, including southern France, Italy, the Balkans, and Greece, as well as in southern Russia during the summer months. Tropical uniforms were worn by members of all three branches of the Wehrmacht: the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy), and the Luftwaffe (air force). Members of the Waffen-SS stationed in southerly regions also wore tropical-style uniforms, and even though they technically have no connection to the DAK, all tropical uniforms and insignia of all branches of the German military are listed here.

The cockade always featured the black-white-red national colours combination, but the colour of the oakleaf wreath reflected the wearer’s rank group. The oakleaf wreath was gold-coloured for all regular Kriegsmarine personnel and silver-coloured for Officials with the rank of Officer. The tricolour cockade and the oakleaf wreath were both manufactured in embroidered and metal versions. The embroidered insignia were manufactured with bullion, celleon, or aluminum when hand-embroidered. When they were machine-embroidered they feature artificial silk thread. The embroidered wreaths could be worn in combination with a metal cockade.

The metal cockades were manufactured using Neusilber (nickel silver) and vulcanized fibre from 1933 until 1935. After 1935, the cockades were primarily composed of aluminum and other lightweight metals. The national tri-colours were often painted on the cockade’s metal obverse surface, and the reverse of the metal cockades features either two or four attachment prongs.

The size of the insignia varies widely as a result of different manufacturers and the size of the cloth backing. The backing for insignia worn with the blue and white uniform was black or dark blue, while that for the field-grey coastal artillery uniform was field-grey or dark blue-green, and that for the brown tropical uniform was blue or sometimes brown.