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 Kriegsmarine Breast Eagle emblem was introduced on March 24, 1934. It was worn on the right breast of most garments, with the exception of great coats, capes, work blouses and shirts, leather jackets, and protective clothing. The breast eagle emblem used by the Kriegsmarine is identical to the one worn by the army. The only difference is in colour.

The tropical breast eagle could either be hand-embroidered or machine-embroidered (sometimes referred to as machine-woven).
Generally, officers wore the higher quality hand-embroidered emblems, however, due to shortages during the war, they often wore machine-embroidered emblems instead

The embroidered emblems are golden-yellow for almost all garments, except for white garments, for which the emblems are cornflower blue. Silver-grey was used for the emblems of officials.
The cloth backing for the embroidered emblems is in the colour of the uniform for which the emblem was intended. For the blue uniform, a golden-yellow eagle on a dark blue backing was used, a cornflower blue eagle on white for the white uniform, a golden-yellow eagle on a field-grey or dark blue-green backing for the field-grey uniform used by Coastal Artillery units, and a golden-yellow eagle on a brown backing for the brown tropical uniform.