wwii axis reenactment forum

I am busy doing some research on late-war ('44+) Waffen-SS uniforms, specifically junior officers - Untersturmfuhrer / Leutnant - and the silver wire piping worn around their collar tabs got me wondering: did the officer tabs retain this wire piping throughout the war, or was it omitted at later stages as part of the general "economy" effort? If anyone has info on this, it would be great; photos, if available to show un-piped tabs, would also be appreciated.

I think the availability of piped insignia was probably available until the end of the war...but I can't be sure.
It was not uncommon for newly appointed Untersturmfuhrer's , more commonly with members from volunteer divisions , actually upgrading the standard enlisted mans collar tabs.

As requested a few pics..... these show enlisted tabs upgraded.







hope this has been useful for you.

The last picture is really interesting as it looks very early war with the Ritterkreuz recipient's M35 double decal helmet and all those M36 tunics, yet clearly un-piped collar insignia.

Also, for a presentation of such a prestigious award by a very senior officer you would assume the RK recipient would be turned out in their very best parade tunic ...

Perhaps therefore, un-pipped junior officer insignia was much more common than anticipated

1940, France
"SS-Brigadeführer" Paul Hausser presenting award to Ludwig Kepplinger.

Enlisted mans upgrade was possibly a temporary measure .

Cheers Nelz, very interesting pics. The mystery deepens!

Double exception:

What's the veracity of the last image?

Found it on google when searching for "pea dot camo", looking for the link again now.

We all know the SS had collar tabs on their Dot44 semi-frequently, and Nelz posted examples of unpiped officer collar tabs, so... possible combination yes, but probably anything but common!