GERMAN WEHRMACHT HEER NCO UNTERFELDWEBEL SHOULDER BOARDS FOR MOTORCYCLE RECON

WW2 German shoulder boards for NCO Unterfeldwebel rank.  Made of field grey wool and aluminum-silver tresse.  Has copper brown piping for Motorcycle / Reconnaissance.  Unterfeldwebel ( 'Junior Sergeant') was a rank of the Wehrmacht, from 1935 until 1945.

Unterfeldwebel NCO shoulder boards were introduced in 1938. They indicated the rank and service branch of the wearer.

Has button hole for uniform attachment and black wool strap

The rank tresse is the early shiny silver ones. 

Rank tresse was sewn onto the edges of the shoulder boards.  The early war tresse was originally shiny silver aluminum probably due to the ease of seeing this bright silver tresse the Germans quickly introduced the subdued tresse instead.   

After 1940 both silver and the subdued tresse was worn on the shoulder boards.

Check out our other shoulder boards of different ranks in all services with different piping Waffenfarbe colours in stock.

The Germans decided to merge the motorcycle and reconnaissance battalions, owing to the losses suffered by the Germans in 1941, as well as an overlapping of missions by the two battalion types.
By mid-1942, this reorganization was mostly completed. Most motorcycle battalions retained their designation, whereas only a few of the reconnaissance battalions retained theirs. (In mid-1943, the motorcycle battalions were once again re-designated as Panzer reconnaissance battalions.)

The main changes to the motorcycle battalions resulted in the dissolution of the MG motorcycle companies, two HMB and two 8cm mortars, with their crews, were transferred to each of the motorcycle rifle companies, the remaining HMG were moved to the Antitank Gun Platoon in the heavy weapons company as LMG. Also, further changes were that the independent signal platoons were incorporated into the motorcycle battalion headquarters, the armored car companies were added, as were the light reconnaissance columns.