SS SHOULDER BOARDS UNTERSCHARFUHRER SUBDUED TRESSE FOR ARTILLERY

Waffen-SS Unterscharfuhrer NCO shoulder boards made from black wool with subdued  tresse. With red piping for: Artillery.

Black wool shoulder boards were also worn by Army Unteroffizier ranks in all services especially Panzer and Armoured units.

Has button hole for uniform attachment and black wool strap

The rank tresse is the subdued version and not the early shiny silver ones. 

The SS used black wool shoulder boards throughout the war changing only the rank tresse.  Rank tresse was sewn onto the edges of the shoulder boards.  The early war tresse was originally shiny silver aluminum but during the war (sometime in 1940) the tresse was changed to a grey or tan colour with a slight green shade. 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 Waffen SS Shoulder boards of different ranks in all services with different piping Waffenfarbe colours in stock.

The 18th Artillery Division (Artillerie-Division) was a German artillery division formed in 1943 by combining the staff of the remaining corps troops from the 18^th Panzer Division. The division, never reaching its planned strength, fought at the Eastern Front, suffered heavy losses and was disbanded in 1944.

This division had its own (heavy) infantry element, the Schützen-Abteilung 88 (tmot) (also known as Art.-Kampf-Btln. 88 and Art.-Alarm-Abteilung 18). Having the mission of defending the artillery in all dangerous situations this battalion, thoroughly trained in rear guard actions, saved the division from total destruction no less than three times.

The division was part of the XXXVIII Army Corps in the 1st Panzer Army. It was in action until late March 1944, when it was encircled in the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket.