Worldwide Submarine Insignia

A seller of current Spanish badges and books linked to another site and then another and voila! Eight badges not in Pritchard's book and six of which are not commonly known about.

You can begin the quest with the link to the Spanish site showing all the Spanish badges in the collection of José Aguilar and as written by Diego Quevedo. I will translate and paraphrase what it says below.

http://www.terra.es/personal9/u-boat3/disase/disase.htm

The first is SPN-1 from Pritchard's book. Roughly translated, Quevedo's text says: During the era of DON ALFONSO XIII, the central oval had two different colors: The RED one was for the personnel embarked in submarines or who served previously. The BLUE one was for the students in the Submarine school and for those who had completed the course of submarines but had not still embarked in them.


Next is SPN-2. During the REPLUBLICAN era, when the monarchy fell on the 14 of April of 1931, one of the first acts was to remove the crown from use. It says that or something to that effect.


Now it gets interesting. The third badge shown is also from the Republican era. By order of the 25th of April of 1931 it was decreed that all the emblems of the Navy would depict the Mural crown. Like newer versions and with respect to the previous ones, it incorporates an anchor and he was used by the admiralty. It only existed with a red oval.


Next is a similar badge, or as Quevedo said they "created a new symbol for the sergeant majors and ship's crew" which is this bullion piece.


Next we have a badge for those Italians who served in Spanish Republican submarines the Spanish Civil War. ITL-6 in Pritchard, this badge was gold metal for officers and petty officers (as recreated by Bill Crosby last year) and in red embroidery for seamen. Depicted is the seaman version. From the Spanish site: "When the fight escalated, all the submarines are under the power of the Republic and the officials obtained support from the Governments of Germany and Italy to obtain the use, or the collaboration of, some of their submarines. As a result of this, German submarines carried out military missions against Republican interests (for example the submarines Spanish C-3 were torpedoed and sunk in front of Malaga by the U-34 under the control of Lieutenant Commander Harald Grose), and Italian submarines mounted attacks against Spanish ships (torpedoing of the cruiser Miguel de Cervantes in waters off Cartagena, that left it declared unfit for service during greater part of the rest of the war, among other actions). The German submarines always acted under the flag and control of Germans, not the Italians, who unfurled Spanish and Italian banners. These submarines, were known as the submarine legion, and their dowries took the emblem of the Third. When the war was finished, two of these submarines served in the Spanish Navy until 1959 when they were stricken from the lists of the Navy. One is about the Archímede and the Torricelli that changed their names to those of General Mola and General Sanjurjo, respectively."


The first Soviet badge is for those Soviet submariners who distinguished themselves in the Nationalist efforts (only worn in 1938). I believe these advisors were directing and training the Spanish Nationalist submariners. The translation I got off the internet seemed to say that the Soviets were basically in charge in 1938.


The next badge is for "the Soviets who helped out on board but who were not in control" or basically for the adviors to the Republican submariners.


Next is the badge for the subordinate Soviets.


Next is a direct trnalation from the web, "By Ministerial order of date 11 of May of 1938, the Submarine Mail service is created, to connect the ports of republican Spain with Menorca, the only island of the Balearic set still into the hands of the Government. A line between Barcelona and Mahón settled down being the C-4 the one in charge of the trips that took place between the mentioned ports. Of Barcelona the submarine mentioned one to 20:00 weighed anchor for Mahón hours of the 12 of August of 1938, arriving on the following day. Of Mahón it weighed anchor for Barcelona to 22:00 hours of the 17 of the same month and year. Post office used in the trip, as much in a sense as in another one, only two extractions that contained a total of three hundred letters, in charge of the civil employee of the Service of Post office, D. Tomás Orós Gimeno. This emblem embroidered to the effect, went sewing in one of the two extractions. In the inferior part the letters C and S can be seen, that mean Submarine Mail. Among them it appears on of correspondence." What I get out of that is a submarine mail service (CS being "Correos Submarinos") for the republicans to pass mail covertly. I thought this might also be for Soviet Nationalist supporters due to the red star, but it turned out to be the republican submarine mail service.


Lastly for my purposes is the 1954 enlisted Franco era submarine insignia.


The rest are standard known items and appear in Pritchard and on my web site.

Here is what the manufacturers are doing for me so I can at least have placeholders for my collection. I have a number coming that Bill Crosby and I will split. Contact me if you would like some or look for them on ebay!