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Ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung

 
Ranks and Insignia of the Sturmabteilung

 
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The ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung (SA
Sturmabteilung

The , abbreviated SA, , functioned as a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party the Germany Nazism. They played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s....
) were the first paramilitary rank system
Nazi party paramilitary ranks

Nazi party paramilitary ranks were pseudo-military titles which were used by the National Socialist German Workers Party between the years of 1920 and 1945....
 to be developed by the Nazi Party in 1920. The titles and phrases used by the SA were eventually adopted by several other Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Schutzstaffel
Schutzstaffel

The , abbreviated SS- or - was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The SS grew from a small paramilitary unit to a powerful force that served as the F?hrer's "Praetorian Guard," the Nazi Party's "Shield Squadron" and a force that, fielding almost a million men, managed to exert as much political influence as th...
 (SS). Early SS ranks
Ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel

The ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel were a Nazi party paramilitary ranks used by the Schutzstaffel to differentiate that organization from the regular German armed forces, the German state, and the Nazi Party....
 were identical to the SA, since the SS was originally considered a sub-organization of the Sturmabteilung.

1920 – 1923
The first SA ranks were merely titles with no recognizable insignia.






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The ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung (SA
Sturmabteilung

The , abbreviated SA, , functioned as a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party the Germany Nazism. They played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s....
) were the first paramilitary rank system
Nazi party paramilitary ranks

Nazi party paramilitary ranks were pseudo-military titles which were used by the National Socialist German Workers Party between the years of 1920 and 1945....
 to be developed by the Nazi Party in 1920. The titles and phrases used by the SA were eventually adopted by several other Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Schutzstaffel
Schutzstaffel

The , abbreviated SS- or - was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The SS grew from a small paramilitary unit to a powerful force that served as the F?hrer's "Praetorian Guard," the Nazi Party's "Shield Squadron" and a force that, fielding almost a million men, managed to exert as much political influence as th...
 (SS). Early SS ranks
Ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel

The ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel were a Nazi party paramilitary ranks used by the Schutzstaffel to differentiate that organization from the regular German armed forces, the German state, and the Nazi Party....
 were identical to the SA, since the SS was originally considered a sub-organization of the Sturmabteilung.

1920 – 1923


The first SA ranks were merely titles with no recognizable insignia. Typically, SA personnel would wear swastika armbands on a variety of paramilitary uniforms. At the start of the group’s existence, the SA had four primary ranks, those being:

  • Oberster SA-Führer (Supreme SA-Leader)
  • SA-Oberführer
    Oberführer

    Oberf?hrer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as ?Senior Leader?, an Oberf?hrer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region....
     (SA-Senior Leader)
  • SA-Führer
    Führer

    F?hrer is "leader" or "guide" in the German language, derived from the verb 'to lead'. In standard German it is , but in English it is usually ....
     (SA-Leader)
  • SA-Mann
    Mann (military rank)

    Mann , was a paramilitary rank used by several Nazi Party paramilitary organizations between 1925 and 1945. The rank is most often associated with the Schutzstaffel, and also as a Ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung where Mann was the lowest enlisted Military rank and was the equivalent of a Private ....
     (SA-Trooper)


1925 – 1928


In 1925, the SA was re-founded after having been disbanded following the failed Beer Hall Putsch
Beer Hall Putsch

The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of Thursday, November 8 and the early afternoon of Friday, November 9, 1923, when the National Socialist German Workers Party's leader Adolf Hitler, the popular World War I General Erich Ludendorff, and other leaders of the Kampfbund, unsuccessfully...
 in 1923. At that time, a simple rank insignia structure was developed for display on the collars of the SA’s brown uniforms.

1928 – 1932

In 1928, the SA had adopted an expanded system of rank titles and began displaying a version of collar insignia consisting of pips and collar bars to denote rank and position. The SA also introduced collar unit insignia, worn opposite the badge of rank, as well as a shoulder strap system to denote an SA member as a trooper, leader, or senior leader.

1932 – 1945


In 1932, the year before Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born Germany politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party....
 became Chancellor of Germany, the SA adopted its final rank and insignia versions which would remain unchanged until the organization ceased to exist at the close of the Second World War.

SA Unit Insignia


Saunitpatch
The SA used uniform colors and collar patches to denote an SA member's unit ranging from the Sturmbann and Standarten level (Battalion and Regiment) to the SA-Gruppen (SA Division) to which an SA member belonged. From those ranking Obersturmbannführer and below, a unit collar patch was worn on the right collar, opposite the badge of the rank. The patch typically displayed a member’s battalion number followed by their regiment number. Variations to this system occurred if an SA member was assigned to a headquarters staff or some other special branch of the SA.

All SA members wore various uniform colors to indicate in which SA Division a member belonged. The following was the 1944 color scheme of SA uniforms:

  • Red and Gold: SA Chief of Staff
  • Red and White: SA Supreme Command
  • Red: SA Group Staff
  • Yellow: Schlesien Group
  • Green: Thüringen
    Thuringia

    The Free State of Thuringia is located in central Germany. It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen States of Germany ....
     Group
  • Blue: Hesse
    Hesse

    Hesse is a States of Germany of Germany with an area of 21,110 km? and just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden. Hesse's largest city is nearby Frankfurt am Main....
     Group
  • Brown: Westmark Group
  • Light Blue: Hochland
    Hochland

    Hochland refers to:...
     Group
  • Orange: Südwest Group
  • Pink: Alpenland
    Alps

    The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
     Group
  • Light Blue (Gold Pip): Sudeten
    Sudetenland

    Sudetenland is the German language name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Czech Silesia associated with Bohemia....
     Group
  • Black: Berlin
    Berlin

    Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
    -Brandenburg
    Brandenburg

    Brandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany....
     Group


Prior to 1932, when the Schutzstaffel wore the same uniform as the SA, black uniform colors also indicated membership in the SS.

See also


  • Nazi party paramilitary ranks
    Nazi party paramilitary ranks

    Nazi party paramilitary ranks were pseudo-military titles which were used by the National Socialist German Workers Party between the years of 1920 and 1945....
  • Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party
    Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party

    Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party were Nazi party paramilitary ranks used by the National Socialist German Workers Party between 1925 and 1945....
  • Ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel
    Ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel

    The ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel were a Nazi party paramilitary ranks used by the Schutzstaffel to differentiate that organization from the regular German armed forces, the German state, and the Nazi Party....
  • Ranks and insignia of the National Socialist Motor Corps
    Ranks and insignia of the National Socialist Motor Corps

    The Ranks and insignia of the National Socialist Motor Corps were a Nazi party paramilitary ranks used between the years of 1931 and 1945. The ranks were based closely on the ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung , of which the NSKK had originally been a part....
  • Ranks and insignia of the Reichsluftschutzbund
    Ranks and insignia of the Reichsluftschutzbund

    Ranks and insignia of Reichsluftschutzbund were paramilitary titles adopted by the Reichsluftschutzbund for wear on the Nazi party paramilitary ranks of the RLB....
  • Comparative military ranks of World War II
    Comparative military ranks of World War II

    The following table shows comparative officer ranks of major Allies#World War II and Axis powers during World War II. For modern ranks refer to Comparative military ranks....