Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring
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Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring Hermann Goring was one of the
more interesting and flamboyant characters of the Third Reich, traits
reflected in his personal direction of the design of both his rank insignia and
unique uniforms. His appointment
in 1940 as Reichsmarschall of the Greater German Reich made Goring the
highest ranking military officer of World War Two, with the rank equivalent
of a six-star General. Goring chose a soft, pearl gray
as the color for his uniform, departing from the blue-gray uniform scheme of
the Luftwaffe. He had endless
variations of his uniforms, with numerous different styles and minor
alterations and was known to change them multiple times within the same
day. Goring also had a preference for
wearing white uniforms, a habit ridiculed by the German people while watching
newsreels in the theater as they wondered how he kept his uniforms so white
when many of them could not even obtain soap to launder their own clothes. To the left is what many consider
the ‘typical’ Reichsmarschall uniform of the Imperial style
Flyers Blouse in a soft pearl gray with a closed collar. At Goring’s neck hang the Grand
Cross of the Iron Cross (he was the only recipient), the Knights Cross and the
Pour le Merite (commonly known as the Blue Max), an award Goring earned while
flying with the Richthofen squadron during World War I. |
Reichsmarschall
Insignia
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Hermann Goring’s left and right shoulderboard insignia
for the rank of Reichsmarschall.
Notice how the eagles face different directions on each board, so that
during wear the eagle would always face forward. |
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What is interesting about the gold RM shoulderboard rank devices
are the lack of detail on the crossed batons in comparison to the silver
baton devices on GFM boards (which were finely detailed accurate
representations, see Luft GFM or Heer GFM insignia pages). The RM batons are also shorter and do
not have an accurate representation of the number of Iron Cross/Wehrmacht
eagle/Balkan cross symbols that are on the actual RM baton. |
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Reichsmarschall shoulderboard for the right shoulder. |
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1941 pattern Reichsmarschall collar tab for the right
collar showing the crossed marshals batons surrounded by laurel leaves. The left collar tab was also a mirror image
of this design (as seen on the Goring uniform example above). In an earlier pattern (from August of
1940 until March of 1941), the right collar patch had exhibited the image of
a Wehrmacht Eagle with downturned wings. (private collection) |
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Construction detail of the Reichsmarschall tab. Age and corrosion has taken away some
of the color detail of the silver and gold bullion, but still reveals a high
amount of quality in the workmanship and materials used to make the highest
rank of World War Two. (private collection) |
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A pair of 1941 pattern Reichsmarschall collar tabs. Notice the very distinct brocade background fabric that
all of the Goring tabs exhibit. (former private collection, current whereabouts unknown) |
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Another matched pair of 1941 pattern Reichsmarschall
collar tabs. (private collection) |
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Goring also had his own special breast eagle designed,
which had longer more pointed wings than what was typically found on a
Luftwaffe General officer’s breast eagle. Most of the period photos show that
the breast eagle always had a white backing, regardless of the color of
uniform that he was wearing, but it is known that he also had breast eagles
on a backing of dove gray. (Paul Sack collection) |
Reichsmarschall
Uniforms
The Undress
White Kleiner Rock Tunic for Reichsmarschall
An example of the RM Goring white tunic in the double
breasted, open neck, Kleiner Rock style.
Goring also wore this style of tunic in dove gray with and without white
lapel facings.
(Wolfe-Hardin collection)
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Left and right shoulderboards. Note how the eagles face forward on
each board so that they are always looking toward the front of the tunic. |
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Right and left collar tabs. The embroidered detail on these are
unmatched and of the finest quality ever seen. There have been many attempts to
replicate Reichsmarschall tabs, but none of them have even come close, when
compared to an original. It is
probably safe to say that nobody will ever be able to reproduce the quality
of embroidery and material that the artisans of the era used. |
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The gold, summer tunic pin-on eagle, in exquisite
detail. Note the early droop tail
design. |
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Goring’s original personal Pilots Badge. |
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An original example of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross,
captured by the 101st Airborne in the Berchtesgarden area. Goring was the only WWII recipient of
this award. |
The Undress White
Kleiner Rock Tunic for Reichsmarschall
Yet another example of a RM Goring white tunic in the double
breasted, open neck, Kleiner Rock style.
Goring’s favored uniform color was white.
(Paul Sack collection)
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1941 pattern Reichsmarschall collar tab from the white
undress Kleiner Rock. |
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Reichsmarschall shoulderboard from the white undress
Kleiner Rock. |
Closed Collar
White Flyer’s Blouse for Reichsmarschall
This summer white tunic of RM Goring resides in the Imperial
War Museum of London. It is typical
of his favored style of tunic and is the design most often associated with the
Reichsmarschall.
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Hermann Goring’s white summer tunic. The breast eagle is missing but the
many loops for his ribbons and decorations are still intact. (photo courtesy
of samlerforumet.net) |
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A close up of Goring’s Reichsmarschall shoulderboard
on the flyers blouse tunic. It appears
as though the board may have been restored to the tunic at some point due to
the poor sewing job on the seam and the fact the retaining button is silver
(it should be gold). ( |
Reichsmarschall
Headgear
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One example of Hermann Goring’s many visor variants
for his rank as Reichsmarschall, this one exhibiting a laurel wreath that is
hand embroidered completely around the cap band. Notice how the eagle is stitched directly
to the visor cloth. (Paul Sack collection) |
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Hermann Goring’s visored flyer’s cap. The eagle on this example is also
stitched directly to the cap fabric. (Paul Sack collection) |
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This example of a Reichsmarschall “crusher”
visor was captured from Goring’s train by a 101st Airborne
veteran. Notice how the
insignia is not sewn directly to the crown or cap band, unlike the majority
of his other headgear. (private collection) |
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Goring in his full Reichsmarschall uniform and regalia
(his RM baton can be seen affixed to his belt in the lower right). |
Reichsmarschall
Command Flags
Generalfeldmarschall
Hermann Goring Command Flag
Goring several, personal command flags produced. This particular flag was produced upon
his promotion to Generalfeldmarschall, and was a very elaborately rendered work
of art, showcasing the finest embroidery talents of the period, utilizing a
mixture of bullion, aluminum, brocade and yarn.
(Wolfe-Hardin)
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Reichsmarschall
Hermann Goring Command Flag
Hand embroidered example of the special flag produced for
Goring’s unique rank of Reichsmarschall, incorporating the crossed, white
Reichsmarschall batons motif throughout the design. The embroidered Luftwaffe eagles on the
reverse are a bit larger than breast eagles and just as intricately rendered.
(Wolfe-Hardin collection)
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Reichsmarschall
Hermann Goring Printed Command Pennant
The Reichsmarschall command flag was also produced in a
version that was printed.
(private collection)
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