Honor dagger (NVA)
| Honor dagger (NVA) | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Sidearm / knife dagger |
| Designations: | Honor dagger |
| Use: | Honorary weapon of the NVA |
| Creation time: | Fall 1960 |
| Working time: | until October 2, 1990 |
| Distribution: | former DDR |
| Overall length: | 36 cm (without scabbard) |
| Blade length: | 25 cm |
| Blade width: | 1.6 cm |
| Blade thickness: | 4.5 mm |
| Weight: | 265 g (without scabbard) |
| Handle: | 9.5 cm (steel, chrome-plated & plastic) |
| Particularities: | different versions chrome-plated, gold-colored or fire-gold-plated |
| Lists on the subject | |
The honor dagger used in the National People's Army was an honor and representational weapon for officers and generals, which was worn at parades or ceremonial occasions.
origin
The use of a dagger as a side arm goes back to the traditions of the Prussian army or the Reichswehr . In these armed forces officers of the navy used a dagger as a side arm.
The NVA honor dagger was developed in autumn 1960 and introduced from 1961. During the parade on May 1, 1961 in Berlin, it was worn in public for the first time by the participating officers, generals and admirals.
Design and appearance
Officers
The honor dagger is shaped like a knife dagger and has a fixed, chrome-plated blade with a length of twenty-five centimeters. The blade is 1.6 cm wide. The slightly S-shaped crossguard is 10.5 cm wide and ends in two acorns. The blade is double-edged, but the edges are not sharpened. The handle is made of plastic and has a flat, chrome-plated knob and a metal ring. The sheath is made of black steel with chrome-plated metal supports. The mouthplate shows the state coat of arms of the GDR and a stylized oak leaf. The chape ends in a ball.
The weapons for officers of the various branches of the armed forces and the generals and admirals differ in the metal colors and the colors of the hanger. For officers of the land forces, the button, grip ring, quillons as well as the mouth and chape of the scabbard were silver, for officers of the People's Navy they were gold. Land forces officers carried the dagger on a hanger made of silver-colored strands on a stone-gray base, as did the air force / air defense officers, while officers of the People's Navy, on the other hand, carried the dagger on a hanger made of gold-colored strands on a dark blue base.
Generals and Admirals
The daggers of honor for generals and admirals were either 24-carat gold-plated or fire-gold-plated, or finally made of brass, depending on the production period, with buttons, grip rings, quillons as well as mouth and chape. The hanger consists of gold braids with a red base for generals of the land forces and the Ministry of State Security, light blue base for generals of the air force / air defense, green base for generals of the border troops and for admirals made of dark blue base.
Carrying method
The honor dagger was presented to graduates of the NVA officers' college on the occasion of their appointment to the first officer rank. Officer students who completed their studies with "honors" received an honor dagger with "Engraving of the Minister for National Defense".
The regulations for wearing the honor dagger were modified several times, but in principle remained the same. The reason for changes was the adaptation to newly introduced types of uniform or the specification of the occasions on which the honor dagger was to be worn. The dagger was worn on parades on the armband of the parade uniform . In the initial and other festive occasions he was on the output jacket under strapped or on winter coat, worn on the belt of the summer coat jacket. The honor dagger, like the armpit cord, was worn with the society uniform only on the occasion of the national holidays on May 1st and October 7th and on the day of the National People's Army (March 1st). He was also worn with this type of uniform on orders from superiors from the regiment commander upwards.
Female officers of the NVA were free to wear the honor dagger.
Web links
literature
- Klaus-Ulrich Keubke, Manfred Kunz: Uniforms of the National People's Army of the GDR 1956–1986. Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, 1990. ISBN 3-327-00731-4 .
- Wilfried Copenhagen : The land forces of the NVA. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2003. ISBN 3-613-02297-4 .
- Military edged weapons in the GDR. ISBN 978-3-00-029879-0
- Olaf Müller: Handbook of honor daggers of the NVA 1962-1990 Volume I. Self-published by Olaf Müller, Österitz 2015 ( https://web.archive.org/web/20161028071246/http://blankwaffen-ostblog.blogspot.de/2015/12/ book presentation.html )