Upper gunner

Badge of rank of a top rifleman on the left upper arm.

The Oberschützen (short: OSchtz also OS ) was a rank designation for a team rank in German-speaking armed forces . It was first used in the Bavarian Army in the 19th century.

application

The rank was generally introduced in the Reichswehr from around 1920 and was also used in the Wehrmacht until 1945. The only exception is the period from 1934 to 1936, in which no promotions to Oberschützen were ordered. The rank was also used in the Waffen-SS from 1940 to 1945 under the designation SS-Oberschütze . In the Reichsmarine or Kriegsmarine, however, there was no equivalent to this rank.

After 1945 the rank was used neither in the Bundeswehr nor in the National People's Army .

Rank structure and badge

The upper rifleman was in the figurative sense a "senior soldier" who in the English-speaking armed forces would probably be somewhere between the private (rank) (or private E2 in the US or private basic in the Canadian armed forces) and the private first class . Corresponding to the relevant branches of the armed force , type of weapon , special force or using the equivalent was to Oberschuetzen :

• Chief Gunner
• Obergrenadier (from 1942)
• Chief pioneer
• Head driver
• Head radio operator
• SS Oberschützen etc.

A promotion to Oberschützen was possible after six months to one year of service. Soldiers who were intended for promotion to private, regularly jumped the rank of Oberschützen.

Badge of rank until 1945

Collar Tabs	Epaulettes	Sleeve badge (left upper arm)	Gun color	Rank designation	equivalent to
			White	Upper gunner	See list above

Rank
lower: Sagittarius	Upper gunner	higher: private

Individual evidence

See also

• SS ranks
• NS ranks