German Balken cross flag existed in WWII?

Gentlemen,

Here's a interesting story. One WW2 collector is parting his half collection, he has a large Balken cross flag used on Panzer or Wehrmacht vehicles for ID so Luftwaffe would recognize friendlies. I saw it in person, it appeared to be a real deal. Very dirty, and some little torn. The honest collector said he got this flag from Vet who claimed to have brought back from WWII. It was hanging in Vet's basement. However, I was about to buy it but didn't have enough money at the moment so. Recently, I done a little research on it. I stumbled across this website which puzzled me.

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/de!balke.html

An example of this flag (this one is repro, I pulled it from net).



Any thoughts on it?

I'm inclined to think it is a fake. WW2 military forces are a particular area of study for me, both personally and professionally. To the best of my knowledge I've never, ever seen anything even remotely like this in any photograph or documentary source.

As the article you linked to correctly states, the Germans did use aerial recognition flags similar to this but with a black swastika on a white circled background. These were used predominantly in the earlier campaigns in both east and west when the Luftwaffe generally had air supremacy. Last widespread use I can recall was the failed Zitadelle (Kursk) offensive in 1943. I've also seen pictures of them being laid on the ground for air dropped supplies at various times.

I can't think of why the Germans, who were Swastika crazy, would have substituted the Balkenkreuz instead. That being said, I've learned a long time ago that "never say never" with Third Reich stuff. There were a lot of completely crazy things made in small quantities over the years. Verification of their authenticity is difficult, of course, but I've seen some surprises which have fooled even the most hardcore Third Reich collector (which I definitely am not). But until someone with a good amount of authority can back up the claims that this flag exists, I'd be cautious and assume it is a fake.

Steve

Assuming vet got it post-war to use in his basement for "Been there, done that".

That or he bought it off of someone thinking it was original and the story came from there.

Steve

Well guys. I regret passed on this flag because I just found this on net. The guy who was selling it, was correct. It was made for russian front.

Im am an amateur 3rd Reich collector, but I am sure that I have seen a Vehicle ID banner identical to this one for sale by a very trusted source.

One dude who I nearly bought from, he was selling it to me for $150.... On other source, it was sold for $350!

Interesting!! Well, always good to see a picture as proof. Still doesn't verify the one you saw as original, of course, but it's a step closer to it.

heh.. as I said, I've learned to never say never when it comes to Nazi era stuff. People think of the Third Reich as the most efficient war machine ever, but the fact is it was one of the least efficient regimes in modern history. And a good thing too, because just imagine what they could have done with their schtuff together

Steve

i was in a Museum in Southern Bavaria in 2000 and the old man had stacks of those flags...He took me to his garage and opened it and i had never seen so much WWII gear in one spot..It was like he opened the door to god himself..I was floored..

Anyhow he was a serious collector...I asked him if they were real and he told me yes...I have pictures i can scan as well...The fabric and such looked period too...upon looking i had no reason to disbelieve him..

There were probably stacks of them because by the time they were manufactured putting them on a tank was akin to painting a bullseye for Allied fighter bombers to aim for

Steve

Yes, that type flag is most definately real. Look around a bit and you will find photos of them in Poland and France also.
I've got one that I've had for 40+ yrs.
Sarge