now... the frogs with the short line of middle stiching are in the origin a Luftwaffe contrakt. befor 1940...easy to make out. always brown surcface and sudden with an Luftwaffe unit mark. Only Luftwaffe examples were found.
the short line of stitching cames in 1936. no example dated befor 1936 is found. before this date the early Luftwaffe uses a long third line of stichting.
The airforce had mostly differnet eqipment. the frog design is only one of a lot of differnts between army and airforce.
I found about 10 makers (can be more...short look and forst sight counting) who produces at the same time long and short stitching. other ones only produce long stiching ones...others only short.
I found ca. 60 makers who produce the ones with short line 1936-1944...After 1940 only 20-25 makers produce this frogs with the short line of stitching. About 180 makers produce the rest. (the data of Includs the firms who produce al frog typs.)
most of the makers change to models with retaining strap.
The firms who produce the typ with the short line before 1940 always laque the frogs brown.
so i�m the meaning this makers work only Luftwaffe contracts... other on only army etc. Brehme Walsrode for example had contracts with the navy, airforce, army and police. so this firm produces in the same period the differnt contract modells.
it makes no sence if a maker produces in the same time two differnt moddels for only one contrakt.
After 1940, no LBA stamps or unit marks were used. Army, airforce, navy, ss or other organistation frogs had to laque in black.
so the frogs can�t be recognize to their colour or stamps. But it is more than possible, that the short line of stiching was a attribute of Luftwaffe used frogs.
at the end of the war...ca 1945 surely the eqipemnet was mixed... ss, wh and Lw fighting often together. but this was non-regular.
