German Fireman Siderams

From the days of Imperial Germany to the Third Reich, the German Feuerwehr (Fireman) have had an edged weapons to wear. The German Fire Department was a para-military organization which had ranks of officers and enlisted personnal.

For the most part, the design of the edged weapons of the Fireman remained unchanged throughout the period of the Imperial and Third Reich eras. Until the early 1930's the enlisted man would wear a sidearm which was designed as Model No. 64 by the WKC Waffenfabrik works, and Models No. 916 and 743 by the Eickhorn Firm.

These sidearms were made with a saw-edged blade and were considered as a functional tool for the fireman. Manufacturere other than WKC and Eickhorn probably made this type of sidearm, however, with the exception of the manufacturer's number, they would be of the same design.

The enlisted fireman had a new design of sidearm in the Third Reich period. This pattern was more like the bayonet design and was available in two blade lengths, with or without the saw-edged blade. These sidearms were more of a dress bayonet than a tool for the Fireman. Many manufacturers made this pattern of sidearm, and they are listed in almost every German edged weapons catalog of this period.

Unlike the enlisted sidearm, the Fire Officer's dagger made little if any change through the span form Imperial to Nazi days. The manufacturers of these daggers did not vary their patterns and even the blade engraving was unually standard. These daggers were available in two types of finishes, gilt and silver.

In the early Eickhorn catalogs, and the later Eickhorn Kundendienst catalog, the model number of the dagger (Eickhorn Model No. 42) did not change on the Fire Officer's dagger.

One of the unique sidearms of the Fire Department was the darss ax (Beile). These edged weapons appeared late in the Imperial period and did not become popular until the twenty's and later in the Nazi era. In the 1927 Eickhorn catalog there are ten dress axes listed for the fireman. They range from an extremely elaborate engraved in silver or gold (Models No. 339, 195 and 932) to the plain nickle-plated versions such as No. 709 and 925. The 1927 wholesale prices of the axes varied from $1.59 for the plain models to $6.69 for the deluxe engraved patterns.

On many of the dress fire axes, there was a plate which could be used for a name or even a dedication. Most of the axes found today by the collector do not have anything engraved on these plates. On rare occasion, however, one is found with a dedication.

Some of these dress axes were carried through to the Third Reich period. The 1938 Eickhorn Kundendienst catalog lists some of the models as available in their 1927 catalog. These were numbers 728, 915, 926 and 924. The other models were apparently dropped from production in the Nazi years.

The Eickhorn Company seems to have been one of the few firms to have produced the Firman's ax, as catalogs of other manufactureres studied by the author did not list them.

The fireman's saber made only slight changes between the Imperial and Nazi era. Early Imperial sabers were of the basic army pattern with a "D" type guard and fishskin-wrapped grip. The blades were occasionally engraved with the traditional fire ax and helmet or the fire ladder, with scrollwork around the edges of the etched panel. In most cases, this engraving was an enlarged version of the pattern on the Fire Officer's dagger. Deluxe pattern sabers were of the lion-head style with the fire department crosse-axes and helmet cast into the longet. The hilts were usually silver plating, as were the leather scabbard fittings.

When the Nazis came to power, the Fire Department, previously under local and individual state control fell under the jurisdiction of the National Fire Service, which eventually came under the power of the SS.

Until 1936 the Fire Department saber made little if any changes in design, with the exception of a plastic or celluloid wrapped girp instead of the earlier fishskin pattern. After 1936, the Fire Officer's and NCO's could wear the standard police sword with the police eagle and swastika mounted in the grip. However, this was not mandatory and the Fire Department personnel purchased their own pattern sabers for a dress sidearm.

The Carl Eickhorn Company listed the standard Army saber, with a gilt hilt for both Fire and Police Officers (Model No. 40 in the Eickhorn Kundendienst catalog). Other manufacturers also made the German Army saber in either a solid brass hilt, silver plated, or with a gilt plating for Police and Fire officers. In most cases the Fire Department sabers were offered with a leather scabbard rather than the army pattern metal versions.

Ron G. Hickox, "Daggers and Sidearms of the German Fire Department", Military Collector's News, 1974