M1955 Uniforms and Insignia!

[DougD]

I would be really interesting to know his job....Airborne dropped armor? I know there are a few guys on the forum who know quite a bit on the VDV, maybe they will jump in...

DougD

[Jeffrey Meffert]

Maybe this was the guy who was the first (and only) pilot of the glider tank.
Post 2
http://www.soviet-awards.com/forum/s...-vehicles.html

Otherwise it would have to be someone with an incredibly unique job/career. I've never seen a picture of anything similar

[DougD]

It would have to be something like a VDV officer commanding BMD-1s, or whatever came before it....would be interesting to nail it down!

[desantnik]

Forgive my ignorance of 50-year-old post-war Soviet uniforms, but what indication is there that our hero in question is a tanker? I see airborne collar insignia and an airborne badge.

[Jeffrey Meffert]

The tough part is reconciling an air force officer working with the army the fact that air force m55 uniforms were different color and material. Somehow he would have to be assigned specifically and ONLY to an armored unit rather than "on loan". Perhaps there were recon pilots who were technically not VDV but Army. We certainly have the equivalent with US army helicopter pilots and VIP transport aircrew who wear army wings and uniforms.

[desantnik]

No one has answered my question, however if there is some "armored" indicator, he could have commanded an ASU-57 - Soviet self-propelled artillery like a "tank," but technically not one.

Another possibility is he attended a tank academy and was commissioned, then transferred to airborne.

A final, though less likely possibility is he was assigned to a large armored formation, but was in the unit's airborne-deliverable long-range-reconnaissance formation.

Again, someone please tell me, is the oval badge taken to be an armored academy graduation badge or is the "color" of the black and white photo indicative of the usual "black" armored color (which incidentally could also be engineers or other branches of service...)

[DougD]

He is wearing the airborne badge and collar tabs, but his tunic is army with a black collar(Artillery and Army)...the black collar could signify Airborne Artillery, the ASU-57, as Desantnik states..

[desantnik]

Yes, most probable is ASU-57 dude -remember they were rather new at the time and probably had a break-in period of uniform recognition. Of course, the airborne recon in support of a large tank formation is still an option.

[Jeffrey Meffert]

What we really need is a picture of the ASU in a parade. I found this picture (from a model box top I believe) that shows wings on the vehicle itself. By definition it would be parachutists using the thing but it definitely is a bit of armor earning the black collar on the M55. Question is, we would assume, then, that ASU-57 operators were dedicated to the machine, parachute trained and qualified, yet somehow still not Air Force (VDV). Great research project.
Google Image Result for http://mkmagazin.almanacwhf.ru/art/art_tank/asu_57.jpg

[desantnik]

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