Army Shoulder Boards
of the Era of Rebuilding (Part 1)
(1946-1959)

The shoulder rank boards of the post war era were initially those of the wartime M-1943 pattern.  They would undergo a number of incremental changes until a complete reorganization was undertaken in 1958.  The first minor change was undertaken in 1947 when new parade shoulder boards were introduced for officers and generals.  The next round of changes would take place in the mid-fifties when simplified enlisted boards were developed alongside parade boards for marshals and service boards for officers.

In this section the army shoulder boards of each of these reforms will be displayed.  The boards shown in these sections will cover the full range of ranks from conscript soldier to general, but are currently centered on a few selections in the officer and enlisted ranks.  Below you will find the M-1943 pattern rank boards that the period began with.  The following two pages detail the interim modifications and the final 1958 pattern that was developed at the end of the era.

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Earlier Period Army
Shoulder Boards

1943 Pattern Interim Modifications of 1947, 1955, 1956 1958 Pattern Later Period Army
Shoulder Boards

Boards for Great Coat & Tunic

Enlisted Boards

 


Boards for Great Coat & Tunic

Parade Boards for Officers

Enlisted Reforms

 

 
Boards for Great Coat & Tunic (4-side)

Boards for Shirt (6-sided)

Enlisted Boards

 

 

 

   

1943 Pattern Shoulder Boards for Greatcoat and Tunic (Four sided)

Here we will describe the 1943 pattern shoulder boards worn by soldiers and airmen of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War.  These boards were established by Order of the Presidium of the Soviet USSR on 6 January 1943 <3>. intended to be worn with all uniforms from tunic and great coat.  These would be attached either by sliding them through loops in the tunic or by sewing them directly to the uniform.  In all cases the boards would be affixed by means of an 18mm button <2>.  This button would feature a star with the hammer and sickle emblem inside <1>.  Buttons would be made of brass for the service uniform, but would be painted green for field uniforms.  Generals buttons featured the Soviet seal instead.

A number of new ranks were added to the existing 1940 rank structure.  The ranks of Marshal and Senior Marshal were introduced on 4 February 1943, while the tank of Lieutenant-Colonel was added on 26 July 1943 <1>.

The shoulder boards of all ranks from soldier to Marshal to be placed in this section as they are obtained.  For now only rank boards of 1943 will be displayed as those from 1935 are very difficult to obtain.  Additionally, these boards currently cover only the enlisted ranks at this time.

 

 
Parade Service Field

 Generals and Marshals

Marshal of the Soviet Union Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
Senior Marshal of Artillery (Aviation or Tanks) Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
Marshal of Artillery (Aviation or Tanks) Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
General of the Army Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
Colonel-General Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
 Lieutenant-General  Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
Major General  Coming Soon! Coming Soon!

 Coming Soon!

 Senior Officer

Colonel Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
Lieutenant-Colonel Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
Major Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
 Junior Officers
Captain Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
Senior Lieutenant Coming Soon!  Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
Lieutenant Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!
Junior Lieutenant Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon! 

 

 

 Branch of Service Colors

The 1943 pattern pogoni (shoulder boards) were made in different colors to differentiate members of each branch of the Red Army.  Purple was the color of the infantry, red signified artillery, and blue was used for the air force.  The different branch of service colors used on field shoulder boards are shown below.

Infantry
(Purple)
Armor Artillery
(Red)
Technical Cavalry
(Dark Blue)
Medical Legal
Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Coming Soon!

        

 

 1943 Pattern Enlisted Shoulder Boards

In this section we will show a variety of shoulder boards worn by enlisted men.  The branch of service of each may vary, and it will be noted with the image below.  Both field and service shoulder boards will be shown.

 

Enlisted Rank Service Pattern Field Pattern
Sergeant Major
(Starshina)
Coming Soon!! Coming Soon!!
Senior Sergeant
(Cavalry)
Coming Soon!!
Sergeant Coming Soon!! Coming Soon!!
Junior Sergeant
(Cavalry)
Coming Soon!!
Yefreitor Coming Soon!! Coming Soon!!
Red Army Man
(Infantry)

 

 Officer Cadets

Officer Cadets of the Red Army (also known as Junkers) wore their own shoulder boards to indicate their status.

Officer Cadet  
Coming Soon!
 

 

References

1 - Shalito, Anton; Savchenkov Ilya; and Andrew Mollo. Red Army Uniforms of World War II in Colour Photographs, Windrow & Greene: London. Print.
2 - Webster, David & Chris Nelson.  Uniforms of the Soviet Union 1918-1945, Schiffer Military History: Altgen, PA. Print.
3 - Voennaya Odezhda Voorukennik Sil CCCP i Rossii (1917-1999- godi), Redkaya Kniga, 1999. Print