Here we have images of the shoulder rank boards established by the three interim regulations of 1947, 1955, and 1956 that modified the existing M-1943 pattern described on the previous page.  These were eventually used to develop the M-1958 pattern adopted at the end of this era, a pattern that would be used until the more sweeping reforms of 1969.

The army shoulder boards of each of these reforms will be displayed below.  It is intended that they 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. 

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Earlier Period Army
Shoulder Boards

• General and Marshal
• Senior Officer
• Junior Officer

Enlisted Boards

• Branch of Service Colors
• Enlisted Ranks
• Cadet Boards

Boards for Great Coat & Tunic

• Marshal/Chief Marshal Boards (1956)

• Officer Service Boards (1956)

Parade Boards for Officers

• Officers & Generals (1947)

Enlisted Reforms

• Branch of Service Colors

• 5-sided Enlisted Boards (1955)

 
Boards for Great Coat & Tunic (4-side)

• General and Marshal
• Senior Officer
• Junior Officer

Boards for Shirt (6-sided)

• General and Marshal
• Senior Officer
• Junior Officer

Enlisted Boards

• Branch of Service Colors
• Enlisted Ranks For Coat (4-sided)
• Enlisted For Tunic (5-sided)
• Officer Cadets

1956 Pattern Marshal's Shoulder Boards
 for Greatcoat and Tunic (Four sided)

In this section you will find one of the interim shoulder board changes that the Soviet Union implemented during the 1950's.  This change was introduced on March of 1956 by the Minister of Defense of the USSR as Order #25 <3>.  They were the first change to the uppermost rank boards since 1943.  These four sided parade boards were designed to be sewn directly to the shoulders of tunics and greatcoats of Soviet marshals and chief marshals whenever the parade uniforms were authorized to be worn.

Chief Marshals and Marshals

1956 Pattern Officer Service Boards
for Greatcoat, Jacket, and Tunic

This section describes the service boards established for officers on March 1956 by order No. 25 of the USSR Ministry of Defense.  The large four-sided boards were designed to be sewn into the shoulders of the greatcoat or jacket, while the smaller six-sided rank boards were to be slipped through loops in the shoulders of the tunic then fastened to it by means of a green painted brass button.

Senior Officer

1947 Pattern Officer Parade Shoulder Boards

Here you will find the shoulder rank boards coming from the first changes since the 1943 order.  These boards were established in January of 1947 by Order No. 4 of the Minister of Military Forces of the USSR <3>.  This order authorized the new parade boards to be worn by officers and generals of the Soviet ground forces.

The six-sided rank boards worn by generals of a military branch (armor, infantry, artillery, etc) were always in gold embroidered thread, with silver stars embedded in them.  Those generals assigned to one of the services (indendant, administration, medical, veterinary, or engineering) wore narrow boards with silver embroidered thread and gold stars.

Officer boards followed the general's pattern.  All officers representing a branch of the military wore the gold embroidered five-sided officer parade badges with silver stars.  Officers representing a service wore boards with silver threading and used gold stars instead.

All of these boards were designed to be slid through loops on the shoulders and then sewn in place.  A large brass star sewn through the board also helped to fasten it to the uniform.
 

Generals (6-sided)

Senior Officer (5-sided)

The enlisted shoulder boards introduced in 1955 saw a reduction in branch colors.  The infantry and air force retained their respective magenta and light blue colors, but all other branches of the army adopted black shoulder boards.  Examples of these boards are shown below.