History

On March 25, 1933 the DLV (Deutscher Luftsportverband = German Air Sports Association) was created as a civilian sports organisation, the umbrella organisation of all air-related sports. However, from the very beginning, the DLV was used to secretly train its members for future roles in the newly emerging Luftwaffe, a breach of the terms of the Versailles Treaty.
The organisation should not be confused with the Deutscher Luftfahrtverband (also abbreviated DLV), which was formed in 1902, but disbanded in favour of the new DLV under Third Reich rule.

The DLV was split into two groups, the civilian section and the secret military section, known as the “Fliegerschaft” (air crew). The organisation eventually became obsolete after the official unveiling of the Luftwaffe in 1935, and it was disbanded and replaced by the National Socialist Flyers Corps (NSFK or Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps) in 1937.

Members of the DLV only wore one shoulder strap, on the right shoulder. Members of the “Fliegerschaft”, however, wore two, one on each shoulder.

The Glider Section Shoulder Boards were similar positional insignia to the positional insignia. When worn on a garment made of wool, the shoulder boards were also made of blue-grey wool, and likewise when worn on a garment made of cotton, they were made of blue-grey cotton as well.
The shoulder boards are completed by a silver-coloured metal pair of wings on the bottom. In between the wings is a Roman numeral representing the wearer’s Landesgruppe (transregional group).

Segelflieger wore an unadorned strap with dark blue piping, with just the wings and Roman numeral metal cypher.