Original German WWII Army Officer Dove Head Sword with Scabbard by Paul Seilheimer of Solingen Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This Army Dove Head Sword is a very nice example, made by the well-known firm of Paul Seilheimer of Solingen, the legendary “City of Blades” in Western Germany. It features an excellent nickel plated blade, and comes complete with the correct steel scabbard. The dove head and backstrap are embossed with the classic German oak leaves and acorns motif, which extends onto the side tabs. The “flat” P guard has the same motif, with a similar one on the ferrule. There are lots of hand enhancing visible, and it is possible that the entire designs were done by hand, and not cast.

The chappe/langet features a raised out “closed wing” National eagle, which shows excellent detail to his beak, eye, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons and mobile clutched swas (hook cross). The other side is blank and would often be used for the officer to add a monogram, however this example is still unmarked. The grip of this example is a black celluloid over a carved wood base. The celluloid is still in very good condition, with just a bit of cracking at the bottom where it meets the guard. The grip is wrapped with 3 pairs of twisted wires, with the center two larger in diameter, though some of the wires have shifted and do not line up correctly. There is just a bit of play in the hilt on the tang.

The nickel plated blade is 31 1/2 inches long, with the original leather blade washer is in place. This blade is of high quality spring steel, and the plating is still excellent, with no flaking or other degradation. There is just a bit of scuffing and edge wear, and it has correctly never been sharpened.

The reverse ricasso is stamped with the Paul Seilheimer trademark logo with a “sword piercing a triangle”:

P. (Sword Handle) S.
SOLINGEN

Fortunately the logo is not covered by the chappe/rainguard. Paul Seilheimer, Waffenfabrik was located in the Solingen – Wald area, and was founded in 1917. The “Sword Piercing a Triangle” mark was specifically used on “walking out” bayonets and dress swords during the WWII Period, per J. Anthony Carter’s work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS. The company continued operation until 1970, though members of the family are still involved in Solingen industry to this day. The original leather blade buffer is still present in the cross guard.

The black paint of this scabbard is mostly complete, with some flaking and wear on the drag and on the “out” side of the scabbard. It does look to have been repainted by hand long ago, as brush strokes can be seen. It is mostly straight, with just a few dents.

Overall a very good example of a German Army Officer Dove Head sword by a known maker, complete with scabbard. Ready to display!

Specifications:

Blade Length: 31 1/2″
Blade Style: Single Edge w/ Fuller
Overall length: 36 1/4“
Guard dimensions: 5″ width x 5” length
Scabbard length: 32 1/2”

The German Army (German: Heer, was the land forces component of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces, from 1935 to 1945. The Wehrmacht also included the Kriegsmarine (Navy) and the Luftwaffe (Air Force). During World War II, a total of about 15 million soldiers served in the German Army, of whom about seven million became casualties. Separate from the army, the Waffen-SS (Armed SS) was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. Growing from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II, it served alongside the army but was never formally part of it.

Only 17 months after AH announced publicly the rearmament program, the Army reached its projected goal of 36 divisions. During the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938, four additional corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Army after the Anschluss in March. During the period of its expansion by Adolf AH, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground (Heer) and air (Luftwaffe) assets into combined arms teams. Coupled with operational and tactical methods such as encirclements and the “battle of annihilation”, the German military managed quick victories in the two initial years of World War II, prompting the use of the word Blitzkrieg (literally lightning war, meaning lightning-fast war) for the techniques used.

The German Army entered the war with a majority of its infantry formations relying on the horse for transportation. The infantry remained foot soldiers throughout the war; artillery also remained primarily horse-drawn. The motorized formations received much attention in the world press in the opening years of the war, and were cited as the main reason for the success of the German invasions of Poland (September 1939), Norway and Denmark (April 1940), Belgium, France and Netherlands (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941) and the early campaigns in the Soviet Union (June 1941). However their motorized and tank formations accounted for only 20% of the Heer’s capacity at their peak strength.