Quote:
Originally Posted by frau kaleun
He's an Oberleutnant (Ing.), an engineering officer, and the Leitender Ingenieur (leading engineer) on the boat. An Oblt z. See would be a line officer, one who was in the chain of command. While the LI might be the second most important officer on a u-boat (after the kommandant) in a practical sense because his duties were so vital and all-encompassing in technical matters, he would never be in line for a command regardless of his rank. He might actually have the same rank as the kommandant, nevertheless a lower-ranking 1WO would be next in line of command if the kommandant were killed or incapacitated.
Engineering officers had a cogwheel (?) insignia on their uniforms, rather than a star, to indicate their specialty and distinguish them from line officers.
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That's what I though, I've very familiar with the shoulder boards as I've got a few (real ones), getting a good or clear look at most of them is tough; especially when each different jacket/uniform they have might have a slightly different set of pips or the shoulder boards themselves were different - there were two types of shoulder boards, ones that were sewn onto the garment and a slip on type that were easy to take on or off (much rarer to find). The cogwheel is indeed for engineering, actually the graphics used in SH3 for all the qualifications are exactly like what the real ones were.
One thing I never understood is
why he's not eligible for getting his own ship/command. I can understand that the medic or a radioman wouldn't be due to their specialized training and wouldn't be familiar with the workings of the ship. An engineer would know the ship inside and out, and be next to the captain in situations were he was issuing orders (like when moving while submerged). In the US the captain of a carrier is usually a (former) pilot, airboss, etc or on a BB the captain could come from any number of trades.
Something I find interesting, the guy who is always writting the love letters to his girlfriend is actually a Fanrich (at one point he's laying on his stomach on a bunk and can see the shoulder board clearly. It would make him senior to all the other NCO's but he's never treated as such.