The German Schwimmweste, or life jacket, served as essential survival equipment for Wehrmacht personnel during the Second World War, particularly for Luftwaffe aircrews operating over water and Kriegsmarine sailors on surface vessels and U-boats. Early models included kapok-filled vests made of yellow cotton canvas that provided passive buoyancy, while the more advanced inflatable designs became standard for aircrew. The Luftwaffe Type 10-30 series, designated Gerät Nr. 10-30 with Anforderungszeichen Fl. 30154, consisted of rubberized yellow canvas with an internal air bladder that could be inflated by a carbon dioxide cartridge on the lower left front or by a manual oral inflation tube. Secured by webbing straps and rings at the front and a crotch strap, these vests featured a design intended to keep the wearer’s head above water and face upward. Manufacturers such as Drägerwerk of Lübeck, Klepper-Werke of Rosenheim, and Auer-Gesellschaft produced variants including the early full-back pattern and the improved B-1 and B-2 models introduced around 1940–1941, the latter replacing some metal fittings with plastic. Kriegsmarine versions followed similar principles with bright yellow rubberized fabric for visibility, often equipped with pressurized air canisters for rapid inflation and capable of maintaining buoyancy for up to twenty-four hours. These life jackets were typically ship or aircraft equipment rather than personal issue and were distributed as needed. Lessons from operations over the English Channel during the Battle of Britain led to refinements in design for better stability and reliability. Despite their effectiveness in supporting survivors until rescue, the Schwimmwesten offered limited protection against prolonged exposure, hypothermia, or distant recovery in open seas, reflecting both the technological standards of the era and the harsh realities of wartime operations over water.
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LUFTWAFFE TYPE 10-30 SCHWIMMWESTE
A rarely seen picture of Hauptmann Josef "Pips" Priller (Gruppenkommandeur III.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" ). Picture taken by Rolf Schröder, III./ JG 26 Technical Officer, in the summer 1942. During this period Priller flew the Fw 190A, leading the Gruppe in operations over the English Channel and occupied France against the RAF. He scored his 70th victory on 5 May 1942 and reached 81 victories by the end of 1942. Josef "Pips" Priller, born on 27 June 1915 in Ingolstadt and who died on 20 May 1961 in Böbing following a heart attack, was one of the Luftwaffe’s most successful Western Front fighter aces, credited with 101 aerial victories in 307 combat missions, the vast majority against Supermarine Spitfires along with eleven four-engine bombers and other Allied types. After beginning military service in 1935 as a Fahnenjunker in Infanterie-Regiment 19 and completing pilot training, he rose through Jagdgeschwader 51 to become Staffelkapitän of 6. Staffel, scoring his first victories during the Battle of France before claiming his twentieth enemy aircraft, a Hawker Hurricane over Tunbridge Wells, on 17 October 1940 as Oberleutnant; this achievement brought him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 October 1940. Transferred in November 1940 as Staffelkapitän of 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter", Priller enjoyed an intense scoring period over the Channel in June and July 1941, reaching his fortieth or forty-first victory around 19 July and receiving the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz on 20 July 1941 while still an Oberleutnant. Appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" in December 1941 and promoted to Hauptmann, he later became Geschwaderkommodore of the entire Geschwader as Major in January 1943, continuing to lead from the front while flying first the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and later the Focke-Wulf Fw 190; on 6 June 1944 during the Normandy invasion he and his wingman Feldwebel Heinz Wodarczyk carried out one of the few Luftwaffe attacks of the day, a daring low-level strafing run against Allied troops and landing craft on Sword Beach. By the time he achieved his 100th victory, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber, he had been awarded the Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub on 2 July 1944 as Oberstleutnant and Kommodore of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter". Promoted to Oberst on 1 January 1945, he led his unit in Operation Bodenplatte before ending operational flying as Inspekteur der Jagdflieger Ost; after the war he studied brewing and successfully managed the Riegele brewery in Augsburg.
Oberstleutnant Friedrich-Karl "Tutti" Müller (1916-1944) was born on 25 December 1916 in Berlin-Lichterfelde and entered military service in 1936, transferring to the Luftwaffe where he completed fighter training and joined 8./Jagdgeschwader 53 as a Leutnant. He scored his first aerial victory on 27 May 1940 against a French Curtiss Hawk 75 during the Battle of France, claiming eight victories in that campaign before adding further successes against the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain. Deployed to the Eastern Front with Jagdgeschwader 53 in 1941, Müller rapidly increased his tally and was appointed Staffelkapitän of 1./Jagdgeschwader 53. In September 1942, while flying intensive operations in support of the advance toward Stalingrad, he achieved an extraordinary series of victories: four aircraft on 16 September, five on 17 September, six or seven on 18 September, and additional claims on 19 September that brought his total to 100 aerial victories. For this outstanding performance as Staffelkapitän of 1./Jagdgeschwader 53, Oberleutnant Müller was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 September 1942. Only four days later, on 23 September 1942, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz as the 126th recipient of the German armed forces, recognizing his continued success and the century mark. Promoted to Hauptmann, he later became Gruppenkommandeur of I./Jagdgeschwader 53, leading the unit in the Mediterranean and Tunisia before transferring in early 1944 to Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet," where he commanded IV./Jagdgeschwader 3 and was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 3 in March 1944. Credited with 140 aerial victories in more than 600 combat missions, including numerous four-engined bombers in the Defense of the Reich, Müller was killed on 29 May 1944 in a landing accident at Salzwedel while flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 and was posthumously promoted to Oberstleutnant.
Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/12/album-foto-schwimmweste-jaket-pelampung.html
https://axis-militaria.com/product/ww2-german-luftwaffe-10-30-b-2-schwimmweste-pilot-life-jacket-me109-fw190/
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