WWII German Snipers badge 2nd class – 40 kills Ball Cap Scharfschützenabzeichen

WWII German Snipers badge 2nd class 40 kills Ball Cap, with silver bullion thread border.

The Sniper’s Badge (Scharfschützenabzeichen) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to snipers. It was instituted on 20 August 1944.  Initially, it was only eligible to personnel serving in the German Army and the Waffen-SS. Later, by order of the High Command, it was also made available to snipers of the other armed services.

The sniper’s badge had three grades:

Third class (green) for 20 enemy kills
Second class (silver) for 40 enemy kills
First class (gold) for 60 enemy kills

The enemy kills were counted from 1 September 1944. Close quarter kills made were not to be taken into account. Every enemy kill had to be confirmed by witnesses and reported to the unit.