Corps colours, or Troop-function colours, (German: "Waffenfarbe(n)") were worn by the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic from 1956 to 1990.
Introduction
The GDR NPA uniforms initially bore the corps colours as worn by the Wehrmacht, i.e. as base and filling of the collar and sleeve patches, and as a piping around the shoulder boards/shoulder straps.
Between 1974 and 1976, alongside the introduction of uniforms with open collar and tie, patches of the NPA Landstreitkräfte uniforms were unified across all corps, with a Steingrau base and a white filling, along with white collar piping; the piping of the shoulder boards/shoulder straps remained the only part carrying Waffenfarbe.
However, Air Forces of the National People's Army, paratroopers and generals as well as the Volksmarine continued to wear their specially designed and coloured patches.[1]
The uniform of the Border Troops was distinguished from that of the NVA ground force and Air Force/Air Defence Force by a green armband with large silver letters identifying the wearer's affiliation, and a green cap band.
The tables below contain the corps colours used by the NPA since 1986.[2])
Land Forces of the National People's Army
⇒ see main article Ranks of the National People's Army
| Regiment or Battalion type | Colour | Insignias | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Officers, ground forces | Scarlet (Hochrot) |   | Colonel general |
| White |  | Gefreiter |
| Panzers | Rose-pink (Rosa) |  | Stabs-Oberfaehnrich |
| Black |  | Feldwebel |
| Signals | Yellow |  | Oberleutnant |
Rear service:
| Dark green |  | Major |
| Military bands | White |  | Oberstleutnant |
| Paratroopers[3] | Orange |  | Oberfaehnrich |
| Karmesine (Ziegelrot) |  | Captain |
| Construction soldiers | Olive | ||
| Steingrau (also: Feldgrau) | Steingrau |   | basic colour of the uniform |
Air Forces of the National People's Army
| Regiment or Battalion type | Colour | Insignias | Rank | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General officers | Sky blue |  | Lieutenant general | Also Generals of the Air defense forces and of the Funktechnische Truppen |
| Air Force |  | Lieutenant | Officers and warrant officers (Fähnriche) | |
| Air Force |  | Stabsgefreiter | Rank and file and sergeants | |
| Air Defence Force[4] | Light grey | Including rank and file, sergeants, warrant officers (comp.) and officers |
Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic
| Border troop ratings | Colour | Insignias | Rank | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generale | Green |  | Major general | Pipings, peaked cap stripe, collar patches, lampasses and stripes in green |
| Officers, warrant officers (comparable) |  | Warrant officer of the border troops | Pipings, peaked cap stripe, and stripes in green | |
| Sergeants, rank and file |  | Unterfeldwebel | Pipings, peaked cap stripe, and stripes in green |
Volksmarine
| Volksmarine ratings | Colour | Insignias | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flag officers | Navy blue |  |  | Flottenadmiral to Konteradmiral |
| Officers |  |  | Kapitän zur See to Unterleutnant (zur See) | |
| Warrant officers (comparable) |  |  | Stabsoberfähnrich to Fähnrich | |
| Petty Officers |  |  | Stabsobermeister to Maat | |
| Seamen |  |  | Stabsmatrose to Matrose | |
Civil defense of the GDR
- Common (generals, as well): Malino (de:Himbeerrot, meaning the same as and similar in shade to English raspberry)
Other users
Waffenfarben were also worn by the troops of the Stasi, "Ministry for State Security", the Ministry of Internal Affairs with several branches of the police, fire brigades, etc.