German Vehicle Drapes

By Crusader1307

Although not traditionally a Flag, a Drape still falls into the category of such – whereas larger Flags and Standards were of ten referred to as a Drape. A common method used by Nazi Germany during World War II, was the use of Vehicle Drapes. These were large cloth Standards which measured roughly 12-feet in length. Often designed to reflect The German NSADP Flag (The Swastika), The Drape was placed on the roof top of Staff or related Vehicles, tied on by rope through gromets located on all four corners of the Drape. This would not only identify the Vehicle as “friendly” to German Aircraft, but could also identify positions of Troops. Naturally, this could have a “negative” effect if “seen by Allied Fighters. Some later versions incorporated The Nordic Cross instead of The Swastika. The practice was discontinued not long before the end of The War with Germany in 1945.