WW2 German Kriegsmarine High Seas Fleet Badge Maker RS&S

The WW2 German Kriegsmarine High Seas Fleet Badge, Maker RS&S, is a naval award issued during the Second World War to recognize the service of crew members aboard German capital ships participating in significant naval operations. Instituted by the Kriegsmarine in 1941, the badge was awarded for operational readiness and participation in at least one major engagement or for being wounded or killed in action. This example was manufactured by the firm Rudolf Souval, Vienna, marked as RS&S on the reverse. The badge design features a representation of a German battleship at center surrounded by a laurel wreath, topped with the national eagle and swastika emblem. Constructed typically from zinc with a gilt and silvered finish, the badge was worn on the lower left breast pocket of the naval uniform. The High Seas Fleet Badge remains a collectible historical artifact representing German naval forces during the period of 1939–1945.