Original Item: Only One Available. This is something that we have not had before! This is an excellent example of a German WWII Luftwaffe issue Type 10-30 B-2 Schwimmweste (Life Preserver Vest), made by the very well-known Auer-Gesellschaft AG. These vests were used by Luftwaffe fighter pilots and bomber crew in case they needed to ditch / bail out over water. The vest is a carbon dioxide inflated rubberized canvas design, and was a great improvement over the previous full back style model. The front facing design with a large cushion behind the head ensured that the wearer's head was kept facing up and above water.

The Type B-1 (FL 30154-1) had been developed in 1940 due to lessons learned during the Battle of Britain, which resulted in many pilots ending up in the English channel. The type B-2 (FL 30154-2) was released in 1941, having had some of the metal components on the inflation apparatus replaced with plastic. The design features a CO2 canister on the lower left front, and a manual inflation valve above that. We did check with some compressed air, and it still can be inflated, though we have no idea if it there are any leaks or not.

The vest still has the original Luftwaffe required maker stamp on the interior rear, which is partly obscured by an inspection stamp, however we can still read it:

Schwimmweste
Gerät-Nr. 10-30 B-2
Anforderz. Fl30154-2
Werk-Nr.     505762
Hersteller:      bwz

This gives the information regarding the item, the supplier, contract number, and so forth. The bottom row gives the Hersteller (supplier) as bwz, the three letter code for Auer-Gesellschaft AG, Werk Oranienburg outside of Berlin. This company had several plants, and was a major manufacturer of rubber goods such as gas masks during the war, making them the perfect choice for making these life vests.

Condition is really very good, with the rubberized canvas still quite supple, and the valves looking to be functional. There is some wear to the attachment straps, but nothing major.

Comes more than ready for display.