Photo of SS Polizei with Mauser Banner Standard Model SSR Conversion Rifle

[Oliver]

Would it be safe to say that this Pol-Btl 317 would be the most likely candidate of which Btl/Bat the Sniper in my photo belonged or would it be one of the other Wolfgang/Amberg mentions ????. I want to be sure I label the photo with most accurate and correct description .

I want to say Thank You to everyone who took the time to look into this !!!!!!!!!!!!

If the only two Polizei Regiments which were stationed in Norway at that time were Rgt. 7 and Rgt. 27. It is hard to say from which unit this photo is. Because we have no unit insignia.

Every Polizei Regiment had (normally) Staff + 3 Bataillons + 1 Signal-, 1 Armoured Recon- and 1 Tank company, but the 27th Regiment had a 4th Battailon (Training- and Replacement).

Every Battailon had 3 Infantry- and 1 (heavy weapon) Company. The main equipment of the "heavy" Company were the heavy machine guns and mortars. I think there were no sniper weapons.

So, in my opinion it makes sense to focus on the Infantry Companies of each single Battailon. This is the closest I can get at the moment.

How many sniper rifles have been in a SS Polizei Regiment? Hard to say. I have a source which says between 147 and 99, about war strength list, for a Division (depending of unit character).
A regiment is more or less 1/4 of a Division. So, 25 scope rifles for a whole Regiment, maybe. Every Regiment has 9 Infantry Companies.

If so, each Company could have 2 or 3 scope rifles. Each Company had three or four platoons.
Maybe, the rifles were given to the best shooters of a Company. Does not matter every Company has a scope rifle...
Or they could be maintained in the staff unit of the Companie, handed over if needed.

 

[RyanE]

Would it be safe to say that this Pol-Btl 317 would be the most likely candidate of which Btl/Bat the Sniper in my photo belonged or would it be one of the other Wolfgang/Amberg mentions ????. I want to be sure I label the photo with most accurate and correct description .

I want to say Thank You to everyone who took the time to look into this !!!!!!!!!!!!

Oliver is right, its probably impossible to know for sure which battalion this is without the rest of the album for clues. There were other smaller police units in Norway at the time as Wolfgang mentioned, it could even be one of them. But its likely one of the battalions of either the 7th or the 27th Regiment.

The 7th was formed from Pol.Btl 309, 317, and 123, which became the I, II, and III battalion of the SS-Polizei Regiment.

The 27th was originally formed from Pol.Btl 319, 321, Res.Pol.Btl 9, and Res.Pol.Btl 44. The 319 (I./SS-Pol.Rgt 27) was transferred out in mid 1943 to rebuild Polizei Regiment 15 destroyed at Stalingrad. The IV battalion (Res.Pol.Btl 44.) was redesignated as the I.

 

[Amberg]

There were other smaller police units in Norway at the time

Of all the police units in Norway at that time, only SS-Polizei Gebirgs-Nachrichten-Kompanie 91 was allowed to wear the Edelweiss badge on their caps.
All the other units in Norway at that that time did wear it against regulations.
Somewhere in the collection I have a photo showing a Master Sergeant of Pol. Btl. 309. He already did wear the Edelweiß badge on the way to Norway.
But who would dare to complain about a Master Sergeant?
Since I've seen more photos of 27th Pol. Reg. wearing the Edelweiß badge, I tend more to the Pol. Rgt. 27.
At the moment I am still reading documents about battalions 302 and 309. After 302 was allowed to wear the Edelweiss badge, personnel who could not ski were still exchanged. Perhaps the Master Sergeant of Battalion 309 was originally with Battalion 302 ....?
I still have to fight my way through the personnel files.
I'll let you know.

 

[Dave Roberts]

At this point I will only describe the photo as being SS Polizei Sniper and the exact Polizei Btl/Rgt is unknown at this time .

Hopefully You can come up with more detailed and specifics Wolfgang ,Thanks Again