Small but highly interesting award document grouping to Leutnant Helmut Abramowski, who served as a Beobachter with sea plane reconnaissance units of the Luftwaffe. With the 1. Staffel of Bordfliegergruppe 196, he flew on the Arado Ar 196 sea planes on about -all- of the most notorious battleships of the Kriegsmarine, and witnessed the sinking of the Tirpitz!   

On 11th of February 1943, Abramowski and his pilot Uffz. Ludwig Hammer flew off course with their Arado Ar 196 A-3 "DH+ZF" (Werknummer 1006) after takeoff from Copenhagen in a mission to the Island Bornholm (Denmark), emergency landing in neutral Sweden after they had been fired at by Swedish ships near Hano. They were interned but promptly repatriated three days later crossing the border at Helsingborg. The next day, on 15th of February 1943, Abramowski was awarded the Abzeichen für Beobachter.  

March 1943, he left training for the 1./ Bordfliegergruppe 196 as an observer and was first stationed on the Schlachtschiff Prinz Eugen (April-May 1943), then on the Schlachtschiff Scharnhorst (May-August 1943), a few months before its sinking. After some time with 4./ Seeaufklärungsgruppe 126, he was sent back to Bordfliegergruppe 196 for service on board the Schwere Kreuzer Lützow (June-August 1944). In October-November 1944, he served on the Schlachtschiff Tirpitz in October-November 1944, experiencing the sinking of the Tirpitz in Norway on 12th of November 1944. He was awarded the Frontflugspange für Aufklärer in Gold in March 1944 and survived the war.  

The award document for the Abzeichen für Beobachter was facsimile signed by General der Flieger Gustav Kastner-Kirdorf (Deutsches Kreuz in Silber). The Frontflugspange in Gold was hand signed by his Gruppenkommandeur Major Gerrit Wiegmink of Bordfliegergruppe 196, who was shot down and killed in Denmark only 9 days after signing this document!