Allgemeine - SS Order of Battle The Allgemeine - SS Order of Battle refers to the mustering formations of SS units in Nazi Germany and Austria that existed prior to and during World War II . The basic mustering formations were made up of part - time SS members , considered the core of the Allgemeine - SS . The primary unit was the regiment sized " Standarten " and extending upwards to division strength " Oberabschnitt " commands . Within the Allgemeine - SS " Standarten " there were in turn subordinate battalions of " Sturmbann " , themselves divided into company sized " Sturme " . The " Sturm " was further divided into platoon sized " Truppen " which were in turn divided into squad sized " Scharen " . For larger Allgemeine - SS commands , the Scharen would be further dividied into " Rotte " which were the Allgemeine - SS equivalent of a fire team . Senior Level Commands . The two senior level formations of the Allgemeine - SS were the division sized " Oberabschnitt " and the brigade sized " Abschnitt " . Oberabschnitt Commands . The highest command level of the Allgemeine - SS formations . Many of the SS - Oberabschnitt commanders also served as SS and Police Leader s . The SS - Oberabschnitt was formed in the mid - 1930s from older formations known as " SS - Gruppen " . By 1942 , the existing Oberabschnitt commands were as follows : Abschnitt commands . An intermediate command level existed between the supreme Oberschnitt commands the local Allgemeine - SS regiments . Known as the " SS - Abschnitt " these commands were formed between 1933 and 1935 from the older " SS - Brigaden " . SS - Abschnitts were identified by roman numeral designators , which were also displayed on the cuffbands of the Abschnitt member ' s SS uniform . The SS also maintained the following brigade cavalry commands for Allgemeine - SS cavalry units : Regimental Commands . The core units of the Allgemeine - SS were the regiment sized " Standarten " which were divided into " foot regiments " and " cavalry units " . Standarten Commands . In all , the SS formed a total of one hundred and twenty seven " Fuß Standarten " some of which were accorded honor titles . SS Cavalry Regiments . The Allgemeine - SS maintained twenty four cavalry regiments which were organized in the same manner as the regular SS - Standarten but used a special collar patch , displaying crossed lance s , as a unit insignia . The " Reiter - SS " came to an effective end at the start of World War II , as most of its members transferred into the Waffen - SS as cavalry officers . After this point , the Allgemeine - SS cavalry existed on paper only . At the Nuremberg Trials , special mention was made that the General - SS cavalry was exempt from the classification as a " criminal organization " which had been applied to the rest of the SS . The Reiter - SS units were as follows : Specialty Commands . In addition to its regular formations , the Allgemeine - SS maintained special - purpose units for transport , signals , and engineering . A brief experiment in 1931 also attempted to form an SS - flight unit . These units were known as : SS - Kraftfahrstürme Nineteen transport companies were formed by the SS throughout Germany . The areas of responsibility were : SS - Nachrichtensturmbanne The following signal battalions were formed throughout Germany and Austria by the Allgemeine - SS . A single signal battalion was also formed in Czechoslovakia . SS - Pioniersturmbanne Engineering battalions were maintained by the Allgemeine - SS in the following cities : SS - Fliegersturm In November 1931 , the SS briefly commissioned a flight unit consisting of a small number of SS personnel trained to fly powered aircraft . An extremely rare SS badge , known as the " SS - SA Fliegerabzeichen " , was issued to most members of the SS - Fliegersturm . The Fliegersturm was disbanded after only a few months and its members merged into other Nazi organizations such as the National Socialist Flyers Corps . SS Naval Units In the mid - 1930s , there was some discussion in SS leadership circles to form a special corps of SS - naval units , mainly due to the SA , the early rival to the SS , having formed its own marine unit ( SA - Marine ) . However , due to Heinrich Himmler ' s general disinterest in naval affairs , an SS naval corps was never founded although many members of the Allgemeine - SS did serve on active duty in the Kriegsmarine .