Luftwaffe - Pilots Badge

Pilots Badge.

Instituted on. 27^th May 1935
Rarity – Scarce
Known Makers. A, B & NL, B.W.S. (within club emblem), C.E.JUNCKER,

               CEJ (in rectangular frame), JME, JMME, W.DEUMER

 

 

 Pilots Badge -  Obverse.

 

 

Pilots Badge - Reverse.

The original instruction for this badge came on 27^th May 1935, although Göring did not bring the badge into being until 12^th August 1935.  On 27^th November 1935 the regulations publishing the exact specification for the badge were made public and were, an oval, slightly convex, silver-plated wreath, the right half of laurel and the left half of oak leaves.  This is the opposite of the Aircrew Badge.  The raised surfaces of the wreath are highly polished.  At the base of the wreath there is a three-band tie and, on the viewer's right, nine bunches of three oak leaves overlapping one another.  At each joint are two acorns, one on either side.  On the opposite side are nine bunches of three laurel leaves with two berries at the joint, one on either side of the central leaf's point.  The wreath is 53 mm by 42 mm with a width of 8 mm.  It has an eagle in flight mounted upon it, oxidised and old silver-plated, clutching a swastika in its claws.  The wings are finely detailed, as are the head and body.  Normally, the gap between the legs is solid but in the case of the badges produced in aluminium, this area is generally voided.  Occasionally, the portion between the legs is voided on the early nickel silver versions as well.  The wingspan of the eagle can vary between 64 mm and 67 mm, due to the form of manufacture as well as the individual producer.  On the reverse the eagle is riveted to the wreath on each side by two small ball rivets, which change in style with the different methods of manufacture.  There is a vertical hinged pin, which is soldered on.  This badge was found in nickel silver or aluminium and as the war progressed, pot metal or monkey metal.  I consider the most desirable badges of this type to be the thin wreath, nickel silver and aluminium types produced by CE Juncker.

 

 

Pilots Badge - Aluminium - Obverse.

 

 

Pilots Badge - Aluminium -  Reverse.

The badge was awarded upon completion of the flying training and when the pilot received his flying licence and citation. 

 Dr. Heinrich Doehle gave the institution of the badge as 26^th March 1936 and this has been widely considered as the official date of introduction.  This poses the intriguing question, 'What was the design of the Pilots Badge from 12^th August 1935 to 26^th March 1936?' There are two versions of the cloth badge, which correspond to the officers and NCOs, taking the form of the metal badge but embroidered in relief.  The wreath is worked in silver, the eagle in oxidised silver, and the swastika in dull aluminium thread.  The NCOs version is identical but expedited in cotton thread.  The badge was worn on the left upper pocket of the service uniform or flying jacket.  It was issued in a blue box with the badge designation stencilled in gold block letters on its lid. 

 

 

Pilots Badge - Case -   Obverse.

Pilots Badge - Bullion -  Obverse.

 

Pilots Badge - Cotton -   Obverse.

 

Pilots Badge - Cotton -   Obverse (2).

 

 

Pilots Badge in wear.

 

 

 

 

Pilots Badge in wear on a Waffen - SS officers tunic. He was a Pilot in the Bavarian Air force in the First World War.

Luftwaffe - Combined Pilots and Observers Badge

Combined Pilots and Observers Badge.

Instituted on. 26^th March 1936

Rarity – Rare
Known Makers. A, B & NL, B.W.S. (within club emblem), C.E.JUNCKER,

                            CEJ (in rectangular frame), JME, JMME, W.DEUMER, L/64

              

Combined Pilots and Observers Badge Obverse.

 

On 26^th March 1936 this badge was introduced to replace the older Aircrew Badge and takes the format of, an oval, slightly convex, gilded wreath, the right half of laurel and the left half of oak leaves. The raised surfaces of the wreath are highly polished.  At the base of the wreath there is a three-band tie and, on the viewer's right, nine bunches of three oak leaves overlapping one another.  At each joint are two acorns, one on either side.  On the opposite side are nine bunches of three laurel leaves with two berries at the joint, one on either side of the central leaf's point.  The wreath is 53 mm by 42 mm with a width of 8 mm.  It has an eagle in flight mounted upon it, oxidised and matt silver-plated, clutching a swastika in its claws.  The wings are finely detailed, as are the head and body.  Normally, the gap between the legs is solid but in the case of the badges produced in aluminium, this area is generally voided.  Occasionally, the portion between the legs is voided on the early nickel silver versions as well.  The wingspan of the eagle can vary between 64 mm and 67 mm, due to the form of manufacture as well as the individual producer.  On the reverse the eagle is riveted to the wreath on each side by two small ball rivets, which change in style with the different methods of manufacture.  There is a vertical hinged pin, which is soldered on.  The quality of these badges varies widely from a purely silvered and gilded Pilots Badge, to a super struck and silver-plated and gilt plated example. This badge was found in nickel silver or aluminium and as the war progressed, pot metal or monkey metal. 

The badge was awarded on completion of both the pilots and observers courses and was presented with licence and certificate.  On 31th July 1944 regulations prescribed that the award could be rendered providing that the intended recipient had held the Pilot Observers qualification certificates for a minimum of one year.

In special cases the badge was authorised to be awarded to foreigners in recognition of special services rendered to the Luftwaffe.  An honorary presentation of this badge was normally made to foreign attachés upon their return to their home duty station.

The cloth version was again identical to the pilots form but with the colours conforming to the metal badge.  The officer’s version was again executed in silver and gold bullion while the NCOs version was in cotton. 

The badge was to be worn on the left breast pocket and after 1936 could be worn on the political uniform as well as the military one.

The box is blue with blue silk lining and blue velvet base with the title stencilled on to the top in gold lettering.

 

 

Combined Pilots and Observers Badge - Case.

 

 

Combined Pilots and Observers Badge - Cloth - Bullion.

 

Combined Pilots and Observers Badge - Cloth - Cotton.

 

 

Kupfer Ernst Dr. - Oberst.

Luftwaffe - Glider Pilots Badge - First Type.

Glider Pilots Badge - First Type.

Instituted on. 16^th December 1940

Rarity – Very Rare    
Known Makers. C.E.JUNCKER

 

Glider Pilots Badge - Obverse.

Glider Pilots Badges - Obverse.



Glider Pilots Badges - Reverse.



On 8^th July 1940 the firm of Wilhelm Ernst Peekhaus submitted their design for this badge.  It was approved on 16^th December 1940 and was produced by the firm of C.E. Juncker of Berlin.  It consists of a wreath of oak leaves made up of eight bunches of three leaves on either side, the edges of the leaves forming the inner and outer edges of the wreath.  They meet tip to tip at the apex with a swastika at the base.  There are the two forms of swastika.  The fields between the arms of the swastika are either solid or voided.  The height of the wreath can vary between 55 mm and 57 mm with the width of the badge being 42 mm.  The wreath is finished in a silver wash with the highlights being polished.

 

On the wreath is a soaring eagle, flying from left to right, which is finished in oxidised old silver colour.  The design of the eagle is very elegant with a well-defined head positioned over the forward thrusting wing.  There are subtle differences in the eagle the most significant being in the wings' fletching and the line of the trailing wing.  The width of the wings is 53 mm and the depth of the body from claw tips to the top of the wings varies from 15 mm to 16 mm.

The reverse is flat and the eagle is held on to the wreath by two ball rivets, one through each wing tip.  The rivets can also be a small, flat type.  At the apex is a hinge, which can be either a barrel or ball type.  The latter has a needle pin countersunk.  The former has a needle pin with a shepherd's crook bend.  At the base is a 'C' form hook.  The reverse of the eagle is flat with a matt finish that is oxidised from light grey to nearly black.

However, as the war progressed the quality of the badge deteriorated, not so much in the stamping of the individual wreath and eagle but the eagle is sweated on to the wreath.  The badge is made in nickel silver or aluminium and then zinc, pot or monkey metal.  The badge was awarded on completion of a glider pilots training and was issued with a citation and pilots licence.

It was presented in a blue box, with blue satin liner and velvet base, with the name stencilled in silver on the lid.

The cloth versions of this badge were produced for both officers and NCOs, taking the form of the metal badge but embroidered in relief.  For Officers the wreath is worked in silver, the eagle in oxidised silver, and the swastika in dull aluminium thread on a blue grey melton backing.  The NCOs version is identical but expedited in cotton thread.  The badge for officers has yet to be observed. The NCO’s version can be found with the wreath embroidered in of white cotton thread while the eagle is executed in a buff grey thread on a tan cotton backing.

 

Glider Pilots Badges - Cloth Grey backing - Obverse.

 

Glider Pilots Badges - Cloth Tan backing - Obverse.

 

 

 

  Glider Pilots Badges - Case.

 Fulda Wilhelm, later Fallschirmjäger.Rgt.2, RK 14th June 1941. Wearing the Glider Pilots Badge.

Glider Pilots Badges - 1957.

 

 

Glider Pilots Badges - 1957 - Obverse.

 

 

Glider Pilots Badges - 1957 - Reverse.