Rogi

Its rare in a bad way They probobly realised no one liked receiving it You know its bad when China doesn't even want to copy these ! lol

Unhappy Ex-wife? hehehe thats my explanation for its current state, it was in a diffrent type of battle!

+1 even a somalie or some other conflict the soviets rendered troops to would be amazing Korea is up there for sure for me too

Theres a Tu-4 RB thats calling my name on a local site :S must resist going over my budget lol How do you guys keep a "budget" on these awesome awards

Just to throw it out, it might be still "classified" info? Maybe Auke can shed some light on what may and may not be available when research pops up?

I wish I could have any experience with any RBs hehehe One day maybe, one day

I love it too it looks like its stamp has been double stamped? Its had a hard life thats for sure

I think the BM and CSM get ok write ups from what I have observed, ORB could yeild something interesting and so could RS, but they also sub as life long awards, I'd be interested in seeing a Nevsky Researched Too many decisions for you to make first find out the serial range for the long service awards, then go from there

It looks like female aviators is on everyone's list hehehe we should pool our resources and find 1, I think there rarer than most other awards when you look at it

Aviation related, a pilot I don't really even care if it was an ace or not (which is crazy since I love doing the research for Aces) for WW2, it'd have to be a female aviator. For other wars my dream would be a Korean War Pilot awards (Russian Pilot) There were a couple that fought in the begining of the war and "tutored" the N.K Air force, but then again would they actually be researchable or would it be hidden? (since technicly the 2 Koreas are still at war ) Those are pretty much the only 2 that would blow my socks off, unless of course I ended up buying one of my relatives' awards (we had 3-4 members of the family fighting on the russian side in WW2, their awards got stolen years later :S ) That would probobly get me in shock, more than 1 in a million change I guess

Was just thinking about something, I read over his OPW 1 and it seems the artillery workshop was active in combat repairing in the field, something similar to this citation (or Lt. Aleksai was just that devoted to his job to go out in the field), do you guys know how normal this was for a Officer to be doing this? (attached to an workshop) or was this something different because of the Leningrad front. I'm used to seeing repair work always done behind the lines where its safe, unless it was a temporary repair on items in the field.

Theres another Igor that does research and translations, but hes a bit expensive :S (not Note Bena another guy)

It'd be easier to go to one of the research guys and ask how much they would charge you for translation Honestly most of us just piece it together (if you can speak a bit of Russian) If you want the full thing translated best bet is to go to Auke (Ferdinand) or Igor or someone similar that researches these awards and ask the price for translation.

Aye, plus a nice entry, its nice it wasn't a 1 sentence thing

I think we forgot to mention that Auke and the rest of the research guys (Igor, etc) are our best bang for the buck! They make our history come to life

All the history is good on awards and the main issue you have when purchasing and when researching is the anticipation of getting something back (at least thats how it was with my OGPW 2) I'm partially very glad that I ended up receiving something back I was thinking about really narrowing down a certain section to collect and when buying orders and medals that havn't been researched it is near impossible For most of us that don't end up choosing a subject matter and want to collect items in general I think its mostly because of something we relate with the award, a certain date, a good historic citation or even the name of the individual and his history that peaks our interest. Although I did like ordering the research and it was a gamble on if it'd pop up to anything, your always hoping for the best outcome The main problem is wanting to get each and every award on an award card for the certain individual(if they are split up) you have and how almost un-attainable that goal in collecting can be. I think patience is the key in almost every collection, if theres an order you want but the one for sale doesn't fit the carectaristics, just wait it out a bit more, something may show up in a month or two that may interest you more than the one thats for sale now It is challenging to collect on a budget (but we all have one in one form or another) just keeping to the budget for the things you want and going a bit extra over for some things that you really want is what should be adheared too

Really cool, plus the rare factor of navy stuff also plays into this one very awesome find

Thanks all for the comments I always start thinking about what kind of journey these orders took in order to get here, that would be an interesting story in itself

Very cool write up and grouping Congrats

Very cool, its nice to see that these orders have a home too and there place in history is still available to us

Big thanks to Auke (Ferdinand on the forum) for ordering the research on my Order of the Patriotic War 2nd class and translating. This is the one I've had since childhood at my first militaria convention I'm so happy that its finally gotten researched and I know who the order was awarded to and a bit of history about it. I'm still waiting on Auke's debut album everyones been telling me about I cleaned the award a bit with water on the center enamel, since it had a bit of gunk on it. I avoided the tarnish (since I like the tarnish just the way it is, adds a bit of character. If you guys want anything else posted/removed from the award sheet, please let me know The only issue I have with the research is now I have to track down his Order of the Patriotic War 1st class (serial: 241726) Would you guys mind checking for it in your collections Heres the award sheet info and a pic of the award I took after cleaning I guess he did a great job under fire, it is a very interesting citation I'm assuming it was awarded while on the Leningrad front? If theres any info. or historical significance to his units or of Mr. Nikolayev himself, would you mind sharing, I've currently started searching for some other history behind the unit etc Award sheet 1. Last name, first name and patronymic: Nikolayev, Aleksei Osipovich 2. Rank: Lieutenant-Technician 3. Position and unit: Chief of the artillery workshop of the 126th Kingisepp Cannon Artillery Regiment of the Reserve of the High Command Nominated for: Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class 4. Year of birth: 1911 5. Nationality: Russian 6. Party affiliation: Candidate member of the Communist Party since April 1944 7. Participation in the Civil War and the subsequent combat actions to defend the USSR (where and when): Since October 20, 1942 on the Leningrad Front 8. Wounds and contusions received during the Patriotic War: No 9. Since when in the Red Army: Since January 24, 1942 10. Drafted by which military commissariat: Military Commissariat of the Rybinsk Raion, Yaroslavl Oblast 11. Awards received previously (for which merits): Medal for the Defense of Leningrad on July 10, 1943 12. Permanent home address (of the prospective awardee or his family): ______________ Short, concrete description of his combat feat or merits: Serving as chief of the regimental artillery workshop, Lieutenant-Technician Nikolayev throughout the fighting displayed bravery, initiative, and skill. On August 5, 1944, when the 9th Battery’s firing positions were being bombed, a cannon was put out of action because of shrapnel damage resulting from a nearby bomb explosion. Upon arriving at the firing position, Lieutenant-Technician Nikolayev decided to carry out repairs on the spot. Despite repeated enemy air raids and systematic enemy artillery fire, Lieutenant-Technician Nikolayev did not leave the firing position as long as the cannon was out of commission. On August 17, 1944, when the firing position of the 2nd Battery was being shelled, the springs of the balancing mechanism were damaged by shrapnel from a shell that exploded close by. It was impossible to fire the cannon. Lieutenant-Technician Nikolayev worked for four hours repairing the damage without giving up, despite the artillery bombardment. Thanks to the well-established duties of the artillery workshop, the regiment’s materiel worked smoothly throughout the period of combat operations. For his skill and the bravery he displayed while carrying out combat missions, Lieutenant-Technician Nikolayev is being nominated for the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class. Commander of the 126th Kingisepp Cannon Artillery Regiment of the Reserve of the High Command Colonel [signed] /Shevchenko/ September 4, 1944

If he still remained on station with an active regiment, most likley he did fly either mig or su variants (since he was an il-2 pilot we could assume he didnt fly fighters, that doesn mean anything but usually you dont see too many bomber pilots switching roles) could be mig-15s, maybe even a 21 variant if he did stay in the attack role, he might of even flown a mig-23, but doubtful. Would be interesting to know the details of these units in question. Its interesting how long and what hes done in the service Thanks for posting

Wow that was so cool, Thank you all for the info (I wish I could multi quote, still trying to figure out the forum ) I wondered why it was crooked all these years (I thought that it had fallen and someone steped on it, and thats why it received a bit of crook to it Thank you all so much for the clarification, now I know its a collar tab Does anyone happen to have a rear view shot of the tab itself with pin intact? I'll try to search it on the net so I can at least see what the pin looks like. I'm not sure if I should invest in a pin to "restore" it but I've liked keeping it in original condition all these years, so why ruin it now with a resto that won't really impact anything that positively. It is hard to bend (not that I tried to bend it all that much) so I guess from all the opinions provided it most likley is real. Thank you all for the comments I should find a matching one for a "set" now Regards, Igor

This is one pick up I had when I was a child (about the same time I picked up my Order of the Patriotic War 2nd class) but it was at a flea market that I found this little one, the seller wanted $5 for it, but I pointed out the pin was broken and I wanted it for cheaper, please, he ended up chuckling and he told me he'd give it to me for whatever I had in my pocket, which I agreed, and it ending up costing me $1 I just love the German Eagle on badges, and since my budget wasn't that large to begin with, a Luftwaffe pilot's badge was out of the question (was something like 200 or 300 back then) I settled for something smaller It may not be a great pick up, but I like the history behind the award, supposedly it was owned by a Private when he served and that gentleman sold it on to the Flea Market guy, who sold it down to me, so did I make a good pick up, to me every pick up is a good one and I still love the image of the eagle on this badge, I think the German version of the eagle is very elegant. My main questions to you experts is, is it the real deal or a copy? I'd feel bad if I spent a buck on a copy even if its a small purchase, and there appears to be what looks like a hallmark on the back (it appears to be a bit scratched out, or the pin broke off in that location?), I'll post it in the second picture with what looks like to me as M1/17 but it curves down a bit crooked and it isn't a straiight application. Does anyone have a similar cap badge, and is it worth it getting a replacement pin from a restorer installed on it, or keep her as is?

Awesome Thanks for sharing