claudio2574

Here a medal for athletic bravery, bronze, in the version used since 1964 till 2004

The firm Borani moved fro Torino to Rome in 1871. Later it was took over by Cravanzola (Paul Wood wrote in 1871, I can not confirm this). Thus the date should be exactly 1871. Infos about Borani-Cravanzola-Gardino can be read in the website of the Gardino firm, here: http://www.gardino.it/chi.html A box for the Order of the Crow of Italy having both Borani and Cravanzola marks can be seen here http://www.mymilitaria.it/liste_04/corona_umberto.htm, it's a sample for sure dated before 1900, since it was the date of death of king Umberto I

Hello everybody. Introducing a diploma given to an Italian, liutenant Michele Cuccurullo, 162 comp. CAIS (??), 11/11/1923. Since I've no experience about these French documents, I hope someone can comment it.

Hello. Here are the answers I got. The gunner was in the 134th company machine guns, using the SantEtienne French weapons. The collar tabs were white over blue. That company was under the following main unit in the years 1917-1918: Vth army corp 15-26 jan 1917 in Cornedo 26 jan - feb in Cestone Sogi Lora mar-may again in Cornedo 6th division jun-feb 1918 Val Croina XIV army corp mar Tremalzo apr Barghe may-jul Monte Melino aug-oct Val Albinocolo X army corp nov 1918 Bressanone The signs showed in the picture should have been used since april 1918. The badge for the "fatiche di guerra" become the "enemy bronze medal" in 1920, so the picture can be dated between april 1918 and july 1920.

Sadly the habit to spread out documents and medal is widely used...

Post done, waiting for answers...

Could be the regiment or the battalion, I'm not an expert of WW1. Do you want I ost your question in an Italian forum?

Yes for sure. The collar with the three stripes and the star was for machine gunners. They can be white over red (Fiat machine guns) or white over blue (Breda ones). Here is a small medal from ww1 After WW1 (I don't know exactly when) the white over red remained for all machine gunners, while the white over blue disappeared. Here is my father picture, shooted in Cavtat on 24th july 1943 (one day before the end of fascism in Italy), having the same collar tabs. The picture was taken in front of the church of St. Michael.

The russian front badge is still included in the list of the official badges for the army. The only difference with the original WW2 one is the size.

Me too! Actual medals are absolutely ugly. These are nicer and cheaper too, which is not a bad idea.

Many of these crosses had the number of the soldier and his regiment engraved. In this case it should be the soldier 3050 from the 1st line regiment ("1ere regiment de ligne", hope the translation is correct). It's a pity that the cross lost its suspension.

Yes, all of them. Currently most if not all people in the Armed Forces have at least one of them, even if they are not allowed to wear more than 3 or 4. They were created not to have too many medals. Several of them are unofficial, but used as well as the official ones.

Last group: French badges with other flags together, Italy included.

Third group: no place elsewhere:

Second group, out of Europe:

Hello everybody. I'd like to introduce my collection of Italian (and not Italian, but related to Italy) badges. The first international mission which used such a badge was launched in 1981 in Lebanon (and I was on the way to participate, but it didn not happened eventually). At the very beginning I tried to put them over an uniform woolen cloth, dividing them into geographical areas. But they grew su much that now they are somehow mixed together. As a size reference, consider that the normal diameter il 24 mm. The first image is mainly related to European missions:

Well, I got the answer. Not a para badge, just a strange mix of Italian Army story. 1975. In that years the old regiment-division structure was changing in battalion-brigade-division. The old "Folgore" paratroop division does not exist any more, it is an ordinary army division, still using the old tab (sword, gold wing, blue background). The 40th brigade "Trieste" is part of the "Folgore" The 40th regiment "Bologna" (tabs: red line over white background) is changed in 40th battalion "Bologna" and becomes part of the "Trieste" brigade; its tabs become a mix of the old regiment and the new division structure, thus creating yours. Please note that the geographic references are not necessarily linked to the placing of the unit in the chart. For example, the brigade "Sassari" (the famous "Dimonios!" brigade) was and still is strongly linked to the Sardinia, having Sassari one of the main cities of Sardinia. On the other hand, the "Torino" division (81° and 82° regiment) during WW2 were recruited in the Rome area (I'm sure of it, since my father was in 81° rgt in 1942)

The Guardia di Finanza collar tabs are still in use. We call them "fiamme" (flames) due to their shape. "Fiamme gialle" (yellow flames) is another name for the Guardia di Finanza. Well, now i place a question in an Italian forum about the paras tabs. Stay tuned.

Metal? 99% after WW2. I'm not an expert in this field, but the paratroops use a parachute since 1970, more or less, before that year they had a gold wing with a sword, like your. The pale blue background is normal for the paras, while the white with a red line in the middle was the collar tab of the "Bologna" division. I can't explain how these simbols are mixed together, may be I can ask in an Italian forum. Could you post a bigger picture of the tabs?

Actually the medal and the diploma are not strictly linked. The diploma was defined by the law of 16 march 1983 no. 75, without any medal. This document was given to three groups of people: soldiers in service, "deportati politici" (should be partisans) and the IMIes (Italian military internees = Italian POWs in Germany, who were not recognized by the Nazies as regular prisoners). In this case the word "Patriota" confirms your statement about a partisan fighter. The medal with "VL" (Volontario per la Liberta') comes first, 1945. Actually it should be simply a ribbon, but this ribbon is usually mounted on the standard medal for volunteers, as it is in your case. The rules for the badge are more or less the same than the ones for your diploma. So you have two different awards, given in different times for the same reasons, and your deduction is correct.

Nice set!

Hello, you can find a list of the ribbons with their order in this topic, at #16: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/61511-fake-or-not-cross-terza-armata-cross-quarta-armata/

After several months, I wish to add another French medallion similar to the above mentioned. It remembers the dates of the Italy Campaign: 10 may begin of the war, 6 june entering in Milan, 11-12 july peace of Villafranca, 14 august back to Paris. Please note that the Villafranca treaty was signed by Napoleon III and the Austrian Emperor without informing the King of Sardinia...

Hep! The only answer I can find is that every rule has its exception, specially in Italy! However, in modern uniform, this is the way (Admiral De Giorgi, commander in chief of the Navy):

The ribbons should not be overimposed. The standard size is 37mm. The medals, however, have different sizes. Thus sometimes you have medals overimposed and sometimes not. If I remember well, the general rule is to have no more than 4 medals in each row. Here are two medal bars from Gen. Vaccaro, with some little things not properly regular: