J Temple-West

Wreath looks Okay, but strange to see a silver eagle...You could well be right, Rich... or could it just be the photography? Normally eagles are found darkened (as per Tims') or with a green tinge to the metal.

The unknown Maker (FLL?)

Here?s one that?s easily identifiable; that powder-blue uniform, gold buttons and the Pilot/Observer badge with diamonds can only belong to one person?.you?ve got it! Hermann G?ring.

Assmann PB.. 1st pattern eagle/2nd pattern wreath. Hard to tell, but it looks like an example in aluminium.

Morning Tim..... Ah yes..Ye olde "Assmann PO with diamonds." Those were the days! I still have the badge, do you still have the same camera? Happy landings, brother. Scott, Most collectors will consider this type of wreath to be the "Assmann" 1st pattern....but there was an earlier type. Thus far found on PO's (only one I know of in a collection) Pilots (possibly ten known of in collections) and Para's (two known of in collections) the "Egg" shaped wreath should be considered as the true 1st pattern. Have a read of this thread: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=10097 So, on to some more photos... Juncker 3rd pattern Pilot's Badge. It wasn't that long ago that there was doubt that the 3rd pattern was ever produced!

This picture of a Juncker 1st pattern in wear was taken from a frame of a documentary on the jump school at Stendal.

CE Juncker 1st pattern eagle/wreath.

W.Deumer. Juncker 1st pattern eagle/Deumer 1st pattern wreath.

Luckily for us, individuals who were proud of their achievements in obtaining decorations/awards etc, companies who saw a niche in the market and of course the powers that were seeing the inevitable chance for propaganda produced postcards depicting all manner of awards. Among these were a very limited number of cards showing qualification badges of the Luftwaffe. Up until a few years ago, certain badges were considered to be fantasy or fakes. The old question always reared its head; ?Have you ever seen one in an original photograph?? Here are a few cards showing early examples of the Fallschirmsch?tzenabzeichen. Any more out there? Photographs clearly showing badges where makers can be identified would be good to see, too. Assmann 1st pattern eagle/2nd pattern wreath.

Peter I've sent you a PM with a contact that may be able to help.

Eric, You say the piece was ?certified as being silver??I take it, by the dealer? This could be possible if it were a casting of a 1957 series badge, as I suspect it to be. This would account for smaller overall size, the lack of (and later added) swastika and the use of the hollow rivet style used in the 1957 series. The ?800? stamp is certainly in the style of a period mark, showing that this item was most likely produced soon after the release of the 1957 series, and the person producing it had some knowledge of Luftwaffe acceptance codes, hence the addition of the number ?5? stamp, being one of them. Of course, the use of the ?5? was a step too far as this acceptance code was never used on any qualification badge. A period privately produced Pilot?s badge? No?. ugly? Yes?. But an interesting insight into how money could be made, nevertheless.

Very nice, Rob Have you ever tried removing the bakelite handle grips? You may very well find a maker mark. This one of mine has the ?Robert Klaas? logo Btw: if you do remove the grips, do not over-tighten the screws when replacing the grips as it could crack the bakelite. :cheers:

Reprints that I know of (and have) are: 1st October 1934 1st July 1935 1st December 1936 1st December 1937 1st December 1938/15th June 1939, combined. 1st July 1944.

It has all the characteristics I would look for, Oliver.

I've been offered (from the same sale) another commemorative piece pertaining to Henne's time in the Legion Condor. Oh! If the ? wasn't in such bad shape......

Sorry for the delay in replying to questions, but the supplier was away and has just answered my e-mail. So... This item and certain others belonging to Hauptmann Rudolf Henne were sold (I take it, by the family) as part of a recent house clearance. In answer to a PM..."How big is it ?" The piece stands 22" tall.

Nice set, Darrell. :love:

It is the unit emblem ("Traditionsabzeichen) for the the Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment. 1 (aka: LL-Sturm-Rgt) under the command of Generalmajor Meindl.

I'VE JUST SPILT MY TEA!!! :beer:

An old campaigner with 1st/2nd class.

Guys If you play around with the file size of the images you want to post, you can post decently sized pictures. The one below has been resized to 60KB, being the ?Probationary Member? allowance.

Strange! Heydrich was in Gruppe II./JG 77. His ?Staffel? emblem, at the time of his involvement with JG 77 was an ancient Germanic runic character S for Sieg -- "victory" and it was this that was painted on the side of the fuselage when on operations in Norway in 1940. It may be a personal emblem used during his 2nd stint with JG 77 on the Eastern Front when he used his personal aircraft. The emblem for Gruppe II./JG 77 (the unit that Heydrich flew with) is pictured below. A short history on Heydrich?s service in the Luftwaffe. Heydrich completed a fighter pilot course in 1940. In April 1940 he flew a Bf 110 in the Fighter Group II./JG 77 "Herz As? in Norway. On the 13th May 1940 he crashed his plane during take-off and was injured. For a short time in May, he flew patrol flights over North Germany and the Netherlands. Then, after another accident, he returned to Berlin. In mid-June 1941, before the German attack on theUSSR, he resumed flying, ignoring Himmler's orders. He flew his personal Bf 109E-f again with Group II./JG 77 from Bălti, Romania on the southern Eastern Front, which put the wing commander under pressure due to Heydrich's position and lack of experience. On the 22nd July 1941, while on a mission, his plane was badly damaged over Yampil by Soviet AA artillery. Heydrich crash-landed in no-man?s land, evaded a Soviet patrol and made his way back to German lines. After this, he was forbidden to fly in combat, as it was realized that his capture as a POW would be a major security breach for Germany. He never flew another operational sortie. As to the question regarding other units and unit emblems: All Wehrmacht units had an emblem of some type. I hope this helps, Alex.

Picture 2, badge 2.

Badge 2: The next two show a difference in finishing technique by another artisan. Shear marks are visible, as are light file marks.

As promised..... The first is taken from one of my Juncker badges. Clear file marks by artisan 1.