Riley1965 Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Air Force Medal, Type I. Established in 1945.It was awarded to all Air Force Personnel on active duty during the war. 4,434 medals were awarded.The medal is silver with the French ball suspension ring. The Obverse: The center has the Polish Air force insignia, Checkerboard squares enameled in red and white. The insignia is surrounded by an oak leaf wreath. The Reverse has the words POLSKA SWEMU OBRONCY surrounded by an oak leaf wreath. The medal is worn on a pale blue ribbon with a white stripe near each of the edge of the ribbon.The medal is 36mm in diameter.It may be awarded up to four times. Each additional award is noted by the addition of a bar with oak leaves on it. Enjoy,Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley1965 Posted January 26, 2007 Author Share Posted January 26, 2007 And the Reverse... Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukasz Gaszewski Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 (edited) Hi Doc,A nice piece. Basically, the medal was awarded for half-year service in a combat zone or one-year service outside combat zone. For each successive bar the length of service was doubled. The reverse reads: "Poland to her defender". Just a small correction, if you don't mind: this is the second type, the the first type being without enamel. The enameled type started to be manufactured (I don't have access to references at the moment, so this can be not too precise) in ca. 1960s. Cheers,Lukasz Edited January 26, 2007 by Lukasz Gaszewski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley1965 Posted January 26, 2007 Author Share Posted January 26, 2007 (edited) Lukasz,This came straight from Prof. Wesolowski and the text and description straight from his book. This is a Type I. Type II has no enamel. I've been mentored by Doc Wes for some time now. If he says it's a Type I then it is a Type I. Doc Edited January 26, 2007 by Riley1965 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Haynes Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Lukasz,This came straight from Prof. Wesoloski and the text and description straight from his book. This is a Type I. Type II has no enamel. I've been mentored by Doc Wes for some time now. If he says it's a Type I then it is a Type I. DocAnd he can't be wrong? Just like Paul & Paul couldn't be wrong on Soviet motherhood medals? Oops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley1965 Posted January 26, 2007 Author Share Posted January 26, 2007 Hello Ed,I'm going by what he said and his book. It seems that anytime I post a Polish medal Mr. Lukasz finds something wrong with the information. I'll take Doc Wes' word over Mr. Lukasz's any day. Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley1965 Posted January 26, 2007 Author Share Posted January 26, 2007 (edited) Hello Ed,I'm going by what he said and his book. It seems that anytime I post a Polish medal Mr. Lukasz finds something wrong with the information. I'll take Doc Wes' word over Mr. Lukasz's any day. DocMr. Lukasz,Please see page 45, Fig. 105 in "Polish Orders, Medals Badges and Insignia Military and Civilian Decorations 1705-1985" by Zdzislaw Wesolowski. Doc Edited January 26, 2007 by Riley1965 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley1965 Posted January 26, 2007 Author Share Posted January 26, 2007 I did make a mistake. I placed a person over the evidence. I have great respect for both Doc Wes and Mr. Lukasz. In this case I must stand by the evidence from Doc Wes. In the near future I'll have the Type II to compare. Until then I'll try to remember that it's the evidence NOT the personality. Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley1965 Posted January 27, 2007 Author Share Posted January 27, 2007 Lukasz,You have my sincere apology!!! After getting a vague response from Doc Wes I am left with "egg on my face". I concede to your statement and this is the TYPE II. I have always respected your expertise just as I respect Doc Wes'. Thank You for setting me straight. Ed, You Too!! It seems that there is an error in Doc Wes' book ala Paul and Paul's Motherhood medal in their book. Lukasz I won't dismiss your comments and would appreciate them in future posts. Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristof Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Hello my friend,I am a Polish military airforce collector and I would like to tell you about this Polish airforce military medal. There was only one type of this medal officially and it was established in July 1945 approved by the Polish government in exile. The medal was without enamel. All the recipients of this medal received only ID for this medal and they bought them from the local jewellers. The size of this medal can vary from 36-38mm. A long time after the war some of the jewellers produced this medal with an enamel (white and red Polish insignia). Mr Wesolowski called this medal type 1 but this is incorrect. This is a jewellers invention and your particular model that you received from him was produced in the late 80s.Regards Kristof Air Force Medal, Type I. Established in 1945.It was awarded to all Air Force Personnel on active duty during the war. 4,434 medals were awarded.The medal is silver with the French ball suspension ring. The Obverse: The center has the Polish Air force insignia, Checkerboard squares enameled in red and white. The insignia is surrounded by an oak leaf wreath. The Reverse has the words POLSKA SWEMU OBRONCY surrounded by an oak leaf wreath. The medal is worn on a pale blue ribbon with a white stripe near each of the edge of the ribbon.The medal is 36mm in diameter.It may be awarded up to four times. Each additional award is noted by the addition of a bar with oak leaves on it. Enjoy,Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev in Deva Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Hallo Doc, If I may add, its nice to see a member admit he was mistaken and publicly recognise the fact without being bitter, another reason that puts the quality of the membership of the G.M.I.C. way up above others.There is a virtual beer waiting for Lucasz & you in the Lounge, where you can discuss the finer points of the hobby Kevin in Deva Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley1965 Posted February 17, 2007 Author Share Posted February 17, 2007 Kristof,Thank You for the explanation!!! I relied on Doc Wes' book and e-mails and a phone call to him, as it was a medal I hadn't dealt with. I am very Loyal, to a fault, to those who have been mentors in my Collecting and research. Gentlemen like Doc Wes, Ed Haynes, Paul Schmitt, Paul McDaniel and a few others have been my mentors. It's hard for me to stray from their Books, Research & Guidance. I need to be more open to other's ideas. Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukasz Gaszewski Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 Hello Doc, hello All,I haven't been posting for a couple of days. As promised, here is a photo of the non-enameled type of the Air Force Medal. Enjoy!Obverse: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukasz Gaszewski Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 And reverse: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukasz Gaszewski Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 And for comparison: another example of the enameled type (can you see the difference between this and Doc's medal?). Lukasz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley1965 Posted February 22, 2007 Author Share Posted February 22, 2007 Lukasz,Interesting that the enamel squares are in different locations. Thanks for posting!!! Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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