Is this a miniature stickpin of a Bavarian Pilots badge or ..?

[larsb001]

Hello All.

Here is a miniature stickpin of what I believe must be a Bavarian Pilots badge. Or is it actually something completely else? I have been through alot of threads here but haven't really found a match.

The badge is marked "Silber 950 L`Lerch München" on the reverse.

Any help is appreciated.

Lars

[Schießplatzmeister]

Hello Lars:

This is not an exact representation of a Bavarian Pilot's Qualification Badge. It does however have elements of that design: Bavarian Crown and pilot's badge shape and wreath. The center has the design of the "winged-propeller" which of course was the design of the epaulette device for the German Air Service. This is therefore in my opinion something which may have been available for Bavarian Air Service veteran's to purchase after the War. As to the exact date of manufacture, I can't be certain.

There are many others on this site who are Imperial German aviation experts who will certainly know more about this particular item.

Best regards,

"SPM"

[Mike K]

Hi,

From the limited investigations I've been able to undertake, this is not a Bavarian Pilot's badge stickpin. I understand it is the symbol of a WW1 Bavarian veteran flyer's association that was active in the 20s and early 30s. I have not been able to find out an exact name for the association. I've managed to pick up a single stickpin like the above and another in a tiny group which included a matching hat badge and what I think might be a sleeve badge with a related design.

Regards

Mike

[larsb001]

Hi Mike & SPM.

I was looking a little closer at previous posts and found a topic that were posted allmost 3 years ago by Ferg1 who showed a full size badge:

http://gmic.co.uk/in...=1&#entry275235

Ferg1 at that time gave the following explanation:

Quote: "it has the title of Erinnerungszeichen fur offiziere und mannschaften die nicht unter die mobilmachung fallen, in other words ,as far as I understand, it was given to indviduals who had trained and attained pilot status prior to August 1914 but were required to return to their army unit/duties at the time of mobilization. Apparently very few were given out and the bestowel is somewhat obscure/vague. D. Chaliffs book (for what it is worth) mentions that the details regarding the badges issuing appeared in a 1914 edition of the ' Armeeverordnungsblatt ' ."

It could be interesting if anyone had a copy of the 1914 Armeeverordnungsblatt to verify this - were there pics in that thing?

Mystery seems solved to a certain extent!

Lars