Soviet Navy and Army Excellent Badges

[Chris S]

These are the badges that were the predecessors of the WW2 and early 50ties series of excellent badges

The top two Excellent in Navy in silver and bronze...the bottom...Excellent in Army...these were 38-41 issues.

Chris

[Chris S]

The back of the silver Navy Badge 7341

Chris

[Chris S]

The Bronze Navy badge interestingly with a lower number of 5321 so I think that time served or rank may have determined a silver or bronze award.

I always tended to think that the metal content changed due to time...now I think it may be a bit of both.

Chris

[Chris S]

The back of the Army badge...also came in a flat back version...

Chris

[Guest Rick Research]

Size comparison of the navy badge with a WW2 Guards badge:

Here is mine, which is numbered 1480 on back. It has a customized brass plate in the shape of the badge that the owner must have made as an anti-wrinkling measure. The disk, which appears to be original, is marked to the Victory Factory in Moscow suggesting that it was after the war started.

Notice that thanks to the airtight custom back plate, there remains full silvered/nickled finish on the BACK, while the front of this crude TINY little badge has been well polished and appears completely bronze. I suspect that these were originally nickled on front too--like the Rialways series of badges--but that surfaces exposed to air have simply had the finish evaporate off as also happened with German badges of the period.

[Guest Rick Research]

This 1942 decree (no month or day to the bestowal authorization) naval excellence award booklet is numbered "8782"

inside

Recipient Comrade Pavel (Mitrofanovich???) Panov looks rather like a very young Clint Eastwood. Thanks to the pre-1943 naval insignia regulations, nothing shows and I have NO clue what his rank was, since the part filled in doesn't say. It was hand signed by then-Captain but later Lieutenant General of Administration A. leksandr V. Zorin (1907-1994) as Chief of Naval Command Staff Administration.

Ther are 7 pages of text.

[Chris S]

Rick

I am sure like a lot of bronze badges they had a nickel finish...yes, I am sure the proud owner of his badge polished it!

Great to see an award booklet.

Chris