Cased BSW Pilot Badge

Product Description: This cased BSW Pilot Badge is a gorgeous set, in outstanding condition. The handsome badge is a top quality, early production example. It’s made of nickel silver. The eagle shows excellent detail, and still retains most of the original, factory applied dark finish, with only minimal wear. The wreath still shows most of the original silver electroplated finish. The silver shows attractive age toning and patina, and the intact remnants of high relief burnishing have a mirror-like shine. The reverse of the eagle and wreath are flat and smooth, with the typical appearance of BSW production. The “cloverleaf” BSW mark is stamped on the back of the eagle. The hardware setup is intact and functional, with no repairs, and is textbook for this maker, with the expected “question mark” style round wire catch. This gem of a badge is housed in an original case. The case is correct for this badge, and is very nice, with only minimal wear to the exterior. The inscription on the lid identifies the case as being for a Luftwaffe Pilot Badge. The case functions with no issues. Inside, the high quality, early lining is complete and intact, and shows off the badge beautifully. This cased BSW Pilot Badge has wonderful visual appeal, and would be very tough to upgrade. The condition rates as near mint.

Historical Description: The Luftwaffe Pilot Badge was instituted by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring on August 12, 1935. It was among the earliest badges introduced in the German Wehrmacht and was worn by all qualified pilots in the German Air Force, similar to the “wings” worn by some other armies. The design of the badge featured a large, swooping eagle clutching the German national swastika emblem, surrounded by a wreath of oak and laurel leaves. The badge was normally presented in a blue hinged case. It was worn on the upper left uniform pocket, and a cloth version was also authorized for field use. In the nearly ten years from the introduction of this badge, to the end of WWII, the manufacturers of these awards made many changes in the features of the designs. Some companies, like Juncker, Assmann, and Deumer, had early first pattern badges which looked completely different from later pieces by the same manufacturers. Pilot badges were made of aluminum, nickel silver, plated Tombak, and zinc. The eagle was always a separate piece, riveted to the wreath, with different manufacturers using different rivet designs. As the war progressed, and dies wore out, many makers produced badges with subtle changes. All of these changes, over time, opened up a large spectrum of variation collecting for Luftwaffe badge collectors.

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