Cloth Luftwaffe Pilots Badge

Product Description: This cloth Luftwaffe Pilots Badge is an unissued original piece. This pattern of embroidered cloth badge is said to have been preferred by some pilots on flight clothing as it was less likely to snag than a metal badge. This example is embroidered on a backing of typical wartime type Luftwaffe blue-gray wool. The flying eagle and swastika is neatly executed in gray thread, surrounded by a silver embroidered wreath. The embroidery shows very slight toning but no damage. The backing fabric shows no stitch holes or any other traces of wear, and is complete, with the exception of two very small moth nips. The reverse of this Cloth Luftwaffe Pilots Badge has no backing, and shows the typical “snowy” look common on these, with white bobbin thread. It has been neatly trimmed neatly all the way around, which is how these left the factory. This is an appealing and textbook example of this award type, in excellent condition overall.

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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