FLL Luftwaffe Pilots Badge

Product Description: This FLL Luftwaffe Pilots Badge is a beautiful and very desirable example. It’s a scarce, early version, struck from nickel silver. The eagle shows slight wear, with crisp original detail remaining to the wing feathers. The attractive gleam of the nickel silver on the swastika and high points of the eagle contrasts very handsomely with the original darkening remaining on the eagle’s body and wings. The wreath retains lots of original finish, which has toned dark with age. The reverse of this FLL Luftwaffe Pilots Badge has excellent finish, with gorgeous rainbow toning to the back of the eagle. There is no maker marking, but this variant of early badge is attributed to the firm of Friedrich Linden in Lüdenscheid (FLL). Every detail of this badge is textbook for this original variant, including the untouched rivets. The hardware is originally attached, and features a block hinge, “question mark” style catch, and functional round wire pin. This badge is a top quality gem, and is in excellent condition.

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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