Juncker Heer Flak Badge

Product Description: This Juncker Heer Flak Badge is a worn piece, with great character. It is struck from fine zinc. The obverse retains a fair amount of the original silvering in the recesses of the design, with some wear and age that reveals the gray color of the base metal. It’s a nice strike, and retains nearly all of the original detail, with some evident wear to high points. The reverse of this badge is flat, and most of the original silver finish is present, with some typical slight bubbling. It is nicely maker marked, with “C. E. Juncker Berlin SW68” indicating manufacture by this particularly prestigious and desirable maker. The hardware is textbook for Juncker, with a barrel hinge, round wire pin, and sheet metal catch with catch plate. The catch is affixed with the original solder, but the hinge appears to have been reattached at some point; the area below the hinge has what looks like file marks, probably from removing excess solder when it was repaired. It is of course impossible to know exactly when this was repaired, but the overall appearance suggests this may well have been done by or for the original wearer of the badge. This Juncker Heer Flak Badge is a nice, representative, worn piece, marked by a desirable maker. The condition rates as good.

Historical Description: On the 18th of July 1941, the Heer Flak Badge was institiuted by the OKW. It was intended to award personnel of Army and Waffen-SS units for the downing of enemy aircraft. Like the Luftwaffe version, its awarding was based upon a point system.  16 points were required for the qualification of the badge, which still had to then be reviewed and authorized by the units commanders.  While the devastating 88mm guns were used with great effect against ground targets such as tanks and other vehicles, no points would be credited towards the Heer Flak Badge by engaging ground units. This award was strictly for the downing aircraft.

The badge itself is of a somewhat simple design.  An 88mm gun resting on a gun emplacement was surrounded by an oakleaves wreath. Placed at the top is the “Reichsadler” eagle clutching a mobile swastika.  These badges are found primarily in zinc, but a rarer form does exist in a higher quality tombak/brass base metal.

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