Original Items: Only One Available. This is a very nice condition rare Luftwaffe Officer’s Hand Embroidered Pilot’s Badge. It features a silver bullion Eagle over an aluminum bullion mobile swas, which is surrounded by an aluminum wreath. Approximate measurements: 54 mm (h) x 68 mm (w). The badge has a blue wool felt background, however this is only about half present due to age and possibly mothing. Also the silver bullion has tarnished, so it now appears as a nice dark gray color.
The Pilotenabzeichen (Pilot’s Badge) of the Luftwaffe was instituted by Hermann Göring on 12 August 1935. It came in distinct types; nickel silver (changed to zinc during the war) and a variant made of gold. There was also a cloth version of the badge which used embroidered bullion for the officer’s version and cotton for the NCO’s version.
The badge depicts a silver eagle (Silberner Adler) perched atop a swas (Swas), wings open in a landing pose, and surrounded by a wreath with laurel (Lorbeer) on the right side and oak (Eichenlaub) branches on the left side, respectively. It was worn in the center of the left breast pocket of the service tunic, underneath the Iron Cross 1st Class if awarded. The badge was awarded after one completed flight training and the flying licence and citation were received.