Original German WWII Early Tombak Luftwaffe Pilot's Badge by F.W. Assmann & Söhne - Flugzeugführerabzeichen

Original Items: Only One Available. This is a very good condition lightly worn Luftwaffe Pilot's Badge, which looks to be of early war Tombak alloy construction. The "swooping eagle" is held on by the usual two rivets, and has a "blacked" finish, which is now worn on the raised areas. It has a non-magnetic vertical pin on the back, with a barrel hinge and bent wire catch, which was re-soldered to the badge at some point after breaking off.

Condition is very good with the original finish well retained on both the eagle and the wreath, with some light wear around the edges and raised areas. The silvering on the wreath is great, and the back of the eagle shows the original "blacked" finish very well. This is very close how one would have looked after being worn during the war for a time.

The back of the eagle is marked with the "barred A" trademark logo of F. W. Assmann & Söhne of Lüdenscheid, a large maker of belts, buttons, and other accoutrements. It has the correct distinctive "cupcake" rivets used by Assmann, and we have compared it to originals and it is an exact match. The pin on the back is fully functional, and checking with a magnet indicates that no steel was used to construct this badge. We did notice that the eagle is now a bit loose due to the rivets becoming loose in the wreath, and there is also the previously mentioned resoldered pin catch.

A good chance to pick up a lovely example of a classic Luftwaffe badge by a well-known maker!

The Luftwaffe Aviator / Pilot Badge (Flugzeugführerabzeichen or Pilotenabzeichen) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to Luftwaffe service personnel who completed flight training, receiving their flying license and citation. It was instituted on 26 March 1936 by the Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe Hermann Göring. It came in distinct types; nickel silver (changed to zinc during the war) and a variant made of gold. It depicts a silver eagle (Silberner Adler) perched atop a swas (hook cross), wings open in a landing pose, and surrounded by a wreath with laurel (Lorbeer) on the right side and oak leaf (Eichenlaub) branches on the left side, respectively. It was worn on the lower part of the left breast pocket of the service tunic, underneath the Iron Cross 1st Class if awarded.

The design is two part, with the eagle attached to the wreath by two rivets. The badge can be distinguished from the very similar Pilot/Observer Badge by the wreath; the Pilot's Badge has a silver wreath, while the Pilot/Observer badge has a gold wreath.