Pilot Badge

Design:

The pilot badge takes the form of a massive swooping eagle clutching a mobile swastika in it’s talons. The eagle is superimposed on a wreath of half laurel (left) and half oak leaves (right). The wreath imagery is carried over from the Imperial flight badge series. The Luftwaffe pilot badge portrays an image of unbridled aggression and ferocity.

Materials, Construction and Finish:

As with most Third Reich items, the pilot badge can be found in materials of different quality. Aluminum, nickel-silver, plated tombak, plated alloy and lacquered zinc were all used. Pre and early war versions tend to be executed in high quality nickel and tombak, while the mid to late war pieces tend to be of the alloy and zinc variety. Aluminum was used in the late 1930’s, but was rather quickly deemed unsuitable. Original aluminum badges are prized for their rarity and pristine finish. Pin assemblies are normally nickel or nickel plated tombak on earlier badges. Later types often have pins and hinges made of steel or alloy.

The eagle and wreath are struck from an appropriate metal and always display good detail. Many early and high quality versions are made using a technique called die forging, which involves metal stock being heated until red hot and malleable. Theraw material is then struckwith an open die under tons of pressure. The resulting image is then removed and cooled. This process creates intricate patterns and multi-dimensional designs without undue wear on the toolings. The result is a crisp, detailed image with quite prominent die strike lines. The cooling process often renders small fissures in the image known as “cold shunts”. The fissures look like tiny folds or cracks and are often only apparent under magnification. The components are hand finished, which can render a slightly different outline to badges by the same maker. This feature is most obvious in the wingtip feathers, talon/swastika area and wreath.

All pilot badges, even those made of inferior materials, are of a multi-piece, two rivet construction. The size and shape of the rivets vary with the maker and quality of the badge. High quality versions tend to have small, symmetrical precision rivets. Cheaper types use larger button rivets or even ones that are “squashed” into place. The high quality product of one maker, Gebruder Wegerhoff of Ludenscheid (GWL), has countersunk rivets with a tiny hollow “divet” in the center. A feature to look for on higher quality pilot badges is the presence of solder neatly built up around the base of the rivet where it attaches to the back of the eagle. This was often done to stabilize the rivet and give a better surface for riveting. This is a quality touch not normally found on restrikes and reproductions.

High quality pilot badges are almost always found with neatly soldered barrel hinges and catches formed from stout wire. The catches are neatly finished on the free end and are soldered directly to the wreath. Again, high quality GWL badges are a notable exception. They have small block hinges and catches that look like a tiny claw. Cheaper pilot badges often have hinges and catches attached with soldering plates of various designs. This technique was used to expand the surface area of the soldering point on components made of inferior, lead based alloys. The pin on virtually all original pilot badges is the needle type. On hi0gh quality versions, it is soldered directly into the barrel hinge, while on cheaper versions it can be found looped through the hinge in a shepherd’s crook shape. The tip of the pin is normally pointed or finished in a dome-like shape.

Regardless of quality, the pilot badge is always finished with a dark, oxidized eagle and silver wreath. On high quality badges made of nickel silver or nickel silver plated tombak, the eagle is chemically darkened and the wreath is chemically frosted in a matte silver. The highlights of the wreath are often burnished to a shine, leaving the frosting behind in the recessed areas. The result is an exceptionally attractive badge with a pronounced three dimensional look. Cheaper badges use thin plating and lacquer washes to achieve the appropriate colors. These badges, while acceptable products, pale in comparison to their high quality counterparts.