German WWII Luftwaffe Pilot’s Badge by Juncker-This is an early production tombak example with beautiful details and highlights. The eagle is attached to the wreath with a pair of very small rivets. The reverse of the eagle is stamped by the maker, C.E. Juncker, Berlin SW. The pin assembly functions properly. The reverse features a barrel hinge soldered directly to the badge with a narrow long pin. The catch is “C” shaped round wire and soldered directly to the badge. They don’t come much better than this.
History: The badge was officially adopted by the Luftwaffe on March 26th, 1936, by order of Hermann Göring. The Pilot’s Badge was awarded on an individual basis to personnel who had successfully completed the appropriate theory and flight training and had achieved their pilot's license. As with other flyer’s specialty badges, a cloth version of the Pilot’s Badge was authorized for wear on the flight blouse, with a machine embroidered pattern for EM/NCOs and a hand embroidered pattern for Officers. The two-piece badge is in the form of a vertically oval wreath with a separate burnished silver finished, stylized, spread winged eagle in flight, clutching a swastika mounted on the wreath. The eagle is attached to the wreath by two small dome headed rivets which are visible to the reverse. The vertically oval wreath features embossed laurel leaves to the left side and oak-leaves to the right side.