POLISH Knedler PILOTS BADGE ....ORIGINAL ?? opinions sought !!

[arrestingu]

Hi,
Before I splash out on this knedler pilots badge I have been offered . I would like the forums opinion on originality .
Thanks for your anticipated help
Steve

[arrestingu]

Any advice on the badges ORIGINALITY greatfully received.
Thanks
Steve

[StefanM]

I am not knowledgeable enough to really be of help, but I do think the spinner is of such poor quality I find it hard to believe a highly regarded producer of Polish badges such as Knedler would make something lacking in crisp detail....would you?

The suspension chain also lacks weight and quality IMO.

This Knedler wing is from the first post in the PAF thread:

[arrestingu]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply ,iam aware that knedler were produced early war ...copied even and were not high quality as earlier pieces ....
hence the question,as I am aware that the quality lacks !!
best wishes
Steve

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi Steve,

There was no early war production of Knedler produced pilot's wings as he was a producer located in Poland and all production effectively ceased as of the German / Soviet invasion in September 1939.

The badge you have appears to be a “warsztatowy” version produced in 1940. These were made in the mechanical workshops for Polish airmen now stationed in the UK after arriving from Poland in 1939 and France in 1940. As there were no official UK based producers yet these badges were produced by making cast replicas of pre-war examples (inclding the maker marked spinners) that did survive the journey. I’d like to see a picture of the reverse of your badge with the spinner removed, but regardless, it appears OK.

Posted below is one of these “copies” that forms part of a uniform grouping obtained from the family of the collector that was given the uniform by the pilot himself in 1976. The evidence suggests that this pilot (Michał Michniewicz, F/Lt, pil., VM, KWx2 - 318th Fighter Reconnaissance Squadron) kept this copy rather than obtain one of the officially produced versions by British makers such as Firmin, Spink or Gaunt. As you can see, this pilot also opted to do away with the chain / hook fastening.







Regards,
Tony

[arrestingu]

Thanks !! I have enclosed a better pic of the spinner !!
best wishes as always
steve

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Some more examples:















Cheers,
Tony

[arrestingu]

Thanks mate....can you please advise what you think of this one ???

thanks again steve

PS its full size !!!

[A.J. Zawadzki]

And one more post to add. The spinner with your badge is the smaller of two sizes found on Knedler pre-WW2 air force badges. Here's an example on the Dęblin Air Force Officer's School badge:





Here's another early cast badge, this time a hat eagle, which also has the same small Knedler spinner as yours:




T.

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Thanks mate....can you please advise what you think of this one ???

I like it! Modified pin fastening, but looks period correct. The hook for the chain has been lost though.

Regards,
Tony