Polish Paratroopers BD

[A.J. Zawadzki]

"But definitely used on uniform tunics"

...but rarely used on uniform tunics..
:-)

But used on uniform tunics

[dorava]

But used on uniform tunics

yes
but VERY rarely
and come to think of it..

havent seen them on a para tunic...
have you?

[Gary J]

Stasiak cites two Captains awarded the VM before the end of the war in Great Britain and three post war in Poland. unfortunately my Polish language skills leave a lot to be desired so detailed info. sparse

I was running with the records for VM awards for "Market-Garden" ... ..
.. In fact there were two possible Kpt.'s a Doctor and General staff officer ..
And the likely hood of the Doctor is nill ...
And the General Staff officer migrated to Australia post war ... and I really can't see this BD belonging to him.

The post war Kpt's in Poland would have placed themselves well and truly "in it" sporting/owning a western Allies BD and medal ribbons including a pre-war KW medal ribbon .. so no chance with them !

Gary J.

[Gary J]

Just to clarify on these points ...

Are we talking Service Dress Jackets or Battle Dress Jackets ?

Gary J.

yes
but VERY rarely
and come to think of it..

havent seen them on a para tunic...
have you?

[dorava]

in this case battle dress..
but i would say re para it might be hard to see used in either.
any research one way or another?

[dorava]

I have researched files..
photos and tunics...and all the para ones are similar ones..
none like the ones on the battle dress being sold......
does anyone have anything that is different?
One more thing, besides yours Tony, there is only one other dress tunic i saw with these rank stars..but i have never seen them used on a battle dress...
would love to see other examples...

[dorava]

another one...
a nice one,

[BDinExile]

This has grown into a stimulating discussion
In your opinion then gents, what is the verdict on the BD, good or Bad.
I understand that the collar is not typical open Polish style (especially at officer level) but there are exceptions. The type of rank stars are not typical for tunics, but, as Tony has shown, they were used on tunics as well. As with many Polish uniforms, variants are quite common. I recall here a photo that was posted on this forum of a Polish BD with a zipper instead of buttons. How many of us would jump the gun and say its faulty if we had no photo to prove its existence. Another photo that comes to mind is of a Polish soldier with a collar tab sewn onto his beret. Is the ribbon bar on the BD the only puzzle? How accurate are the VM recipient lists for the brigade?

Gary, the VM recipient who settled in Australia - do you know if he also got a KW and a Bronze Merit Cross with Swords?

[dorava]

those that commented have already shared with you their reasons for suspecting this BD is not good..
there is not much more they can add but the decision remains yours.

[A.J. Zawadzki]

. . . what is the verdict on the BD, good or Bad.

Hello BDinExile,

Any chance at those close up pics of the collar tab insignia? Please note that they need to be very sharply focused in order to pick up the crucial elements that differentiate the real ones from the fakes.

Further to dorava’s reply, even if the tabs turn out to be good my gut feel on this piece remains in agreement with Gary’s comments suspecting “that the BD has been got to, and there are additions”. It may very well have started out a genuine Polish issued BD (as it has some good things going for it), but you’ll need to decide whether $1000 is worth dropping on a piece that has lingering uncertainty. Remember, these are questions that will likely be raised again should you ever decide to sell it.

Regards,
Tony