polish parachute collar kites ww2?

[ADE DAVIES]

Hi Could I have your opinion on what i believe to be Polish Parachute kites .Not something I have seen before in this design so would be grateful of any views.

[Gary J]

I have seen the metal parachutes in this style a few times ..... their "workshop" made.
The material sections are too long foe the standard issue .. BUT, if the parachutes were hand made, there is a good probability the backings were also "custom" made at the same time.

Gary J.

[jamest8]

Excuse my ignorance but does the cylinder instead of the man denote something in particular or is it just that they were workshop made so did not have the facilities to sculpt the man?

James

[Gary J]

Easier to sculpture ... and a copy of the British material "light-bulb" parachute qualification patch.

[dastier]

Excuse my ignorance but does the cylinder instead of the man denote something in particular or is it just that they were workshop made so did not have the facilities to sculpt the man?

James

Good question James, I was wondering the same thing too. I thought maybe some sort of air supply rigger badge.

[ADE DAVIES]

Thanks very much for your help on this .Good to have a good find every now and then.

[Jan Portland]

Hi,

I have one of these metal collar badges, and they were made for officers as in my case for the Medical section. If the backing is velvet then it is for an Officer. The backing for yours I am unsure of as the picture is unclear as to the backing colour.

This type is was one of the first types in metal for Officers. I also have an aluminium collar in the 1942 style of metal for other ranks.

Regards,

Jan Portland

[Jan Portland]

Just as a back up the parachute canopy is copper, with a silver wash, as is the container. The rigging lines are metal threads. With regards to the backing on yours I think it has been added at some stage and my records do not show any unit with those colours. This is not to say that they are not genuine. They seem quite long but stranger things have happened to insignia. With regards to the style of the container, who knows what this could be. Most certainly it would appear to be for some supply unit, but as this is a one off 1st pattern and quite rare, it may well have beeen experimental. Either way you have a rare piece.

[Gary J]

Jan,
Out of interest, could you measure up the canopy section against the diameter of an old halfpenny ... ?
I've a suspicion this section might have been modeled from one of these .... (I know the Poles used to melt down old shilling pieces for their silver to cast badges, and in the same vein, a ready rounded piece of "copper" would be quite easy to work.)

[ADE DAVIES]

I have not got a halfpenny to measure them against but have used a ruler and reckon they are about 17.5 M&M.The backing appears to be yellow felt.Hope that throws some light on them.Thanks for your interset