US 17th Airborne Patch

[BrodieBartfast]

Hello folks, long time no post.

After a long time away and quite a few new purchases, I thought I'd dip back in and post a few of them. The latest is this one, a 17th Airborne Division patch and accompanying tab. It was a bit of a gamble, as I know there are some very good reproductions of WWII Airborne insignia lurking about, but the price seemed reasonable, and I thought everything looked okay from the seller's photos. It seemingly has the correct 'snowy' backing and cut edge associated with WWII-era patches, and appears to have the remains of cut thread attached to the back of it. The patch and tab are not attached to one another, and likely don't belong together anyway, but hopefully both are genuine.

Hope I did okay with this one!



B.B.

[Luftwaffe 1941]

Looks good to me! I'd say both are WWII genuine. I really love the cut threads on the back too. Let's you know they were actually worn. A good deal of the loose WWII U.S. patches out there are unissued.

Hopefully someone more versed in U.S. patches can chime in though.

[BrodieBartfast]

Looks good to me! I'd say both are WWII genuine. I really love the cut threads on the back too. Let's you know they were actually worn. A good deal of the loose WWII U.S. patches out there are unissued.

Hopefully someone more versed in U.S. patches can chime in though.

Thanks, I did think they looked correct, just hoping they're not one of the very good reproductions I've heard stories about! Glad to see you're still here on the forum too

B.B.

[paulscoot]

Hi Brodie, Both look good to me also but i am far from an expert on U.S. patches & as you say , the repro's are getting better. I do collect U.S. patches & as long as construction & design looks correct to me i'm happy (as they are relatively cheap when compared to TR) Black light testing could be helpful but then again who knows if they had been washed in modern detergent? Here are my pair that came out of an album, Slight differences but how many factories churned these out. Regards Paul

[BrodieBartfast]

Hi Brodie, Both look good to me also but i am far from an expert on U.S. patches & as you say , the repro's are getting better. I do collect U.S. patches & as long as construction & design looks correct to me i'm happy (as they are relatively cheap when compared to TR) Black light testing could be helpful but then again who knows if they had been washed in modern detergent? Here are my pair that came out of an album, Slight differences but how many factories churned these out. Regards Paul

Thanks, Paul. I did get this one very cheaply, which is why I was suspicious, but a quick check of prices on the web showed it wasn't much below average. It seems to be the 101st patches that go for big money these days, or comparatively as opposed to anything German. Is that paper or cardboard on the back of your tab?

B.B.

[paulscoot]

Anything 101st does seem to command the big bucks (band of brothers interest , i expect the same price increases with 8th airforce now we've had Masters of the air!) My patches have paper & cardboard residue from being once glued in an album so i got them for cheap also. Regards Paul .

[Rakkasan187]

B.B.

Both patches are WW2 era and authentic. No worries. I agree 100% with Paul's assessment. Now some of the variations of the 17th patch will go for a lot of money, i.e. attached AIRBORNE tab, British made, red colored talons and other variations, but the standard issue patches are still affordable.

The 17th Airborne Division has been overshadowed but they made very significant contributions during the Battle of the Bulge and later their claim to fame was Operation Varsity (Jump across the Rhine in March 1945). I have two pieces of parachute made into scarfs (bibs) from a Lieutenant that jumped during Operation Varsity.

Smitty

[BrodieBartfast]

B.B.

Both patches are WW2 era and authentic. No worries. I agree 100% with Paul's assessment. Now some of the variations of the 17th patch will go for a lot of money, i.e. attached AIRBORNE tab, British made, red colored talons and other variations, but the standard issue patches are still affordable.

The 17th Airborne Division has been overshadowed but they made very significant contributions during the Battle of the Bulge and later their claim to fame was Operation Varsity (Jump across the Rhine in March 1945). I have two pieces of parachute made into scarfs (bibs) from a Lieutenant that jumped during Operation Varsity.

Smitty

Thank you, Smitty! US insignia isn't an area I venture into often, only having previously been gifted some by a collector friend, so it's good to know my first foray into it was successful. Things like those scarfs are the kind of unique items that take pride of place in our collections. Did you know the Lieutenant personally, or were they acquired with provenance?

B.B.

[Rakkasan187]

The scarfs were obtained from his son at his late father's estate sale. When I have a minute, I will post some images of them (in a separate thread). The Lt was also mentioned in one of the WW2 books written by General James Gavin "On to Berlin". When I went to the house I was invited into the living room where I recall seeing about 10 Third Reich daggers that his father had brought home with him. He was not selling those, but I was able to get the scarfs and a few other small pieces of US items..

Smitty

[BrodieBartfast]

The scarfs were obtained from his son at his late father's estate sale. When I have a minute, I will post some images of them (in a separate thread). The Lt was also mentioned in one of the WW2 books written by General James Gavin "On to Berlin". When I went to the house I was invited into the living room where I recall seeing about 10 Third Reich daggers that his father had brought home with him. He was not selling those, but I was able to get the scarfs and a few other small pieces of US items..

Smitty

The provenance always makes these things better, and more personal. Mass produced field equipment and insignia have their own niche, but items that tell a story will always trump those in my opinion. It reminds you that these wars were fought by human beings, that they were more than just black and white photos in a history book.

Of course, there’s always the worry that those stories will be forgotten, but that’s half of the whole hobby: Passing history, both physical and factual, onto the next generation.

B.B.