Gentlemen not my forte, I inherited these badges some time ago, they are wartime Italian (Axis I presume) is there someone out there who knows what these badges are, I assume a cap badge and two collar badges ?
Help, WW2 Italian badges for I.D.
Gentlemen not my forte, I inherited these badges some time ago, they are wartime Italian (Axis I presume) is there someone out there who knows what these badges are, I assume a cap badge and two collar badges ?
Re: Help, WW2 Italian badges for I.D.
Hi Steve,
Of the two 'Fasces' badges you show, the one wity the two holes for stitching it on is a MVSN (Blackshirt) later CCNN, or PNF ( National Fascist Party) forage cap badge.
The other one appears to have had a single central lug that has snapped off. This could have been threaded with a hexagonal nut, or an internally threaded lug to which a screw could be tightened into. These were affixed into a daggers handle.
The really interesting badge shaped like a shield saying 'Zona XIII CCNN' stands for Zone/Division 13 Camiecie Nere (Black shirts). From the time Mussolini came to power in the 1920's, Italy was divided into 14 zones or divisions. The red and black paint on your badge shows that the 13th zone was Apulia, now more commonly called Puglia. This area is located as the 'Heel' in the 'Boot' of Italy.
Each Black shirt division badge bore different centres according to what part of the unit they belonged to, i.e. Fasces = Command, Crossed rifles = Infantry, Grenade = Artillery and, as yours is, Gladius (Short sword) = Assault troops.
The badge was worn on the left sleeve above the elbow, but was eventually abolished in June 1940. Hope this helps.
Regards, Ned.
'I do not think we can hope for any better thing now.
We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course, and the end cannot be far.
It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. SCOTT.
Last Entry - For God's sake look after our people.'
In memory of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans. South Pole Expedition, 30th March 1912.
Re: Help, WW2 Italian badges for I.D.
Ned, thanks for that, it certainly does help, super info, I knew somebody would know ! I forgot to add that the larger of the two ''Fasces'' badge had a single piece of brass wire (it broke off, I have never got round to re-soldering it back on) formed into prongs soldered on the back, not a threaded lug.... I inherited these from my late father-in-law about ten years ago, he took the items from an Italian POW in the Naples area. He served as a Don R in the Signals Corps, in Algeria (Operation Torch),Tunisia,Italy (Salerno) ending up in Vienna. I have his entire ''adventures'' in diaries he kept at the time (against regulations!), I shall be making more threads of his items over the next few days.....Thanks again,
Prost !...Steve.
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