Cold War era Soviet Airborne Badges

[leibermuster]

Its communist but not Warsaw Pact, since that Cold War Era counterpart to Nato had broken up. For me, that is the issue.

The difference in number is the number of jumps.

That makes sense. 400 seems like a Lot of jumps to me. Is there any way to determine the date of the badge on the right?

[desantnik]

Gentlemen,

These badges were made by several firms, not just one factory so there are production differences.

Also, in true Soviet planned economy fashion, badges were manufactured, not necessary according to demand. I've seen the style of the badge depicted on the right side go up to "500".

Incidentally, the numbers of these badges though high, were not out of the ordinary in the Soviet Union. Unlike the US (I can't answer for other countries), they started jumping early in para-military/civilian sport clubs such as DOSAAF as teenagers. These early jumps and even strictly "civilian" jumps were counted in their jump totals. The US military by comparison only counts jumps while in uniform from military aircraft wearing military gear, etc. Not to say one system is better than the other, just different standards. I met many jumpers wearing multiple hundreds on their badges.

I was in the 82d ABN both times I jumped in Russia and had to get official paperwork to wear the badge. I'm one of the few US military members who has a hammer and sickle on my uniform .

[leibermuster]

Gentlemen,

These badges were made by several firms, not just one factory so there are production differences.

Also, in true Soviet planned economy fashion, badges were manufactured, not necessary according to demand. I've seen the style of the badge depicted on the right side go up to "500".

Incidentally, the numbers of these badges though high, were not out of the ordinary in the Soviet Union. Unlike the US (I can't answer for other countries), they started jumping early in para-military/civilian sport clubs such as DOSAAF as teenagers. These early jumps and even strictly "civilian" jumps were counted in their jump totals. The US military by comparison only counts jumps while in uniform from military aircraft wearing military gear, etc. Not to say one system is better than the other, just different standards. I met many jumpers wearing multiple hundreds on their badges.

I was in the 82d ABN both times I jumped in Russia and had to get official paperwork to wear the badge. I'm one of the few US military members who has a hammer and sickle on my uniform .

I bet that turns some heads in the officers lounge!

[desantnik]

I bet that turns some heads in the officers lounge!

Not really, although it's a large badge, the H&S part is only the size of the head of a pencil eraser. Moreover, most people including military have no idea what the badge is. Since it is worn as a foreign insignia on the right breast, most think it is an odd US DUI (Distinctive Unit Inisigna).

[Mike G.]

I think these basically represent the three types of Soviet Airborne Badges. The East German counterpart was one type only, although the numbering system was similar in that they too had a military sport club that encompassed sport para as part of its curriculum. Some of the numbers appearing on East German para badges were specifically reserved for the Stasi. I wonder if there was a similar numbering system for the KGB?

Following are the basic and some Excellant Soviet Airborne badges.

I suspect the first one is going to be representative of the type of para badge awarded to Desantnik for his first initial jump with the former Red Bear.

[Mike G.]

The next group represent a cross section of Soviet Instructor para badges. They span the spectrum from 100 to 1000.

[desantnik]

Michael, there also exists an earlier (1968?) version with no lower hangars whatsoever. I've seen it referred to as the '68 version, but am not entirely certain when it was made.

[Greg Collins]

Hey Michael, look at the Instructor badge at the top left (100). Notice the chute shape compared to the rest in the image. This is the difference you referred to a few posts back. In fact, the plane and the trooper are also different on this particular badge. Ah, variations!

[Mike G.]

I've seen it also but do not have an example of it. The reference books I have show two versions without the attached hanger. One is a blank Basic Parachutist qualification badge - the other, also without attached hanger, is for an Excellant qualified parachutist. I was not able to acquire either version when in Berlin in 89, although I did see them. The owner would not part with them.