APB on weitze.net

[heinrich66]

Hello,

i just handled the APB on the site www.weitze.net last Saturday. And i saw some differences between this one and the "common" APB's.
1. Thicker wreath.
2. Different needle - equal to some pre war Juncker badges.
3 Head of the eagle.

Any comments?

Greetings

Heinrich

[Prosper Keating]

Aha! I wondered when someone would spot this. It is one of the things that needs to be included in an update or second edition of the article by Eric Queen and myself which appears elsewhere on this website. I am working, as and when time permits, on an update which will be published on my website.

This is what we call the "Type 2b". It is a 2nd pattern aluminium APB but the wreath is 0.5mm thicker than the 1st pattern and early 2nd pattern badges. The same dies were used but a spacer - like, for example, the head gasket or compression plate in a motor - was obviously interposed between the dies. The hinge and pin assembly of the 'Type 2b' badges is also, as you spotted, slightly different: the pin has a far sharper point than the earlier pins and the hinge assembly is slightly narrower than the earlier arrangement.

These badges were very fragile and tended to break up in wear. If you look in Eric Queen's book, Red Shines The Sun, you will see several examples of APBs with period repairs by their owners and, in some cases, by professional craftsmen. So the prewar aluminium APB was in a constant state of evolution throughout its short lifespan.

First of all, we have the 1st pattern 'extended talon' APB. It is unlikely that there was more than one minimum production run - perhaps 500 units - of the 1st pattern before the introduction of the modified 2nd pattern badges. Sometime during that production run, Juncker obviously modified the dies to beef up the diving eagle's talons, one of the weak points, but the result was ugly. You can see this in Eric's book. Let's call this one the Type 1b. Then we have the Type 1c, which is a first pattern badge with the wreath extensively hand-chased with fine files as on the 2nd pattern badges and, most importantly, the 'beard' beneath the army eagle's beak, in reality a portion of die flashing left intact to strengthen the eagle's head, another weak point.

Then we have the 2nd pattern badge, which comprised a wreath struck on the same dies as the 1st pattern badges, but with a greater degree of hand-finishing and the 'bearded' army eagle, and a completely new diving eagle. Presumably their experimentation with the 1st pattern dies in the area of the diving eagle's talons had ruined the dies, hence the complete redesign of the eagle. And then we have the Type 2b, the badge Heinrich has asked about, with the thicker wreath and different hinge and pin assembly. And if we want to get really pedantic, we could call the Ludwig badge, the only 2nd pattern APB known to exist with a C E Juncker hallmark (the hallmark found on all 1st pattern aluminium badges), the Type 2c.





This is the reverse of the 'normal' or early 2nd pattern APB. Note the hinge and pin assembly. This example has a period repair, a neatly replaced hook. Many aluminium APBs have broken or repaired hooks as these were made of round wire stock, in aluminium, and were extremely fragile, yet for all their experimentation and modification during the 18-month life of the badge, Juncker never rectified this glaring weakness!





And here is the reverse of a 'Type 2b' badge. Note how the slightly different dimensions of the hinge and pin assembly. Not shown in this photo is the pointed end of the pin. So below is another study of the same badge. In summary, therefore, there are no less than six identifiable types of prewar aluminium Army Parachustists' Badge.

But before the usual suspects start suggesting that this could mean that their fake APBs are genuine wartime 'variants', let me emphasise once again that the badges were all made on the same series of dies by C E Juncker and that the 1943 issue in feinzink was struck on the same dies as the prewar aluminium - and silver - 2nd pattern badges.

Prosper Keating

[Prosper Keating]

The 'Type 2b' Army Parachutists' Badge 1938 by C E Juncker.

[Dan T]

Really interesting and very well researched.
Thanks PK.

[Steve T]

The Weitze APB is about the best condition original example of the 2B type I have seen.

It is really unfortunate it has a striking error at the head of the eagle (making it look like it has no head), otherwise it's beauty.

[heinrich66]

Hello,

great answer! Thanks very much.

Greetings

Heinrich