Luftwaffe long service award in white ribbon?

[Larry L]

Gentlemen,
Here is strange ribbon bar.
Luftwaffe long service award is in white ribbon. Ribbon bar is quite dirty and rusty, but the ribbon is definately white (or has been).

Have you seen white ribbons on those?
Yes, I have double and triple checked that there are no traces of blue on that ribbon. Is it possible that it has faded so thoroughly?

L

ps. Yes, pics are crap, but what can you do with artificial light and 1st generation digicam.

[Gene]

Larry,

I have seen this a lot on ribbon bars, where the blue fades to near-white. I believe that's the case with your bar too--

Gene

[Larry L]

Thanks Gene, that's what I suspected, but it was strange, because if you peek under the eagle it is white there too.

Thanks for your info.

L

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello Larry,

I have also seen this same effect on Long Service ribbon bars. I agree that it is simply due to fading and/or sun-bleaching. Must have been something in the dye that made it very susceptible to color loss.
Best regards! Tom

[Larry L]

Thanks Tom!

Gene&Tom, have you encountered this on other colors too?

L

[Gene]

I have, yes. I've seen it happen with Westwall ribbons and other colors too

[Tom Yanacek]

Gene&Tom, have you encountered this on other colors too?

L

Hello Larry,
Yes, I have noticed this effect on other ribbon colors as well. I have noticed it on the redish-orange of the Olympic Service Medal, the green of the Italian/German Campaign in Africa Medal, and the yellow central stripe in the Spanish Blue Division Medal, the red central stripe of the Czech Occupation Medal, the red in the Austrian Occupation Medal, and the reds of EKII's and KVK's. The fading has never been quite to the extent that I have observed as on the cornflower blue of some Long Service ribbons though.
Best regards! Tom

[Larry L]

Thanks Gene & Tom for your input!

I checked with microscope that ribbon, not a single trace of blue particles, quite total color loss.

L

[landsknechte]

Here's my most dramatic example of fading:



Granted there is some light-based fading on the blue of the Treue dem Regiment in 5th place and the Freidrichsorden / Crown Order in last place. The ribbon in 2nd place is a Saxon Abrechtsorden that has faded to a slightly creamy white, far out of proportion to the level of fading present everywhere else. There remains a very faint hint of color on the reverse, but absolutely nothing under the swords. (The blue is verdegris on the swords.)

What little remains is most visible on the bottom side. Now having the benefit (?) of being able to see through the moth nips on the backing, it becomes apparent that the ribbon was fading drastically in areas that weren't exposed to all that much light.



--Chris

[Larry L]

Chris, thanks for sharing that ribbon bar.
Indeed, very heavy fading. That's interesting how the fading could be so much stronger in blue ribbons.

L

[landsknechte]

Chris, thanks for sharing that ribbon bar.
Indeed, very heavy fading. That's interesting how the fading could be so much stronger in blue ribbons.

L

There was a thread on here a while back, where a named ribbon bar surfaced, along with photos to show that the blue long service ribbons had completely faded out before 1945!

It is interesting... It seems like blues are definately the most prone to outright fading, while certain shades of red just shift over a notch or two on the color wheel.

Here's another dramatic one: