Return Of The High Seas,part3

[MMM]

Is this better? Any opinions?

[MMM]

back

[Philippe DB]

Looks like a good one to me. One of the two accepted set-up variants on these zinc Fo HSF's, here is the other one.


KR
Philippe

[MMM]

Always take your word for it Phillippe

[skip]

Yours is probably the last type (late war) because of the cast in hinge. Philippes example is probably an earlier one. Both acceptable IMO

Skip

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi MMM, these pics are a big improvement on those from last night


I have one of these zinc "FO" made HSF badges, which matches yours, but mine has a (broken) cast in catch.

Cheers, Ade.

[Adrian Stevenson]

reverse.

[Lorenzo Brown]

The hinge looks correct but the catch is usually cast-in like on this example.

[Philippe DB]

Well on second thougth the catch base one MMM's badge for sure looks part of the badge. Maybe the catch was soldered on the original remains of the cast in catch after that broke just like on Ade's example. Your holding the badge MMM, what do you think is the catch base a part of the badge?

KR
Philippe

[mrg]

Hi MMM, much better pics, i agree with the other forum members, good original award, catch thou could be a possible pre war replacement, or maybe a mistake?. My own F.O award is the same as Philippe.All the best.

[MMM]

Its really hard to tell guys, the catch looks to be 2 pieces, but I really cant tell-.It looks to well done to be a replacement, ill fotograph it better.

[George Stimson]

The catches on these must have been notorious breakers. Here's the repair job on mine.

[George Stimson]

Another view. The remains of the cast-in catch are clearly visible.

[Lorenzo Brown]

Yours is probably the last type (late war) because of the cast in hinge. Philippes example is probably an earlier one. Both acceptable IMO

Skip

Hi Skip. I respectfully must disagree.

If you study these badges, including Philippe's representative example, you will notice the "double mark" that usually appears on the soldered badges...but not on the cast-in types. This is indicative of a re-worked die.

I believe that the cast-in type were the early type that were later re-worked to accomodate the soldered hinge and drilled-in catch.

I believe that the cast-in variety was the first example and later changed to the soldered type , possibly due to the apparant breakage of the the catches that were repaired, as evidenced by the examples shown on this thread.

Also notice that all other "FO" badges (IAB, GAB, Destroyer, Sub) are of the soldered type. This indicates to me that the cast-in type was modified to the others to be consistent with the production techniques of "FO" at that time.

Just my opinion...but I am quite confident that the "Cast-in" type FO HSF was the earlier badge.

[skip]

Well of course you are entitled to your opinion Lorenzo but I am afraid that I must stick to mine. The reason is that after handling a few of these the quality on the soldered ones is a lot better than the cast in type. Also, why would you change the production to include more work (soldering hook to plate, plate to badge and hinge to badge) when you can just cast the whole assembly in. Your theory would also not match to what other manufacturers, especially Assmann, did in the late war period.
If you are thinking about the apparent weakness of the hook then why did´nt they just make a super thick hook like on the late Ground Assault badges. I also don´t think that these catches were any more flimsy that from other manufacturers, just look how thin the GWL catches are, they are usually still in one piece when you find them. The large amount of breaks on these is more than likely due to the narrow confines of a ship and getting snagged somewere.
Still, only my opinion on the matter and it could have been totally different.

Skip