Juncker SW68 Discussion

[Marc Garlasco]

Mark,

Maybe, but the Luft Flak J3 is Tombak and zinc and used the SW68 exclusively.

Marc

[mmiller]

Marc,

Do you mean that the J3 Flak was a zink wreath and Tombak eagle? Can we assume that the J3 Flak production commenced, and production ran concurrently with, the J3 Pilot badge. Or was Juncker making the J3 Flak while they still made the J2 (all Tombak) Pilot?

I know that some J3 Pilot badges had zink wreaths and J2 Tombak eagles. (Using old Buntmetal stock.) But weren't the late J3s all zink?

Mark

[Marc Garlasco]

Sorry.

The J3 Flak uses:

1) Tombak eagle and tombak wreath - marked SW68

2) Zinc eagle and zinc wreath - ALL unmarked

[spectre]

I've seen a few air gunners marked SW68, like mine here. The only other badge with this mark I have seen was Lorenzo's J3 P/O and it appears to be a zincer as well.

I've not seen it on any other LW badge types (but I certainly have not seen them all). All the zinc Juncker para's I have seen are unmarked.

Alan

[Don D.]

I want to talk about ALL SW68 marked Juncker - I am not just raising Flaks. But how do we KNOW they were producing between the date of the bombing (do we know the date) and May 8, 1945?
Marc

How do we know they produced anything after they were bombed out? Why would (apparently) only the RK dies be destroyed in the bombing? Or was it just more economically feasible to start with badge production vice RKs since the need for badges far out weighed the need for RKs? Dollar for dollar or reichsmark for reichsmark the profit was in selling quantity.

[Marc Garlasco]

I'm asking - were they producing between January and April 1945? Seems highly unlikley one could get the machinery even if the dies survived. Still this and other significant maker mark alterations make me wonder why they ever made the change. Look at Brehmer who had at least 3 maker marks for luft - none ever look particularly degraded. All are always crisp and clear. OS why change? Perhaps it is not a big deal, but with Juncker I wonder if the mm helps us date stuff at all...
Marc

[mmiller]

I am still working on my theory ( ) but haven't thought through all the 'angles', so just easier to post and let it get shot down.

Basically, it's what I alluded to in the earlier post. The 'first' Juncker makermark is incredibly small and detailed. It was prone to uneven and illegible strikes, even on buntmetal badges. Would/could the zink take and retain the detail without distortion, and 'crumbling' around the edges of the letters? As my theory goes, Juncker needed to make a bolder font makermark which was mechanically compatable with zink. In this theory, it is possible that the two dies were used during the same time period, depending which badges (pilot, flak, etc.) and what metals were being makermarked.



.....he said.....

Mark

[Marc Garlasco]

Sounds plausible. Sorry to dissapoint!

[mmiller]

Sounds plausible. Sorry to dissapoint!

No way!

[Robert P.]

For illustration here is my 3rd pattern Juncker Luft flak with the SW68...

Robert

[Robert P.]

The above 3rd pattern flak badge is tombak. This Juncker Heersflak below is zinc and donns the old small 'SW' stamp...

Robert

[mmiller]

For illustration here is my 3rd pattern Juncker Luft flak with the SW68...

Robert

Hi Robert,

Well..... for illustration purposes, I'd love to see the front of that bugger. I'm not 'up' on the Juncker 'J1-3' FLAK sequences. (It took 25 years to figure out the Pilots.)

When I'm not able to figure it out for myself, I'll ask you or, heaven forbid, Marc!

Mark

[Robert P.]

happily, Mark...

Robert

[mmiller]

The above 3rd pattern flak badge is tombak. This Juncker Heersflak below is zinc and donns the old small 'SW' stamp...

Robert

EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. Did I mention excellent? Robert, can you please shoot a quick close-up of the zinker with the small makermark? I'd like to see how legible it is. See if my the-o-ree holds up.

Thank you,
Mark

[Robert P.]

I'm afraid the photo from the site is low resolution, and not able to give us a good photo that we need. It's for sale for an incredible cost, or I would purchase it to have as an example.

Robert