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    Bomber Clasp - Maker Unmasked??

    Hi guys,

    Some of you may have been following this thread on a certain type of unmarked Bomber clasp posted by Patrick:

    http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=452552

    I too have a few of these unique type of clasps and feel that they are hands down, 100% original clasps. Ever since I first saw them, I liked them; the feel of the base metal, the hinge, pin and catch setup, the rivet, the finish and just the general "feel" of the clasp all seems perfectly fine for a wartime produced badge.

    So for me at least, the originality of this type of clasp has never been in question. After studying these a bit more recently, it occurred to me that some of the features look very familiar and we may have some big clues to lead us to identifying the possible maker of these. So not only have I always like the feel and look of these clasps, but figuring out the wartime maker would just be icing on the cake. I believe that maker to be Assmann.

    What first struck me about these clasps was the delicate and dainty hinge. Its a very slender and tall block hinge. The shape is quite unique and looks to be an exact match to the one used by Assmann on their early, egg-shaped wreath Pilot and Paratrooper badges. Not only that, but the exact same narrow hinge can be found on Assmann's Kriegsmarine Minesweeper badge.

    These Bomber clasps also have a flatwire catch made from nickel silver. I don't think it is a coincidence that Assmann's Minesweeper badges also have a flatwire catch made from nickel silver. Finding a flatwire catch on an early, tombak-based badge is pretty uncommon and this is another good lead to Assmann. Although other makers like RSS & Schwerin used a similar catch, the other aspects such as the narrow hinge and rivet point away from them and more towards Assmann in my opinion. Additionally, we already know of an RSS Bomber clasp, so they can immediately be eliminated.

    A final point of similarity to Assmann is the rivet. You will notice that these Bomber clasps have a unique way of rivetting the bomb to the clasp. It is simply flattened and always appears to be a neat, perfect circle. This is very consistent with Assmann's mid-war rivetting technique and can be found specifically on their Paratrooper badges, ROAGs, etc. No other maker of LW badges flattened their rivets like this. Likewise, no other flight clasp has perfectly circular, flattened rivets like this. Almost all the others have domed rivets, so flattened rivets like this are quite unique. This is another VERY strong indicator that Assmann was a likely maker of these in my opinion.

    I think we can all agree that Assmann was the biggest name in Luftwaffe award production next to Juncker, so its logical that they would also be active in flight clasp production. I don't think this is enough evidence to say that Assmann was indeed the maker of these for sure, but its a good start and I hope you guys will agree. I will now show some compares, so bare with me. First up is the Bomber clasp were are discussing:

    Tom
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Thomas Durante; 08-05-2010, 09:35 PM.
    If it doesn't have a hinge and catch, I'm not interested......well, maybe a little

    New Book - The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II
    [/SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Available Now - tmdurante@gmail.com

    #2
    Reverse with Pin open. Notice the dainty hinge, flatwire catch and perfectly circular, flat rivet.
    Attached Files
    If it doesn't have a hinge and catch, I'm not interested......well, maybe a little

    New Book - The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II
    [/SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Available Now - tmdurante@gmail.com

    Comment


      #3
      Now here is Assmann's Egg-Shaped Para badge wreath and hinge, courtesty of JT West's collection.
      Attached Files
      If it doesn't have a hinge and catch, I'm not interested......well, maybe a little

      New Book - The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II
      [/SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
      Available Now - tmdurante@gmail.com

      Comment


        #4
        Here is a compare of the hinges between the Para and this type of flight clasp. I have 2 of these type of bomber clasps, and the Para hinge is in the middle. Notice that not only are they all have a tall, narrow shape but the all share similar marks on the sides. This was likely the way the hinge was cut, but the similar appearance on all 3 is worth noting.
        Attached Files
        If it doesn't have a hinge and catch, I'm not interested......well, maybe a little

        New Book - The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II
        [/SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
        Available Now - tmdurante@gmail.com

        Comment


          #5
          Here is an Assmann Minesweeper badge from Jan Arne S' collection. The hinge is the same, and the one shown is from another Assmann Minesweeper badge owned by JT West. This reverse setup has a very similar appearance to the flight clasps. Not only the slender look of the hinge and flatwire catch, but even the shape of the pin is similar to the flight clasp.
          Attached Files
          If it doesn't have a hinge and catch, I'm not interested......well, maybe a little

          New Book - The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II
          [/SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
          Available Now - tmdurante@gmail.com

          Comment


            #6
            Here is the flatwire catch from the Assmann Minesweeper, followed by a comparison to the one of the flight clasp. The configuration is a little different, but the thickness of the wire and material its made from looks the same.
            Attached Files
            If it doesn't have a hinge and catch, I'm not interested......well, maybe a little

            New Book - The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II
            [/SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
            Available Now - tmdurante@gmail.com

            Comment


              #7
              And a final compare of the rivets. The left rivet is from an Assmann Paratrooper badge, the one on the right is from the flight clasp. A very strong indicator that these were made by the same firm, since no other maker made perfectly circular, flattened rivets.

              Thats all guys. Would love to hear your thoughts and I know a few of you are champing at the bit to tear this theory apart. Again, I don't think its enough evidence to say for sure Assmann is the maker, but a strong lead.

              Thanks

              Tom
              Attached Files
              If it doesn't have a hinge and catch, I'm not interested......well, maybe a little

              New Book - The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II
              [/SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
              Available Now - tmdurante@gmail.com

              Comment


                #8
                Hello there,

                Some sound logic in your argument, and makes sense to me.

                William Kramer
                Please visit my site: https://wehrmacht-militaria.com/

                Comment


                  #9
                  CSI-Charleston strikes again.

                  You've made a very helpful discovery IMO Tom. Thanks!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Tom,
                    Your logical, step-by-step assessment is quite convincing. Thankfully you are not saying it is FLL!
                    Marc

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Marc Garlasco View Post
                      Thankfully you are not saying it is FLL!
                      That's funny T! ........

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated

                        Marc, I really tried hard to fit this badge into the "FLL" box, but it just wouldn't go. I tried to ignore a bunch of evidence that was leading to Assmann in the hopes that I could turn this into an FLL, but finally I had to give up and forget the whole "FLL" idea

                        But don't fret, I still have 5 other unmarked bomber variants that aren't attributed yet, I am sure 3 or 4 of them will become FLL by the time I am done

                        Tom
                        If it doesn't have a hinge and catch, I'm not interested......well, maybe a little

                        New Book - The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II
                        [/SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
                        Available Now - tmdurante@gmail.com

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Hi guys,

                          A little update with these Assmann bomber clasps, it appears that Robert has found one in a seemingly untouched US veteran grouping:

                          http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=588535

                          This is a bit more evidence to suggest that these type of clasps are indeed wartime badges, rather than well made fakes as was mentioned as a possibility in the link in the first post about these.

                          Thanks

                          Tom
                          If it doesn't have a hinge and catch, I'm not interested......well, maybe a little

                          New Book - The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II
                          [/SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
                          Available Now - tmdurante@gmail.com

                          Comment

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