The Pilot/Observer Badge (german: Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen) was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

military decoration awarded to

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

service personnel who had already been awarded the Pilot's Badge and

Observer Badge The Observer Badge is a military badge of the United States armed forces dating from the First World War. The badge was issued to co-pilots, navigators, and flight support personnel (as air observer) who had received a variation in the training ...

. It was instituted on 26 March 1936 by the Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

. It was worn on the lower part of the left breast pocket of the service tunic, underneath the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

1st Class if awarded. It was to replace the older 1933 Aircrew Badge. The badge was originally manufactured in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

, and later

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

. The badge can be distinguished from the Pilot's Badge by the gold

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a circle . In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Chri ...

; the Pilot's Badge had a silver wreath. There was also a cloth version of the badge which used embroidered bullion for the officer's version and cotton for the NCO's version. The presentation case was dark blue, with a blue satin top liner and a blue velvet bottom liner on the inside.

Badge in Gold with Diamonds

The exclusive variant of the Pilot/Observer Badge in Gold with Diamonds (german: Gemeinsame Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen in Gold mit Brillanten). It was bestowed by Göring to honour exceptional achievement and on rare occasions as an honorary award. The first recipients were General Walther Wever, Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff and

General der Flieger ''General der Flieger'' ( en, General of the aviators) was a General of the branch rank of the Luftwaffe (air force) in Nazi Germany. Until the end of World War II in 1945, this particular general officer rank was on three-star level (OF-8), eq ...

Erhard Milch Erhard Milch (30 March 1892 – 25 January 1972) was a German general field marshal (''Generalfeldmarschall'') of Jewish heritage who oversaw the development of the German air force (''Luftwaffe'') as part of the re-armament of Nazi Germany foll ...

, State Secretary of the ''

Reichsluftfahrtministerium The Ministry of Aviation (german: Reichsluftfahrtministerium, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse ...

'' on 11 November 1935. Another variant of this award was presented to ''Flug-Kapitänin''

Hanna Reitsch Hanna Reitsch (29 March 1912 – 24 August 1979) was a German aviator and test pilot. Along with Melitta von Stauffenberg, she flight tested many of Germany's new aircraft during World War II and received many honors. Reitsch was amon ...

. This variation was "more like a brooch". A horizontal "shaft" extended from each side of the wreath, which also had diamonds inlaid.

Recipients

Luftwaffe

*Reichsmarschall

*General Walther Wever (Chief-of-General Staff Luftwaffe) - 11 November 1935 *General

(State Secretary of the ''

'') - 11 November 1935 *General der Flieger

Hugo Sperrle Wilhelm Hugo Sperrle (7 February 1885 – 2 April 1953), also known as Hugo Sperrle, was a German military aviator in World War I and a Generalfeldmarschall in the Luftwaffe during World War II. Sperrle joined the Imperial German Army in 1903. ...

- 19 November 1937 *Major

Werner Mölders Werner Mölders (18 March 1913 – 22 November 1941) was a World War II German Luftwaffe pilot, wing commander, and the leading German fighter ace in the Spanish Civil War. He became the first pilot in aviation history to shoot down 100 ...

- mid August 1940 *Major

Helmut Wick Helmut Paul Emil Wick (5 August 1915 – 28 November 1940) was a German flying ace of World War II. He was a wing commander in the Luftwaffe (air force) of Nazi Germany, and the fourth recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak L ...

F.L.Neher: ''WICK''. Hanns Arens Verlag / Berlin - Herrlingen, 1943 P. 1 (in German) *Hautpmann

Werner Baumbach Werner Baumbach (27 December 1916 – 20 October 1953) was a German bomber pilot during World War II. He commanded the secret bomber wing Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200) of the Luftwaffe, the air force of Nazi Germany. Baumbach received the Knight's ...

- mid August 1940 *Major

Adolf Galland Adolf Josef Ferdinand Galland (19 March 1912 – 9 February 1996) was a German Luftwaffe general and flying ace who served throughout the Second World War in Europe. He flew 705 combat missions, and fought on the Western Front and in the Defen ...

- mid August 1940 *General

Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen Wolfram Karl Ludwig Moritz Hermann Freiherr von Richthofen (10 October 1895 – 12 July 1945) was a German World War I flying ace who rose to the rank of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' in the Luftwaffe during World War II. Born in 1895 into a fa ...

- mid August 1940 *Generaloberst

Kurt Student Kurt Arthur Benno Student (12 May 1890 – 1 July 1978) was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II. An early pioneer of airborne forces, Student was in overall command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as the ''Fallschi ...

- 2 September 1941 *General der Flieger

Friedrich Christiansen Friedrich Christiansen (12 December 1879 – 3 December 1972) was a German general who served as commander of the German ''Wehrmacht'' in the occupied Netherlands during World War II. Christiansen was a World War I flying ace and the only seap ...

– fall of 1940 *General der Flieger

Günther Korten Günther Korten (26 July 1898 – 22 July 1944) was a German Colonel General and Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe in World War II. He died from injuries suffered in the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944. Biography ...

(Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff) - 1941 (for the

Invasion of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island o ...

) *General der Flieger

Josef Kammhuber Josef Kammhuber (August 19, 1896 – January 25, 1986) was a career officer in the Luftwaffe and post-World War II German Air Force. During World War II, he was the first general of night fighters in the Luftwaffe. Kammhuber created the night ...

*Generaloberst

Alexander Löhr Alexander Löhr (20 May 1885 – 26 February 1947) was an Austrian Air Force commander during the 1930s and, after the annexation of Austria, he was a Luftwaffe commander. Löhr served in the Luftwaffe during World War II, rising to commander of ...

- 1940 *Oberstleutnant

Hans-Ulrich Rudel Hans-Ulrich Rudel (2 July 1916 – 18 December 1982) was a German ground-attack pilot during World War II and a post-war neo-Nazi activist. The most decorated German pilot of the war and the only recipient of the Knight's Cross with G ...

- summer of 1944 *Oberst Bernd von Brauchitsch (Chief adjudant of the ''

Reichsmarschall (german: Reichsmarschall des Großdeutschen Reiches; ) was a rank and the highest military office in the ''Wehrmacht'' specially created for Hermann Göring during World War II. It was senior to the rank of , which was previously the highes ...

'') - summer 1944 *Hauptmann

Erich Hartmann Erich Alfred Hartmann (19 April 1922 – 20 September 1993) was a German fighter pilot during World War II and the most successful fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare. He flew 1,404 combat missions and participated in aerial com ...

- August 1944 *Generalmajor

Martin Harlinghausen Martin Harlinghausen (17 January 1902 – 22 March 1986) was a German military aviator and general. Harlinghausen specialised in maritime interdiction and anti-warship operations. During World War II Harlinghausen was the leading exponent of an ...

- 17 April 1945 *Hauptmann

Hans-Joachim Marseille Hans-Joachim Marseille (; 13 December 1919 – 30 September 1942) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. He is noted for his aerial battles during the North African Campaign and his Bohemian lifestyle. One o ...

*Oberst

Dietrich Peltz Dietrich Peltz (9 June 1914 – 10 August 2001) was a Nazi Germany, German World War II Luftwaffe bomber pilot and youngest general of the Wehrmacht. As a pilot he flew approximately 320 combat missions, including roughly 130 as a bomber pilot o ...

*Generalfeldmarschall

Robert Ritter von Greim Robert ''Ritter'' von Greim (born Robert Greim; 22 June 1892 – 24 May 1945) was a German field marshal and First World War flying ace. In April 1945, in the last days of World War II, Adolf Hitler appointed Greim commander-in-chief of the ''L ...

*Generalfeldmarschall

Albert Kesselring Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' of the Luftwaffe during World War II who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. In a military career that spanned both world wars, Kesselring beca ...

*Generaloberst

Otto Dessloch Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

*Generalleutnant

Karl Angerstein __NOTOC__ Karl Angerstein (4 December 1890 – 20 September 1985) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 1st Air Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Awards * German Cross in Go ...

*Oberst

Walter Oesau Walter "Gulle" Oesau (28 June 1913 – 11 May 1944) was a German fighter pilot during World War II. A fighter ace, he served in the Luftwaffe from 1934 until his death in 1944. He rose to command ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1, which was named in his hon ...

- 17 October 1943 *Flug-Kapitänin

- March 1941 *Flug-Kapitänin

Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg (née Schiller; 3 January 1903 – 8 April 1945) was an aviator who served as a test pilot in the Luftwaffe before and during World War II. She was the second German woman to be awarded the honorary ti ...

1943 *Generaloberst

Ernst Udet Ernst Udet (26 April 1896 – 17 November 1941) was a German pilot during World War I and a ''Luftwaffe'' Colonel-General (''Generaloberst'') during World War II. Udet joined the Imperial German Air Service at the age of 19, and eventually ...

*Oberst

Nicolaus von Below Georg Ludwig Heinrich Nicolaus von Below (20 September 1907 – 24 July 1983) was an officer in the German ''Luftwaffe'' and an adjutant to Adolf Hitler. Early life Below was born on the estate of Jargelin near Anklam in the Province of P ...

*Oberst

Hajo Herrmann Hans-Joachim "Hajo" Herrmann (1 August 1913 – 5 November 2010) was a World War II Luftwaffe pilot and officer and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. After the war Hermann became a Nazi activist and l ...

* Generaloberst

Alfred Keller Alfred Keller (19 September 1882 – 11 February 1974) was a general in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during the Second World War who commanded the ''Luftflotte 1''. His career in the Imperial German Armed Forces began in 1897; he served a ...

Honorary recipients

*Reichsführer-SS

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

- July 1942 *Großadmiral

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...

(Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine) - 1943 *SS-Sturmbannführer

Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including th ...

- fall of 1944 *SS-Oberstgruppenführer and Generaloberst of the Waffen-SS

Sepp Dietrich Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) was a German politician and SS commander during the Nazi era. He joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and was elected to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic in 1930. Prior to 1929, Dietrich was A ...

*Generalfeldmarshall

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

*Generalfeldmarschall

Erich von Manstein Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein (born Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Lewinski; 24 November 1887 – 9 June 1973) was a German Field Marshal of the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes and ...

Foreign recipients

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as comma ...

(Marshal of Finland) - 1942 *Marschall

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who made ...

(Prime Minister of Romania) *Regent

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya ( hu, Vitéz nagybányai Horthy Miklós; ; English: Nicholas Horthy; german: Nikolaus Horthy Ritter von Nagybánya; 18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957), was a Hungarian admiral and dictator who served as the Regent o ...

(Regent of Hungary) *

Italo Balbo Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa. Due to his young a ...

(Italian Aviator) *

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

(Spanish dictator) * Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia - 1939 *

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

(Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy) - 1937

Notes

References

* * {{Subject bar , portal1=Military of Germany , portal2=World War II Military awards and decorations of Nazi Germany Awards established in 1936 1936 establishments in Germany Hermann Göring 1945 disestablishments in Germany