Belleauwood Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share #101 Posted April 16, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleauwood Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share #102 Posted April 16, 2011 Overall the fabric was quite "brittle" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleauwood Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share #103 Posted April 16, 2011 After 2 months in a humidifier with the stretcher place after the first month. Paint stabilizer brushed on fabric by conservator. Notice the additional paint loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleauwood Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share #104 Posted April 16, 2011 These types of combat planes flew from Pola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleauwood Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share #105 Posted April 16, 2011 The piece of fabric from the Ludlow group has much more detail to the crown than other images I seen. Special Maybe?? DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMCR79 Posted April 16, 2011 Share #106 Posted April 16, 2011 Very Nice Dennis!! Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escadrille Posted April 16, 2011 Share #107 Posted April 16, 2011 Very nice Dennis. I admire your stewardship efforts. Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerseygary Posted April 16, 2011 Share #108 Posted April 16, 2011 This is a great post! When I was in art school in Baltimore I stumbled on a forgotten little monument on the corner of Preston & Howard Streets that was in commemoration of Hammann and another Marylander who won the MOH in WWI. I was always fascinated by the seaplane story and it is a great treat to see so much associated with that incident on display here. You can see a picture here: http://monumentcity.net/2009/04/04/hammann...l-baltimore-md/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devildog34 Posted April 16, 2011 Share #109 Posted April 16, 2011 Dennis this is really impressive, I am so glad to get to see it, having heard so much about it. It is just a remarkable piece of U.S. Naval aviation history! You have really done justice to this group and it has a great home with you out east. I look forward to seeing this in person. Very remarkable, you should be proud of your hard work. Semper Fi, Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Nier Posted April 17, 2011 Share #110 Posted April 17, 2011 A truly historic group which is unique from several aspects. One is the rare award of both the silver & bronze Al Valore Militare to a non-Italian. I was relieved to see that both the silver & bronze AVM had the proper official hallmarks on the obverse at 6 o'clock. These are the crowned Z place above the "F.G". The crown Z represents their being struck at the Italian Royal Mint in Rome. The F.G are the initials of Giuseppe Ferraris, who originally designed the gold & silver AVM in 1833. The bronze AVM was instituted later in 1887. I was concerned initially because the bronze AVM shown in your first group photo on page 1 was a blank, unofficial, privately struck medal. For an award to a foreign officer serving in Italy, the official, hallmarked AVM would have been presented to him. The War Merit Cross presents a problem since it is the Italian Republic issue with the "RI" initials on the reverse upper arm. This WMC variety was instituted after the Italian surrender to the Allies in 1943. Back in 1918, Ludlow would have received a WMC with the King's monogram "VEIII". There must have been a switch sometime after 1943, unless Ludlow actually got his WMC during WW2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleauwood Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share #111 Posted April 17, 2011 A truly historic group which is unique from several aspects. One is the rare award of both the silver & bronze Al Valore Militare to a non-Italian. I was relieved to see that both the silver & bronze AVM had the proper official hallmarks on the obverse at 6 o'clock. These are the crowned Z place above the "F.G". The crown Z represents their being struck at the Italian Royal Mint in Rome. The F.G are the initials of Giuseppe Ferraris, who originally designed the gold & silver AVM in 1833. The bronze AVM was instituted later in 1887. I was concerned initially because the bronze AVM shown in your first group photo on page 1 was a blank, unofficial, privately struck medal. For an award to a foreign officer serving in Italy, the official, hallmarked AVM would have been presented to him. The War Merit Cross presents a problem since it is the Italian Republic issue with the "RI" initials on the reverse upper arm. This WMC variety was instituted after the Italian surrender to the Allies in 1943. Back in 1918, Ludlow would have received a WMC with the King's monogram "VEIII". There must have been a switch sometime after 1943, unless Ludlow actually got his WMC during WW2. Tom, Thanks for the detailed information. I believe that a couple of these items were later additions by Ludlow. There were 2 different people that Mrs. Ludlow parceled Mr. Ludlow's artifacts to after his death. The largest portion of documents and the engraved medals went one way and later his Id booklets, bullion wing, BB&B wing, War Cross and the privately struck medal that you refer to was in a box in the Ludlow basement. That would also include one of the BB&B Navy Crosses. My guess is that he purchased a few duplicates during his tenure in WW2 since is was at this time he made application for his Purple Heart. Certainly just a guess by me, and one will most likely never know for sure. Hammann was awarded the Silver Valor medal as well. Thanks again, Dennis Jackson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Nier Posted April 17, 2011 Share #112 Posted April 17, 2011 Dennis: a couple of minor points I forgot to explain. The "Z" of the crowned Z hallmark indicates "zecca" or mint. Also the Italians always put the surname ahead of the Christian name, so Giuseppe Ferraris' inititials appear as "F.G" I don't recall, but the Italian certificates probably have Ludlow written ahead of his personal names. And the "RI" on the War Merit Cross indicates "repubblica italiana", which government forced the Italian monarchy into exile. You can easily obtain a WW1 version WMC to represent Ludlow's original award. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4STARCHRIS Posted April 18, 2011 Share #113 Posted April 18, 2011 This keeps getting beter and better. The only way it could get any better is if you pull out his MOH and post it. Great, Great collection and posting. 4starchris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted April 18, 2011 Share #114 Posted April 18, 2011 This keeps getting beter and better. The only way it could get any better is if you pull out his MOH and post it. Great, Great collection and posting.4starchris And then some "do-gooder" on the forum would report him to the FBI because of "stolen valor" and the next thing we know, the MOH is getting melted into some oddly distorted chunk of metal in order to keep it out of the hands of evil collectors. Sad, but true. Even more sad, is that the "do-gooder" would feel good and proud about the end result. Sickening. :pinch: Now, back to the thread and this INCREDIBLE group!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted June 20, 2011 Share #115 Posted June 20, 2011 Amazing, never gets old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanemono Posted June 21, 2011 Share #116 Posted June 21, 2011 What a GREAT group thanks for sharing it with us. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted June 21, 2011 Share #117 Posted June 21, 2011 What a wonderful and unique group! I have very much enjoyed reading through this thread, and wish you well in your continued efforts to complete this group. Certainly museum quality, this could be the pinnacle of any collection :thumbsup: Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted December 9, 2011 Share #118 Posted December 9, 2011 http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...mp;#entry973919 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops369 Posted December 10, 2011 Share #119 Posted December 10, 2011 Just a wonderful grouping. Thanks for putting it here for all to see. No doubt, I will come back several times to look at it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnymac Posted December 15, 2011 Share #120 Posted December 15, 2011 This is one great group that I really enjoyed, thanks for taken the time to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
empireguns Posted December 24, 2011 Share #121 Posted December 24, 2011 Man that whole group and your efforts are just off the charts! magnificent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medalman90 Posted November 9, 2013 Share #122 Posted November 9, 2013 this is a truly outstanding grouping. everyone has really summed it up quite well. incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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