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Opinions of this 82nd Airborne bazooka insignia


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Moderator Note:  The photos that were linked on this page are long gone due to outside hosting.  In other words, the photos were not directly attached to this thread.  This is why we insist on photos being attached, and not linked to outside photo hosting.  I will leave this post in place only becaus it explains how this thread got started.

 

This is being sold right now. Looks suspicious to me.

 

The same seller has a fake D-Day cricket for sale that was talked about today and listing it as real.

 

The lightning is way too clean and I swear I could go down to Michaels Craft Store or JoAnn Fabrics and buy that same color craft lace. I don't like the khaki base fabric either...seems like it frays like the fabric that I bought for my two patch quilts.

 

Anyone have a real one that they can post their photos?

 

This was the one from the million dollar collection sold 5 years ago. Not the red instead of the brown being used in the above insignia.

 

This is the best reproduction being sold on ebay right now.

 

What do you all think?

 

Where would this have been worn on the uniform? I know that Col. Gavin of the 505th PIR contracted nuns at a convent to hand sew these after a campaign in 1943. Not sure if they were an SSI underneath the 82nd, went on as a sleeve patch, or on a jacket.

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These are quite rare and to be honest not many have been around to see on display,etc. There are photos of them being worn on the left front chest pocket well documented. This example is a fake in my opinion and does not look like mine which Bill Scott checked for me at an SOS show; and which looks like the ones seen in the photo. I will not scan this for obvious reasons.

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ocsfollowme

It has to be rare. You had to belong in the 505th PIR, make the jump into Sicily, be on a bazooka team, fire the bazooka, and knock out a tank.

 

Understand Morty, thanks for chiming in. Several sites still say that the original colors are still up to debate.

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The base material does not look like cotton khaki cloth that would have been used during WWII.

 

Based on the photo, weave and the way it is fraying, it looks more like the synthetic khaki cloth that was used for perma press uniforms in the 1970's.

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ocsfollowme

BLUF: pays to be a member of this forum with a great community of knowledge. Read, learn, ask. Awesome people here.

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Rakkasan187

There is an original picture of an 82nd trooper wearing the bazooka insignia on the pocket of his dress uniform in this book listed below:

 

If memory serves me right the uniform is a 4 pocket enlisted uniform and it is shown being worn on his left pocket. I am at work right now but I can take a picture of it tonight or perhaps someone may have a copy of the book and take a picture. It is towards the back of the book.

 

Leigh

 

America's Finest, US Airborne Uniforms, Equipment and Insignia of World War Two (ETO)
Gary Howard
Copyright 1994
ISBN 1-85367-169-X

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There was a previous thread about this particular bazooka patch which looked real based on the reverse having two sewn on partially rusted up safety pins. I can't seem to locate this older thread. However this one is different from one in my collection which I purchased probably 30 or more years ago at the Great Western Gun Show in Pomona, California, from a well respected WW2 airborne collector by the name of Bob Thomas Jr. He had 3 or 4 of them that I think he got from one person and as I recall there was some kind of printed provenance of an article that came out of some sort of airborne newsletter he had on the table with these patches. I wish I had taken a photo of this article. Since the story of this patch is that they were hand sewn by some nuns in Europe there can't be variations unless a second or more batches were made up at another time. Here is a photo of another bazooka patch that is out there that is probably a copy. The other one posted (copy) here that looks a lot like the one that came out of the million dollar collection was made for Andrew Butler in England.

post-1389-0-24433600-1403024269.jpg

post-1389-0-90912900-1403024278.jpg

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Just checked mine and it is a duplicate of the French one shown above but mine is faded with the colors washed out.

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I do not like the insignia started this post at all.Years and years ago I owned one that was named and it looked like the French one and Morts.This is a very easy piece to construct so you better trust the seller and the story.Just my 3 cents worth.Scotty

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The seller has a lot of items for sale.One is the 501st/101st jump jacket being discussed in another thread.He has a 501st 4 pocket as well.His sales descritions states hes selling off a 50 year collection.I dont know if hes a member here.

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  • 1 year later...

I did a lot of research. The patch in thread #23 is what it should be as both Morty and Scotty have agreed. If only 20-50 of these patches were created by nuns, there would be very little variation of these. The French forum even backs this as the sole variation. http://505pir-ardennes.forumactif.org/t172-le-bazooka-us-m1

 

I would not trust any other variation. Sure, a veteran could have had one made post war, but if you want an original I would focus on the patch in thread #23.

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I would like to state after looking carefully at this....that the same patch on the French Forum was the same patch that was discussed on this forum in January 2009 in the link in thread #23.

 

It is a rare patch and I would trust Morty and Scotty.

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BILL THE PATCH

Since the patch in post 24 is mine, I guess I can comment. Spoke to one of the people that ocs mentioned. And he ok'd it. How many nuns do you think they had sewing these patches? 1 , 2 maybe. Who knows? Nobody ever will. But differences will vary some what. Could be an old nun, young nun. A drinking nun ( crooked lighting bolt) as was told to me by one of the authorties ocs mentioned. Lol. Same material original, same sewing style. Same type thread.

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