Pilot Badge with Diamonds Recipients

[von thoma]

Kindelan, Alfredo, de Orleans y Borbon, Alfonso

Very interesting that Alfredo Kindelán y Duany,Chief of Spanish Nationalist Aviation,and Alfonso de Orleans y Borbón,received this distinction.

[Matt Gibbs]

Perhaps if Baur's dislike of him [as in his autobiog.] was generally known, or specifically known about by the Reichsmarschall then Göring might have been less inclined to award such a badge to him. In most of the photos I have seen he is wearing an overcoat! Usually he wore his WW1 flying badge though?

[Mark Costa]

James:

One would think that someone like Koller would have received it but I have never found any documentation to show that he did. Hence he is in the "possible" category. And the photo in the Goebbels diary is not close enough to see if it the ?Diamond badge or just a regular one. But when you see that someone like Ritter von Greim, did not receive it until April 1945! Then it is not strange at all that Koller never received it.

Mark

[coburg22]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the reply. I read in a biography about Rommel how Göring awarded the badge to him on a train bound for Italy that they were riding together. What I thought was strange though is that after receiving the badge, Göring let loose on Rommel and almost brought him to tears.

Best,

James

[coburg22]

Hi Mark,

Do you by chance know who the following were regarding rank and nationality please?

Francois d' Astier de La Vigerie

Hubert-Marie Joseph de Geffrier

Hans Kettenbeil (German but what service and rank?)

Alfredo Kindelan y Ducny

Miroslav Friedrich Navaratil

Alfonso de Orleans y Borbon

Alberto Parani

Albert Petitjean-Roget

Renato Sandalli

Paul Stehlin (German but what service and rank?)

Victor G Valle

Josef Vuillemin

Best,

James

[Michael Miller]

Hi James.

Paul Stehlin was French (see http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Stehlin ) - Air Attache in Berlin (1935-1939). See http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Stehlin ,

Regarding "Hans Kettenbeil" - should be KetteMbeil. See http://www.geocities.com/~orion47/WEHRM ... _KARL.html .

Most of the names on your list can probably be found via Google.

~ Mike

[coburg22]

Hello Mike,

Thanks

James

[malvinas82]

Hi guys, good thread. I also made one just like this on the WAF (Sepp45). I'll share some of the photos you don't have here

Here's a photo that took me a hell of a search to find, but I knew I would find it somewhere!!


The French General standing next to Milch is Joseph Vuillemin(wearing the PO with Diamonds). On the back, you can see another French also with the badge.


Friedrich Navratil: the badge is on his right side of the uniform.


Josef Kammhuber, another recipient of the PO with Diamonds.


Unknown Italian officer with the badge.


A good photo of H. Himmler wearing it.


Francisco Franco, leaving Germany, wearing the badge.


Italo Balbo.


Il Duce, with the Diamonds.

Hope it helps

[Mark Costa]

Since my last posting on this subject a while ago, I have made some changes to the list of recipients and have excluded some that were originally thought to have been recipients. Hence this is my latest list of recipients based on photographic or documented proof. A sub-total of 79 confirmed recipients with two un-named French officers for a total of 81 persons awarded the badge. Another 10 possible recipients based on post-war studies, although no physical evidence exists for these 10 and they can't be considered confirmed recipients and most likely not.

Mark Costa



Angerstein, Karl
Antonescu, Ion
d'Astier de la Vigerie Moraglia, François
Balbo, Italo
Bär, Heinz
Baumbach, Werner
Below, Nicolaus von
Blomberg, Werner
Bodenschatz, Karl
Borbón, Alfonso de Orléans y
Brauchitsch, Bernd von
Čatloš, Ferdinand
Christian, Eckhard
Christiansen, Friedrich
Dessloch, Otto
Dietl, Eduard
Dietrich, Josef "Sepp"
Dönitz, Karl
Druschel, Alfred
Franco y Bahamonde, Fransisco
Gablenz, Carl-Albrecht Freiherr von
Galland, Adolf
de Geffrier, Hubert-Marie Joseph
Göring, Hermann
Görnnert, Fritz Dr.-Ing.
Gollob, Gordon M. (Mac)
Graf, Hermann
Grauert, Ulrich Hans
Greim, Robert Ritter von
Harlinghausen, Martin
Hartmann, Erich
Helbig, Joachim
Herrmann, Hajo
Himmler, Heinrich
Horthy de Nagybánya, Miklós
Jeschonnek, Hans
Kammhuber, Josef
Kastner-Kirdof, Gustav
Keller, Alfred
Kesselring, Albert
Kettembeil, Hans
Kindelán y Duany, Alfredo
Korten, Eduard
Lent, Helmut
Loerzer, Bruno
Löhr, Alexander
Lützow, Günther
Mannerheim, Carl Gustav
Marseille, Hans Joachim
Milch, Erhard
Mölders, Werner
Navratil, Miroslav (Friedrich)
Nowotny, Walter
Oesau, Walter
Pariani, Alberto
Paul of Yugoslavia, Prince
Peltz, Dietrich
Petitjean-Roget, Albert
Pfugbeil, Hans
Ramcke, Bernhard Hermann
Reitsch, Hanna
Richthofen, Dr.-Ing. Wolfram von
Rommel, Erwin
Rudel, Hans Ulrich
Sandalli, Renato
Schmidlein, ?
Schnaufer, Heinz-Wolfgang
Skorzeny, Otto
Sperrle, Hugo
Stauffenberg, Melitta Schenk Gräfin von
Stehlin, Paul
Student, Kurt
Stumpff, Hans Jürgen
Trettner, Heinrich
Udet, Ernst
Uzelac, Emil (Milan)
Valle, Victor G.
Vuillemin, Joseph
Wenninger, Rudolf
Wever, Walter

2 French Officers



Possibles:
Baur, Hans
Diesing, Ulrich
Fraff, ?
Hoffmann von Waldau, Otto
Körner, Paul "Pilli"
Koller, Karl
Kren, Vladimir
Manstein, Erich von
Rüdel, Günther
Seidel, Hans-Georg von
Weise, Hubert

[malvinas82]

More recipients:


Feldmarschall Werner von Blomberg, wearing the badge, circa 1937.


Hans Jeschonnek, standing next to Göring.


A difficult one: Oberst Bernd von Brauchitsch, Göring's adjutant.


Paul of Yugoslavia, wearing the badge with Diamonds (sorry for the bad quality).

Finally, some photos of Erwin Rommel wearing the badge:

[coburg22]

It does not look like Friedrich Navratil is wearing the Diamonds version of the P/O Badge in the photo above.

Best,

James

[Mark Costa]

James:

I agree neither Navartil nor Kammhuber above are wearing their CPOBD. I have seen only one photo of Navratil wearing it and that was at its presentation. I have only seen a couple of late war photos of Kammhuber wearing his. Many recipients did not wear their badge such as Gollob, Lent, and Schnaufer. You won't find any photos of Hartmann actually wearing his either. In fact the only time I have ever seen Hartmann with his, was a post war photo of him holding it at his kitchen table in the 1970's.

Mark Costa

[malvinas82]

James:

I agree neither Navartil nor Kammhuber above are wearing their CPOBD. I have seen only one photo of Navratil wearing it and that was at its presentation. I have only seen a couple of late war photos of Kammhuber wearing his. Many recipients did not wear their badge such as Gollob, Lent, and Schnaufer. You won't find any photos of Hartmann actually wearing his either. In fact the only time I have ever seen Hartmann with his, was a post war photo of him holding it at his kitchen table in the 1970's.

Mark Costa

I disagree with you Mark, since Navartil is actually wearing his badge (in the few images you are gonna find him with the diamonds). He wasn't awarded the normal PO badge.
Regarding Kammhuber I couldn't be for sure, but once again, what gives you that indications? The proper light of the photo?

[Mark Costa]

Malvinas:

Again neither man is wearing their diamond badge in the photos above. The arms of the diamond badge are more thick especially the right side wing and neither badge shown above shows these characteristics. Also Navratil WAS given both a regular badge and a diamond badge as I have a photo of him wearing both -- one on each side of his breast taken at its presentation. I have also included here a photo of a man whom I missed in my list above -- Emil Uzelac. He also was awarded both badges as can be seen in the photo and one can notice the difference in badges as the diamond badge is on HIS left breast and the regular CPOB on his right breast. So Uzelac is the 82nd confirmed recipient. Also add Vladimir Kren as a "possible" recipient.

[malvinas82]

Malvinas:
Also Navratil WAS given both a regular badge and a diamond badge as I have a photo of him wearing both -- one on each side of his breast taken at its presentation. I have also included here a photo of a man whom I missed in my list above -- Emil Uzelac. He also was awarded both badges as can be seen in the photo and one can notice the difference in badges as the diamond badge is on HIS left breast and the regular CPOB on his right breast. So Uzelac is the 82nd confirmed recipient. Also add Vladimir Kren as a "possible" recipient.

Ok Mark, I'll take your word for it, but I would be nice to see that photo of Navratil
Regarding the second one, I'm still looking some photos of Kammhuber

Regards!