Original Items: Only One Available. This is a very good condition early production German WWII Luftwaffe Ground Assault Badge badge in cast alloy, with the "droop tail eagle" at the top attached to the badge by rivets. Later examples would be cast as one piece. This example in zinc has a silver wash on the wreath and eagle, with a dark oxide layer on the cloud and lightning bolt. The details are still very well retained on the badge, and the original finish is actually still well retained, something we rarely see! It has a lovely tarnished look that is impossible to duplicate!

Comes complete with a functional tapered steel pin back attachment, with a pressed in barrel hinge and bent flat wire catch, also made from steel. Below the hinge it is maker marked with R.K., for Rudolf Karneth of Gablonz, which today is Jablonec nad Nisou in the Czech Republic. During WWII it was considered part of the "Sudetenland", and after the war most of the German population was expelled. This came to us in the original cardboard box with tissue paper padding inside.

A very nice example with the original box, ready to display!

The Ground Assault Badge of the Luftwaffe (German: Erdkampfabzeichen der Luftwaffe) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to Luftwaffe personnel for achievement in ground combat. It was instituted on 31 March 1942 by the commander-in-chief (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe) Hermann Göring.

The badge, designed by the graphic and textile artist Sigmund von Weech (1888-1982), features an oak leaf wreath with at its apex a Luftwaffe eagle, grasping a swas, flying above a storm cloud, from which a lightning bolt strikes rough ground. The general criteria for its presentation was the participation in three separate combat operations on separate days. Luftwaffe soldiers who had already been awarded medals or orders of the Heer such as Assault Badge or the Infantry Assault Badge, were required to exchange their badges for the Ground Assault Badge of the Luftwaffe.

As the war progressed it became necessary to further distinguish those soldiers who had already exceeded the awarding criteria. To accomplish this distinction four numbered grades were introduced on 10 November 1944 based on the number of combat operations.

1st grade (I. Stufe) for between 3-24 eligible operations
2nd grade (II. Stufe) for 25 eligible operations
3rd grade (III. Stufe) for 50 eligible operations
4th grade (IV. Stufe) for 75 eligible operations
5th grade (V. Stufe) for 100 eligible operations