AKC123 Posted May 29, 2022 Share #1 Posted May 29, 2022 I got this patch but am not able to find any photos of it or references to it. It was described as a Norwegian Marine patch. Does anyone recognize it? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud Kraut Posted May 29, 2022 Share #2 Posted May 29, 2022 I don´t know what unit it is but it looks like a figurehead of a Viking long ship (dragon boat) so Norwegian Navy or Marines would make perfect sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKC123 Posted May 29, 2022 Author Share #3 Posted May 29, 2022 I agree it’s clearly inspired by the dark age norse wood and stone carving aesthetic. Which really is why I was interested in it as I’m much more of history enthusiast than I am knowledgeable about modern Scandinavian military units (not at all). This is the emblem of the Norwegian Marinejegerkommandoen (MJK) which is the naval special operations command. The dragon head seems similar but not the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKC123 Posted May 30, 2022 Author Share #4 Posted May 30, 2022 I found this photo of MJK operators in Kabul with the Norwegian Secretary of State in 2017. The operator on the left has a red and black patch on the chest of his plate carrier. Can’t make it out but it looks wider and a different design. My guess is that this patch is a personal moral patch or possibly a team/detachment morale patch for and MJK operator or team. Similar to how US DEVGRU often wear unique red team patches for their team. The dragon is clearly a more stylized version of the MJK emblem dragon. The tongue and three teeth and other details are the same this one just is more “Viking” like. Here is a photo of US DEVGRU operators. You can see the same style of unique moral/team patches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorBn Posted June 1, 2022 Share #5 Posted June 1, 2022 It’s an older rate/ branch insignia for MJK, so you are on the right track. You will find this in three different colour combinations. I will look up some more information I have on this tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorBn Posted June 2, 2022 Share #6 Posted June 2, 2022 The two other colour variations that exist. Worn on different uniforms and as I understand from around the mid 1950s The dragon head is from the Gokstad viking ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKC123 Posted June 3, 2022 Author Share #7 Posted June 3, 2022 Cool thanks for the info. If it’s from the 50’s I assume photos of it worn are hard to come by? I tried looking around but didn’t see any. Here’s the carving from the Gokstad ship. Pretty close Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorBn Posted June 3, 2022 Share #8 Posted June 3, 2022 No doubt where the dragon head on the patch is from, that is a cool image. I don’t know very much about these Navy insignia and not sure how long they were worn, but I have never seen a picture of these on uniform. Here are some more MJK related insignia, they are one of the few units in Norway using a beret flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKC123 Posted June 4, 2022 Author Share #9 Posted June 4, 2022 Nice collection. Mine is pretty small only about 4cm or just over square. Is that what size yours are? Must have been something akin to a qualification badge rather than a unit patch at this size I would think but I know nothing about Norwegian uniform practices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorBn Posted June 4, 2022 Share #10 Posted June 4, 2022 It’s a speciality/ branch insignia worn on the sleeve. The unit patch has what is known as the «seacow» on. This is an older one from the 1990s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKC123 Posted June 8, 2022 Author Share #11 Posted June 8, 2022 Cool thanks. Iv seen that one before but assumed it was the more modern insignia that replaced this. Do you know when the dragon head was replaced or is it still worn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted June 30, 2022 Share #12 Posted June 30, 2022 Very neat patch and very good conversation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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