Here is what an early Yugoslavia Parachute badge should resemble. I do not have full confidence in this example, but it does resemble that badge worn by Yugoslav Troops during WWII.

 

Thanks Robert. I knew if anyone had something to share in regards to this subject it would be you.

 

Honestly though, I don't believe that any of these badges were actually produced. There was one (1) Yugoslavian paratrooper training class (1939/40), there was a badge design but I guess I would need to see a photo of it in wear to believe it was ever actually produced.

 

emedals has one for sale they say was produced in Egypt. (pilot badge altered with parachute added)

 

https://www.emedals.com/a-royal-yugoslav-paratrooper-s-badge-c-1941

 

Here is the original class photo of the one/only paratrooper training class. There is a nice illustration of the design of the badge.

Awhile ago I was exchanging emails with a collector in the former Yugoslavia. He was a collector of the early WW2 and pre-WW2 Royal Yugoslavian pilot wings. I asked him about their same pattern WW2 paratrooper wing that is illustrated on Plate 60 in the book by R.J. Bragg & Roy Turner titled, "Parachute Badges and Insignia of the World". He told me that the paratrooper version of this badge never existed. I sent him photographs (see below) of one I had seen for sale at the Great Western Gun Show in Pomona, California. He named an individual living in Ontario, California, whom he said were making these fantasy badges.

 

 

 

 

Here is one currently on ebay which very closely resembles the last example posted.

Reverse. Notice the number

Thanks for posting these photographs. Very interesting as the individual I was emailing in the former Yugoslavia also told me that the back of the badge I photographed in Post # 3 as well as this one are identical to the reverse of early production Yugoslavian pilot badges made by Karnet Kysely Praha, Czech republic in 1930-1932.

 

 

Just saw this crude cast piece up for bid on eBay.

 

 

I lived in Belgrade for two years, 2004-06, and was a member of the local militaria collecting group that met every Tuesday and never recall seeing a parachute badge. Plus, I became friends with several advanced collectorsand saw some pretty amazing and rare ephemera.

Hello all,

 

I'm new to the Forum, but a longtime collector of international parachutist qualification badges.  Like many of you, I'm still chasing authentic examples of a few of the rare WW2 para badges (Romania in particular), amid a sea of reproductions and fakes.  

 

I thought I'd offer up some photos of a WW2 Royal Yugoslavian para badge that I believe has a decent chance of being authentic.  I found it several years ago as part of an estate sale in California, by the family of a US Army chaplain who served in North Africa and Italy during the war.  This badge was one of about three or four dozen Commonwealth insignia in a small canvas bag among his belongings.  I didn't buy the lot, just this one.  My understanding is that SOE trained a small number of Royal Yugoslavian military personnel -- first in Egypt, then in Bari, Italy -- for insertion into occupied Yugoslavia, but no organized airborne unit existed.  Ignoring the story and just focusing on the materials and construction, I liked the fact that it has flat-wire lugs that were embedded directly into the cast brass, a common feature of authentic Egyptian-made LRDG badges.

 

Stay well,

Donovan