Front Flying Clasp
The Front Flying Clasp (sometimes front-line aviator badge) of the Luftwaffe (German: Frontflugspange der Luftwaffe]) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to aircrew and certain other Luftwaffe personnel in recognition of the number of operational missions (Feindflüge) flown. It was instituted by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring on 30 January 1941. It was awarded in Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Pennants suspended from the clasp could indicate the number of missions obtained in a given type of aircraft.
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Units
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- The Front Flight Clasp for all day and night fighters (as well as for ground attack and destroyer pilots) was established on 30 January 1941 for the crews of the fighter (also Schlachtflieger and Zerstörer) units. After the creation of a special Front Flight Clasp for attack pilots and destroyers in 1942, this clasp was only awarded to day fighters.
- The Front Flight Clasp for Kampfflieger (so-called bombers) and Stukas (dive bombers) but also transport and airborne units was also established on 30 January 1941.
- The Front Flight Clasp for Aufklärer was also established on 30 January 1941 for reconnaissance and sea rescue aviation units as well as weather reconnaissance squadrons.
- 13 August 1943: Reconnaissance flights with single-engine aircraft (fighter reconnaissance) over the sea in areas at least 400 km from the aircraft's own coast can be counted twice for the award of the Front Flight Clasp, regardless of the duration of the flight, with or without contact with the enemy air force.
- 29 April 1944: Front Flight Clasp for flying personnel of naval reconnaissance units. In addition to flights with contact with the enemy in the air, the following can be counted as a front flight in the sense of the award regulations: two operational flights carried out by coastal reconnaissance units to protect convoys as part of submarine hunting or to maintain contact in the coastal area, provided that they each have a total flight duration of at least 2 hours. These flights can also be flown in areas over sea within the 100 km zone.
- A standalone Front Flight Clasp was created for the transport and airborne units on 19 November 1941. Göring wrote: In recognition of the outstanding and often decisive achievements shown by the transport and airborne units in carrying out their diverse tasks at the front, I recognize the justification for the desire for a front flight clasp with its own midfield, different from that of the combat pilots. Moreover, since the transport and airborne units have experienced a significant increase in numbers, I approve the introduction of a further version of the front flight clasp for the members of the flying personnel of these units [...]. The previous award regulations apply mutatis mutandis to the front flight clasp for transport pilots.
- A standalone Front Flight Clasp was created for the flying personnel of the destroyer (heavy fighter) and ground attack units on 13 May 1942. This meant that the Front Flight Clasp established for fighters, etc. on 30 January 1941 was reserved exclusively for these personnel. After the separate establishment of the Front Flight Clasp for ground attack pilots in 1944, it was only awarded to members of the destroyer units.
- The Luftwaffe Ordinance Gazette of 24 August 1942 contained on page 147 the establishment of a standalone Front Flight Clasp for night fighters.
- short-range with the arrowhead pointing upwards in a black lacquered laurel wreath
- long-range with the arrowhead pointing downwards in a black lacquered laurel wreath
- As the last award of this type, the Front Flight Clasp for ground attack pilots was created by the High Command of the Luftwaffe on 12 April 1944.
Criteria
All soldiers of the aircrew who held an airman's license appropriate to their position were eligible for the award of the Front Flight Clasp: pilots, observers, bombardiers, radio operators, flight mechanics, gunners and war correspondents; as well as civil servants, members of the engineering and navigation corps who had been deployed to front-line or enemy flights in the performance of their duties. Front-line flights within the meaning of these regulations were flights that went at least 30 km behind the enemy front or involved contact with enemy aircraft.
- Bronze – 20 flown missions
- Silver – 60 flown missions
- Gold – 110 flown missions
If the award was in silver, the bronze clasp already worn had to be removed and returned; if the award was in gold, the silver clasp had to be removed and returned. Front flights that had already been carried out with another branch of the military were to be counted towards the required total when awarding the next higher front flight clasp of the Luftwaffe.
Front flights, especially for bomber pilots, but mainly for long-range reconnaissance aircraft, over four hours of flight time counted double, flights over eight hours even counted triple. For example, it was possible to be credited with 100 or more front flights after 40 or 50 enemy flights.
Expanded regulations
It was inevitable that, during the course of the Second World War, further front flight clasps were created and that the awarding regulations were expanded and detailed, of which a few general examples are given in very abbreviated text:
- 4 November 1943: After a change of branch of service, when the next higher front flight clasp is awarded, the front flight clasp is always awarded that corresponds to the branch of service in which the majority of eligible front or enemy flights were flown after the last front flight clasp was awarded.
- 28 January 1944: In addition to the previous regulations, the following are to be counted for the award of the front flight clasp: enemy mission flights with a total flight time of over 12 hours are counted four times, and with a total flight time of over 16 hours are counted five times. The prerequisite is that at least half of the stated time was flown over enemy territory (mainland or island) or in areas over sea that are at least 100 km from the country's own coast.
- 13 February 1944: For members of the aircrew deployed in anti-gang warfare (Bandenbekämpfung), only those flights that have led to enemy air contact or significant ground defense can be counted as front-line flights in accordance with the applicable regulations. Flights that were not based on a combat mission or whose execution did not require flying over the gang (partisan) territory for compelling reasons are not considered for evaluation. There are no plans to establish a special "anti-gang warfare aviator badge."
- 31 May 1944: In view of the worsening air situation in the coastal areas from 1 January 1944, three mine-sweeping flights can be counted as one front-line flight in accordance with the regulations for awarding the front-line aviator badge if they have a total flight duration of at least 30 minutes and are flown in sea areas that require appropriate fighter protection to carry out the mission.
Pennant
The "Pennant to the Golden Front Flying Clasp" (star pennant) was established on 13 July 1942 as an incentive to the highest performance and performance in front of the enemy. Criteria for the pennant to the Gold Front Flying Clasp were for:
- Day Fighters (Tagjäger) and Transport Units – 500 missions
- Air to Ground Support Fighters (Schlachtflieger) – 400 missions
- Bombers (Kampfflieger), Air Sea Rescue and Weather Reconnaissance (Seenot- und Wettererkundungsflieger) – 300 missions
- Reconnaissance (Aufklärungsflieger) and Night Fighters (Nachtjäger) – 250 missions
The "Pennant to the Golden Front Flying Clasp with Mission Number" was established on 29 April 1944. At the same time, Hermann Göring had introduced the Front Flying Clasp in gold with diamonds, which he reserved the right to award himself. It was awarded to Colonel Werner Mölders and to Colonel Hans-Ulrich Rudel with the pendant "2000". Individual numbers of front flights (Feindflüge) in increments of 100 (starting with the number 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, etc.) were distinguished with the pennant for the golden Front Flying Clasp with number of operations. Anyone who was awarded the pennant with the number of missions had to discard the pennant without operation number (star pennant).
Front Flying Clasp in Gold with Diamonds
The creation of the "Front Flight Clasp in Gold with Diamonds" was carried out by the Reichsminister der Luftfahrt und Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe (R. d. L. und Ob. d. L.) Hermann Göring on 29 April 1944. It could not be determined whether this clasp was awarded according to any guidelines. It was most likely created and awarded personally by Göring.
Colonel Werner Mölders, Commodore of Fighter Wing 51 (Jagdgeschwader 51) and General of the Fighter Pilots, received an unofficial version of the clasp for fighters when he had received his diamonds to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . Colonel Hans-Ulrich Rudel received the first and only official award with diamons and the pendant "2000" for the Front Flight Clasp for ground attack pilots in June 1944. Rudel describes this clasp in his book "Trotzdem" as follows:
- Göring awarded me the Front Flight Clasp in Gold with Diamonds on the occasion of my 2000th enemy flight, which I made some time ago. It is an absolutely new medal, never awarded before, as no one else has reached this number of enemy flights. It is made of solid gold and has a platinum wreath in the middle, above which are two crossed swords, and below it a pendant with the number 2000 in small diamonds.
Bundeswehr
At the latest with the course of the Kosovo War in 1995 and the "Alliance Force" operation in 1999, the Bundeswehr Luftwaffe introduced the Front Flight Clasp with the number of missions for the Tornado ECR crews of the 32nd Fighter Bomber Wing and the Tornado REECE crews of the 51st "Immelmann" Reconnaissance Wing. The pilots wear the clasp in embroidered form as a patch on the chest of the "Fliegerkombination" (flight suit).
