C014990 CROATIAN VOLUNTEER PILOT'S AIR FORCE LEGION BADGE. (Značka Hrvatske Zrakoplovne Legije)

BACKGROUND: In December 1918, shortly after the end of WWI the Austrian-Hungarian Empire was forced to cede the southern Slavic regions of its empire consisting of, Slovenia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia to the victorious powers which were to unite with Serbia to form a new independent state known as the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1929 this independent state would officially be named Yugoslavia. From the establishment of the new Yugoslavian state there was friction between the largely Catholic Croats and the Greek Orthodox Serbians with many of the Croats demanding their own autonomous state. As a result of the Italian Duce Mussolini’s ill-advised foray into Greece in October 1940 the German’s were compelled to assist the Italians and send troops to the Grecian campaign. In order to assist the Italians the Germans were obligated to advance through Yugoslavia to reach Greece. As a result of this situation the Yugoslavian Regent Prince Paul was coerced into signing the Tripartie Pact with Germany to allow free German passage through their country. Shortly after Regent Prince Paul signed the Tripartie Pact he was overthrown by a group of Serbian army officers. This sequence of events enraged Hitler who viewed it as a Yugoslavian defection from the Pact and on April 6TH 1941 the combined forces of Germany, Italy and Hungary launched an invasion on Yugoslavia to bring them in line. On April 10TH 1941, four days after the invasion of Yugoslavia, Croatia was declared a free and independent state and Ante Pavelić was installed as the Croatian Poglavnik, (Leader). On April 17TH Pavelić, declared war on Great Britain bringing Croatia into the war on the axis side. With Germany’s invasion of Russia on June 22ND 1941, Pavelić appealed for Croatian recruits to serve with the Germans in the war against Bolshevism. In mid-1941 the new Croatian state established an air force and in October 1941 a volunteer Croatian fighter and bomber squadron were dispatched to Vitebsk to assist the Germans on the Russian front. The Croatian fighter squadron was attached to the German Jagdgeschwader 52, (Fighter Group 52), as the 15TH (Kroat.) squadron and the bomber squadron was incorporated into the German Kampfgeschwader 3, (Bomber Group 3), as the 10TH squadron. Shortly afterwards the Germans introduced a distinctive Croatian Air Force Legion active service badge for wear on the right breast of all Croatian Air Force Legion personnel. German personnel serving in either unit were also eligible for the badge but wore it on the left breast.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Nice quality, slightly convexed, die struck, silver alloy construction badge features a central national Croatian shield consisting of a repeating red and white painted checkerboard pattern flanked by horizontally extended silver "wings" and surmounted by an ornate, recessed, silver and black washed, Celtic style double scroll encompassing the letter, "U" indicating Ustaše, a pro-Nazi militant group. The checkerboard features a subtly pebbled background to the white squares and embossed vertical lines to the red squares. Unmarked. Complete with original pin and catch device.

GRADE ****1/4                             PRICE $476.00

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