German WW2 Air to ground support clasp in gold

German WW2 Air to ground support clasp in gold

German: Frontflugspange für Schlachtflieger im Gold.

This clasp is a known version but the maker is not yet fully established.

It's easy to see the difference between the gold and bronze grade since the bronze version has a brown chocolate tone.

Although used the clasp remain in excellent condition with a very nice gold wash.

Hardware is fully working.

A very hard to find clasp!

Take your time to read more about this short lived clasp below.

The Schlachtflieger clasp was specifically awarded to ground attack and dive-bomber (Stuka) crews who engaged in hazardous close-air-support missions, flying low to the ground to attack enemy troops, tanks, and fortifications.

The emblem for the Schlachtflieger featured a crossed sword and arrow pointing downwards, surrounded by a laurel wreath.

This is the Gold version and it was issued when the pilot reached 110 operational missions

Because ground attack crews flew exceptionally dangerous missions and faced intense anti-aircraft fire, achieving 110 missions to earn the Gold clasp was a testament to extreme skill and survival.

This clasp was was officially instituted April 12, 1944. 

Göring authorized this distinct design quite late in the war to finally separate the dedicated ground-attack crews from standard fighter pilots.

The goal was to give these flyers their own recognizable badge that highlighted the brutal, close-combat nature of their missions.  Because it was instituted in April 1944 and the war ended just over a year later, the window for earning the specific crossed-swords version was incredibly short. Combined with the high casualty rates of low-altitude support missions, the Gold version of this particular clasp is considered exceptionally rare today.