Medals topic

Discussion in 'World War 2' started by DFC, Jun 30, 2009.

  1. DFC

    DFC New Member

    I was wondering how many people out there would be interested in if the forum had a topic section on Medals and insignia as I do not think that there is one
    Cheers Tony
     
  2. spidge

    spidge Active Member

    The Mod's will have a look into it.

    Sounds good to me however we will see what the consensus is!
     
  3. DFC

    DFC New Member

    Hi Spidge I do hope so ,quite a lot of other forums have that section ( not complaining thou) and for me ww2 is very ,very much the story behind the medals awarded not just the medal or decoration.
    Cheers AJ
     
  4. Kyt

    Kyt Άρης

    We have threads in the relevant forums, highlighting those who were the most decorated etc.

    But on the whole we tend to start threads about the individual during which any awards and medals are mentioned. As you say it's very much the story behind the medal(s) and I quite agree.

    So having a specific medal forum may actually be redundent.
     
  5. DFC

    DFC New Member

    I suppose i was also talking about naming on medals ,fonts etc on the ones that where named and irregularities of a similar vain and why so hard to find certain medals, numbers issued ,copies,fakes and the like.
    AJ
     
  6. DFC

    DFC New Member

    Why we are on that topic does anybody have any theories as to why an ACE star is worth 10 times as much as the nearest star in value ,surely when struck they were made in similar numbers to all the rest of the stars,Nobody doubts as to the value of one in a group and just how hard it was to be awarded one with so many dying before hand .I am just talking about the number issued as to the value ??
    AJ
     
  7. Kyt

    Kyt Άρης

  8. Kyt

    Kyt Άρης

    Maybe because

    a) there weren't the same numbers struck. The Air Crew Europe Star would number in the hundreds of thousands, not the millions like those awarded for the land forces

    b) all aircrew were volunteers, and combatants, and to some collectors, this may reflect the recognition of an extra bravery
     
  9. David Layne

    David Layne Active Member

    And perhaps,

    c. No Ace's issued after D Day.


    I think a dedicated medals area could be of value.
     
  10. DFC

    DFC New Member

    OK as to the numbers issued
    Some help from the net as to total crew members in Bomber Command ,but i have seen a higher number about 15000 more in total

    Bomber Command crews also suffered an extremely high casualty rate: 55,573 killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew (a 44.4% death rate), a further 8,403 were wounded in action and 9,838 became prisoners of war. This covered all Bomber Command operations including tactical support for ground operations and mining of sea lanes. A Bomber Command crew member had a worse chance of survival than an infantry officer in World War I. By comparison, the US Eighth Air Force, which flew daylight raids over Europe, had 350,000 aircrew during the war, and suffered 26,000 killed and 23,000 POWs. Of the RAF Bomber Command personnel killed during the war, 72% were British, 18% were Canadian, 7% were Australian and 3% were New Zealanders. The fatalities included over 38,000 RAF aircrew (of all nationalities), 9,900 Royal Canadian Air Force personnel, and over 1,500 aircrew from countries in occupied Europe.[citation needed] It is illustrative that members of the Australian squadrons of Bomber Command equalled only two percent of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel, but the 4,050 killed represented 23% of the total number of RAAF personnel killed in action during World War II. No. 460 Squadron RAAF, which had an aircrew establishment of about 200, experienced 1,018 combat deaths during 1942-45 and was therefore effectively wiped out five times over.

    Taking an example of 100 airmen:

    * 55 killed on operations or died as result of wounds
    * three injured (in varying levels of severity) on operations or active service
    * 12 taken prisoner of war (some injured)
    * two shot down and evaded capture
    * 27 survived a tour of operations

    In total 364,514 operational sorties were flown, 1,030,500 tons of bombs were dropped and 8,325 aircraft lost in action.

    So if you add fighter command about 10000 more about 135000 total (I have read a total of 143000 quite a few times ) so if a third qualified (before d day)and that's being very generous about 48000 issued maybe ? Yeah so the value ( rarity) compared to others I suppose its about right.

    Cheers Aj
     
  11. oowebb

    oowebb New Member

    ACE Stars are the rarest of all the campaign stars. They were only awarded to aircrew that flew the appropriate time over Europe before 6th June 1944 after this the France and Germany Star came into play have so many ACE having the bar. The value is simply because they are scare in comparison to the other stars and that only Aircrew could receive it unlike all of the other awards which were open to all services.

    Also, I think a medal based topic would be a good idea as many people become interested in the overall subject by finding medals and being given them by a family member. The difficulty with most WW2 awards is that they are, on the whole, un-named. The only officially named medals to British would be gallantry and long service awards to NCOs and ORs (Gallantry - DCM/GCM/DSM/MM/DFM/AFM Long Service - LSGC, EMs etc.). Excluding the VC (obviously awardedto all ranks), no "officers" decorations (DSO/MC/DSC/MC/DFC/AFC) were issued named although many were privately engraved with details. This makes the research difficult on groups unless the combination of awards is un-usual or unique, indeed many medal collectors will not think about purchasing a group unless there is a named medal present! As long as a group is attributable the topic would be very valuable.

    Nick.
     
  12. DFC

    DFC New Member

    I am wondering If we should have poll to the idea of Having a Medals,badges and insignia Topic area I agree about ww2 medals most not being named but often they are added to a ww1 vets service after ww2 .
    Cheers Tony:first:
     
  13. Kyt

    Kyt Άρης

    Ah but that implies that you assume that this forum is a democracy........
     
  14. DFC

    DFC New Member

    Hmm On the other hand this forum could be a joint dictatorship(s)
    Really thou would it not be a bad idea ,one more dedicated topic area would not be that much of an issue would it ?? We do not seem to have to many polls ?
    Would a poll be a big ask !
    Cheers Tony
     
  15. David Layne

    David Layne Active Member

    I don't care either way, we can have an area devoted to medals or not.

    I would remind you that a forum dedicated to medals is here.

    British Medals Forum • Login
     
  16. Antipodean Andy

    Antipodean Andy New Member

    A poll is not a big ask as you can set one up yourself but it would be a waste of time considering people can easily comment on this thread. I think a sub-forum for medals under the 'Your Collectibles' forum would be a nice enough fit. Having said that, posting under 'Your Collectibles' would achieve the same thing.

    As Kyt said, post what you want under 'Your Collectibles' and if enough discussion is generated, it'll be worthy of a sub-forum. See 'The War At Sea' and the 'HMAS Sydney' and 'AHS Centaur' sub-forums as an example.
     
  17. DFC

    DFC New Member

    Hi David, yes well its not life and death ,Its only life and death when you live in a city where medal dealers(from other states) ring you up for trades and items that them want from you .If i had the money i believe i would start a medal shop in Adelaide as we just do not have one .IS Wright is in Adelaide but do not have any more than a dozen medals singles in store at any one time maximum a joke .99% of my collection is from interstate or O/S.:eek:fftopic:
    Cheers Tony ps thanks for the link will check it out Is it my imagination that the majority of people on this forum are more or less Air force Enthusiasts .??
    :attention:
     
  18. Antipodean Andy

    Antipodean Andy New Member

    Just a coincidence, Tony, that the major contributors to this site are predominantly airheads. The interests of all, though, are far-ranging. For example, Kyt has a very strong interest in the 14th Army and I'm a sucker for Commonwealth and US naval operations - particularly the men on the small ships in the Med, CBI and Pacific.
     
  19. DFC

    DFC New Member

     
  20. Heidi

    Heidi New Member

    Hey DFC-Tony.

    Im curious, are you a medal colletor or are you a ww2 vet? Or both? I'm not quite shore.
     

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