RNAS cap badge with eagle
 

A friend picked this up and we’re trying to ID and date it please. I can’t find an identical badge and I’m guessing at RNAS. The wreath is less complex than typical RNAS cap badges I think. It has thick, horse-hair like padding. It appears to my eye to all be original.

Any thoughts?

It would say its a RN cap badge with the central metal anchor removed and a wrong type of eagle fitted in its place to try and replicate a RNAS badge.

Not as it was made and probably altered in order to deceive as the RN is £25 and the RNAS £450. Big difference.

regards

:eek: Thanks Simon. I’m shocked and appalled that some rapscallion would attempt to deceive the honest but naïve collector!

Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge.

Hi
I totally agree with Simon.
Regards steve

I had a nice original one in my old WWI aviation collection. I have always thought the eagle was silver, or at least mine was. This one looks brass and bigger than should be. Been near 30 years ago, so defer to he greater minds here, as these are just my observations.

Terry

While I'd agree that this badge could be put together, it is worth noting that Ray Collishaw wore an RN style cap badge with eagle affixed in place of the anchor. Can clearly be seen that the wreath is not that of the RNAS pattern. Note he is wearing it with his transitional RAF uniform, post 1918

Nice find Mike, thanks. OK, I have Collishaw's 1919 cap badge! No they are a touch different. His eagle is larger and the tail feathers a different shape. The wreath is different at the top and I think the shape of the crown is different too but it's not the standard RNAS badge base as you said. I've attached a blow-up of the cap from your image.
I went through the book, Collishaw & Company and I believe his post war cap badge is different from all of the images of other Canadians in the RNAS so you certainly found a unique image from my limited research. For those who don't know, he was credited with around 60 to 87 aircraft shot down in his career, depending on what you read.


To all readers, it's worth a look at the old 21 minute CBC documentary and interview with Collishaw (CB, DSO & Bar, OBE, DSC, DFC), mainly in colour. There are some interesting vintage pics in there. Here's the link:
https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/ra...wwi-flying-ace

Go figure, if you Google this stuff, there is a conspiracy theory that Collishaw was actually a pre-incarnation of Elon Musk. :rolleyes:

If Collishaw wore a 'home made' badge, there must be more out there, with any number of different style eagles.

....I think you will find there are early unofficial conversions, but they are still not strictly correct , and are not official RNAS pattern officer cap badges .
Buy what you are happy with .
Steve

The centre jewel is blue, I always thought the earlier RN badges (pre 1920 something) were red in the centre jewel.

I think, as has already been said, the badge in post one is simply a post Great War RN officers cap badge, sadly, with it's original anchor removed and absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the RNAS.

Just adding a bit more evidence, Frank :)

It is certainly interesting to note that Collishaw wore both the RN and RNAS cap badges and this hybrid which does appear to be a RN officers cap badge with it's anchor replaced with an RAF eagle, I dare say may have simply done that himself, perhaps because he was unable to obtain the correct pattern prior to the photograph, or, because he wished to show he had originally been a member of the senior service.

Absolutely, this sort of deceit is sadly, now commonplace.

I also didnt realize it before, but the eagle on the originally posted badge is an Australian pattern. Likely from a shoulder board