This is an excellent example of the second pattern E-boat badge (motor torpedo boat), which had award criteria: 1) to have completed 12 sorties against enemy vessels or installations; 2) for outstanding leadership; 3) for a particularly successful mission; 4) to have been wounded in the course of an action, even if this was the first.
The classic action of these boats was in 1944 off the Devon coast (I believe the action was at Slapton Sands) when the US Navy, practising disembarkation prior to the Normandy landings, were caught on the hop by the Germans, who accounted for 700 casualties among the US infantry and seamen involved in this exercise.
The maker's mark 'R.S.' is for Rudolph Suval of Vienna. This example has the bulk of its original factory finish.
If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.
[Militaria : Badges : Third Reich : Navy]
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