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African Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaInsigniaThe 'juleswings' Collection

African Special Operations Insignia #3 – Portuguese Mozambique’s Grupos Especiais Pára-quedistas 1971 -74

  Portugal’s presence in Africa dates back to the 15th century and their colonies (Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique) held important...
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Battlefields & Museums

The Fallschirmjäger Collection – Overloon War Museum, The Netherlands

Photographs of the German paratrooper displays at the Fallschirmjäger Collection shown in the Overloon War Museum in the Netherlands.
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African Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaThe 'juleswings' Collection

African Special Operations Insignia #2 –The Republic of Transkei 1981-94

Transkei Defence Force Special Forces and Airborne unit insignia 1981 - 1994
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African Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaBooks & ReferencesThe 'juleswings' Collection

PARABAT Vol.1 – A Guide to Collecting Insignia of the South African Airborne Units

  During the 1970’s and 80’s, South African paratroopers, affectionately called ‘Parabats’ or simply ‘Bats’ were at the forefront of...
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Battlefields & Museums

The D-Day Story Museum – Portsmouth UK

The recently refurbished D-Day Story (formerly the D-Day Museum) in Portsmouth is the only museum in the UK dedicated to Operation Overlord and the 6th of June 1944.
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Exhibitions & DisplaysMedals & AwardsThe Indochina Wars

AATTV – WO2 Jock Rutherford MM

‘Jock’ Rutherford completed two tours of Vietnam. During his first tour in 1966 he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery during Operation HOBART. His second was with the AATTV training Vietnamese RF troops as part of the MATT program.
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Australian Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaInsigniaThe 'juleswings' CollectionThe Indochina Wars

Mike Force, the AATTV and the relief of Dak Seang, April 1970

. Over the years I have been fortunate to acquire a number of Australian Army Training Team Vietnam and ARVN...
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Insignia

The New South Wales State Aviation School

The New South Wales State Aviation School was a civilian organisation whose existence is directly linked to the story of the Australian Flying Corps during the First World War.
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InsigniaThe 'juleswings' CollectionThe Indochina Wars

The Thai Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit (PARU) 1954 – 1974

The Thai Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit (PARU) 1954 - 1974. Despite it's innocuous sounding name, the unit was an extremely well trained special operations unit that was raised by the CIA and served with distinction during the 'Secret War' in Laos during the Vietnam conflict.
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Medals & Awards

Benghazi Raider: A WW2 SAS Hero’s Military Cross Medal Group

A WWII L Detachment S.A.S. Military Cross group awarded for Operation BIGAMY, the 1942 raid on Benghazi
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African Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaInsigniaThe 'juleswings' Collection

African Special Operations Insignia #1 – The Namibian Police Special Reserve Force

African Special Operations Insignia #1 - The Namibian Police Special Reserve Force is s the first in a series of articles looking at the insignia worn by various African nation's airborne and special operations units,
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Battlefields & Museums

The Darwin Aviation Museum – Northern Territory, Australia

Some photographs and review after my recent visit to the Darwin Aviation Museum
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Battlefields & MuseumsExhibitions & Displays

The Darwin Military Museum & Defence of Darwin Experience – Northern Territory, Australia

On 19 February 1942, Japanese aircraft bombed Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. It was the first direct attack on Australian...
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Medals & Awards

A WWII S.O.E. ‘Force 133’ Balkan Operations D.C.M. group sells for £95,000

This exceptional and important Second War S.O.E. ‘Force 133’ Balkan Operations D.C.M. group of eight went under the hammer at...
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Battlefields & MuseumsExhibitions & Displays

The Dutch Armed Forces Nationaal Militair Museum

The Dutch Armed Forces National Museum, known locally as the  Nationaal Militair Museum is located at the former Soesterberg airbase,...
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African Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaInsigniaThe 'juleswings' Collection

Two Rare Congo 5 Commando Mercenary Insignia Circa 1964

Two rare early Congo Mercenary badges as worn by Mike Hoare's 5 Commando.
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I went back to MASH Co. Ltd. ( @surplus_shop_mash ) in Osaka on Friday and following @vintage_productions ‘s advice I spoke to Julia who showed me the insignia folders behind the counter where I found this nice US Army 46th Special Forces Company pocket patch. Thanks for the tip Bob. Any idea’s? I found this Airborne / Special Operations patch at the S & Graf surplus store in Osaka. But I am unsure if it represents an actual military unit, or if it is just a fantasy patch made for the airsoft/military cosplay community. My gut feeling is leaning towards the latter, but can anyone help confirm the ID? Wandering around Osaka today and I stumbled across this painted on a wall in an alley full of vintage clothing shops. Quite obviously inspired by the WW2 patch of the US Army’s 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) submariner insignia. Osaka. Dropped into the MASH Co. Ltd. ( @surplus_shop_mash ) today, so here’s a taster of some of the stuff they have in stock. It’s really cool shop filled with actual surplus and militaria. It was a first time visit for me and whilst I didn’t find any insignia for my collection, there are a couple of things that I’ll probably grab when I head back there next week. French Indochina. La Rafale – The French Foreign Legion’s Armoured Train Tokyo. Hanazono Shrine 花園神社 Flea Market. I remembered that last time I visited Tokyo there was a small flea-market on the grounds of the Hanazono Shrine, close to where I stay in Shinjuku. So, I took a stroll over this morning to check it out. Unlike the massive Tokyo City Flea Market, this is a tiny, but more focused retro / vintage market. I am unsure how well known it is to visiting militaria collectors, but there were about half a dozen sellers (including one that was at Oi Racecourse yesterday) who had military medals, ephemera and some uniform items at their stalls. That’s more than I saw yesterday so, if you’re visiting or close to Shinjuku on a Sunday morning it could be worth checking out. Japan. Some variations of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (陸上自衛隊) Military Free Fall parawings worn by MFF qualified paratroopers of the 1st Airborne Brigade (第1空挺団). Juleswings Collection

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