Submarine Badges And Insignia Of The World An Illustrated Reference For Collectors Pete Prichard by Pete Prichard 9780764302558, 0764302558 instant download after payment.

Submariners are the elite of the elite. In both world wars, these units on both sides suffered casualties significantly higher than any other special group. The Dolphin is the symbol of the submariner in most of the undersea services today. More than half use it, while the others use a submarine or a combination of both. In the United States Navy a submariners’ badge is called his «Dolphins.» It is then somewhat fitting that (he first modern submarine to sail into combat was the Greek sub Delpliin (Dolphin).
Qualification badges for submariners were sparse in the early days. Probably the Imperial Russian Navy issued the first official badge in 1909, followed closely by Austria-Hungary in 1910. The United States first issued theirs in 1924, Officers in gold metal, Enlisted in cloth embroidery, either blue or white worn on the right lower sleeve (replaced in 1950 by a silver metal badge like the Officer’s). Cap tallies for the other ranks were the only indications up to at least 1954 in the Royal and German Navies though Germany issued U-Boat War Badges, there was no distinctive for submarine qualification. In the early 90’s Saudi Arabia became the latest (to date) to issue a badge.