pre-WW2 Polish LOPP Parachuting Sports Badge – Balloon Jumps

One of the first Polish parachuting badges introduced in the latter half of the 1930s by the Air and Anti-Gas Defense League (LOPP), awarded to jumpers trained in courses organized by LOPP.
The presented example was awarded for parachute jumps from a balloon.

A detailed description of the LOPP Parachuting Sports Badges can be found in Rafał Niedziela’s book “Tobie Ojczyzno, Znaki Spadochronowe i Szybowcowe w Polskich Siłach Zbrojnych 1941-1947.” According to Niedziela: “They are still relatively unknown in the collector community and are practically nonexistent in museum collections.”

The badge is in the form of a brown enamel balloon with the letters LOPP in red enamel. In the foreground, a parachutist with a white enamel parachute canopy is visible. The reverse is smooth with a pin. The surface has a scratched name (?), which is barely legible.