History

The Observer Badge was instituted on March 26, 1936, and was conferred upon observers, including navigators and bomb aimers, who served for at least two months with a non-operational squadron or had participated in at least five operational flights.

The number of operational sorties could be reduced to only one if the recipient had been injured.

If an individual had been issued the Luftwaffe Pilot Badge and the Observer Badge, they were eligible to receive the Combined Pilot/Observer Badge.

The badge was approved on November 27, 1935, but was not officially issued until March 26, 1936.