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Author
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Topic: Identifying flown Apollo mission patches
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Romeo-1
Member Posts: 15
From: Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, Canada
Registered: Jan 2015
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posted 02-04-2015 04:59 AM
  
An elderly acquaintance contacted me on Saturday to advise that he was moving back to the UK. We have a similar interest in local history and he wanted to show me some maps he had procured before he left. He's also selling his personal possessions prior to his move and wanted to give me a look. Maps were interesting but they were the only things he wasn't selling. I did pick up two Apollo mission patches. He told me that the patches are mission flown with the Apollo 12 patch actually being taken to the surface of the moon. Unfortunately he had no documentation to support that but advised me that his wife worked for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum during the Apollo missions, which is how she came into possession of the items. My questions are: - Is there anyway to prove or disprove that these are in fact flown patches?
- Is there an account of how many patches were actually carried on each mission?
- How were these patches presented and to whom?
Thanks all... this site is a wealth of information!  
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spaced out
Member Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 02-04-2015 06:20 AM
- There's no way to prove these patches are flown although it is theoretically possible. Both are Lion Brothers versions which, perhaps not coincidentally, were the kind sold at the National Air and Space Museum gift shop around the time of the Apollo missions.
- Unfortunately don't know how many patches were flown on each mission.
- Those that were flown were sometimes used in NASA presentations but most were carried by the astronauts themselves and distributed by them as they saw fit.
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Romeo-1
Member Posts: 15
From: Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, Canada
Registered: Jan 2015
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posted 02-04-2015 07:43 AM
Thank you for the reply! Yeah, I didn't think it would be possible to prove that these were mission flown patches. I have no reason to disbelieve the person I obtained them from, he himself was working at the United Nations so I would think that he and his wife would have been the "target" recipients for these, so I'm going to allow myself the small indulgence of believing that these are actual mission flown patches! Regardless of pedigree I now have something else to collect... my wife will be so pleased! |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-04-2015 07:49 AM
Just to note, the National Air and Space Museum did not exist at the time of the Apollo missions — it was founded in 1976 (it did sell Lions Brothers' patches after it opened). It is possible that his wife worked in another Smithsonian museum. |
Romeo-1
Member Posts: 15
From: Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, Canada
Registered: Jan 2015
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posted 02-04-2015 07:59 AM
Was the National Air Museum located on the mall and was that a part of the Smithsonian? He did say that she worked on 'the mall." I'll have to talk with him some more and try to get more information. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-04-2015 08:05 AM
The National Air Museum was located on the National Mall, housed in the Arts and Industries Building and in a Quonset hut behind the Smithsonian Castle. |
onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 02-04-2015 09:53 AM
Robert, you are correct about the collections being on exhibit in the Arts and Industries building and the hut on the National Mall, but technically, the name Air and Space Museum was adopted earlier, 1966 in fact, and its new home was opened ten years later. It was known as just the Air Museum from 1946-1965. |
Romeo-1
Member Posts: 15
From: Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, Canada
Registered: Jan 2015
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posted 02-04-2015 11:44 AM
One thing that the previous owner was adamant about was that the Apollo 12 patch was actually on the moon. Were patches ever taken to the surface of the moon or were they left in the command module? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-04-2015 12:07 PM
Yes, the astronauts could take a small pack (known as a personal preference kit) of mementos onboard the lunar module to the surface (the PPKs remained inside the LM until they were transferred back to the command module for the trip back to Earth). Here's an example of a Lion Brothers' Apollo 12 patch that Pete Conrad certified as having "spent over 31 hours on the lunar surface." Given how few of the patches flew (at least in comparison to those produced), the astronauts didn't generally hand over loose patches without some type of presentation or letter or other type of provenance noting that it flew. Lacking that, any patch probably has to be considered as having remained on Earth. Sorry... |
Romeo-1
Member Posts: 15
From: Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, Canada
Registered: Jan 2015
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posted 02-04-2015 12:17 PM
Thanks for all the feedback... learning a lot! Despite their provenance they will still look great in my 5 year old's patch collection! |
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