{"product_id":"no-38-maintenance-unit-royal-air-force-lapel-badge","title":"No. 38 Maintenance Unit, Royal Air Force lapel badge.","description":"\u003cp\u003eNo. 38 Maintenance Unit, Royal Air Force — an enamelled lapel\/sweetheart badge in the official heraldic design.\u003cbr\u003e ∙ Crown: King’s (Tudor) crown, dating this piece pre-1953 (production likely 1940s to early 1950s).\u003cbr\u003e ∙ Central device: A red dragon’s head wearing an ancient crown — Welsh dragon, denoting the unit’s Welsh home station.\u003cbr\u003e ∙ Scroll motto: “Dim Ni’n Hetyl” — Welsh for “Nought shall deter us” .\u003cbr\u003e ∙ Form: Gilt and enamel, pin-back, hollow-struck reverse. This is a civilian-pattern sweetheart\/lapel badge rather than a uniform insignia — sold or given to personnel, families, and association members.\u003cbr\u003eThe unit\u003cbr\u003eNo. 38 MU was formed at Llandow on 1 April 1940 and disbanded on 15 March 1957. It served within No. 41 Group, RAF Maintenance Command — the group responsible for aircraft (as distinct from armament\/fuel or repair\/salvage groups).\u003cbr\u003eRAF Llandow sits in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales — hence the Welsh dragon and Welsh-language motto. Many civilians were employed at the Unit from 1940 to 1957 , which was typical of the larger MUs.\u003cbr\u003eWhat they did\u003cbr\u003e38 MU was an Aircraft Storage Unit (ASU) — one of the cornerstone roles in 41 Group. Their job was to:\u003cbr\u003e ∙ Receive new aircraft direct from manufacturers (often flown in by Air Transport Auxiliary pilots, including the famous women ATA ferry pilots).\u003cbr\u003e ∙ Prepare, modify, and store them in flyable condition until operational squadrons needed them.\u003cbr\u003e ∙ Issue aircraft out to front-line squadrons and operational training units, and take back time-expired or damaged airframes for refurbishment or scrapping.\u003cbr\u003eLlandow handled enormous throughput during WWII — Spitfires, Mosquitoes, and later jets like Vampires and Meteors all passed through. A surviving group photograph from c.1953 shows a Mosquito on the apron , consistent with the type still being processed through the unit into the early 1950s. After the war 38 MU became a major disposal and storage centre for surplus aircraft as the RAF drew down.\u003cbr\u003eDating\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gradia Militaria","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53332245741896,"sku":"June26-116","price":24.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0924\/1103\/5976\/files\/IMG-1230_c4feb86f-4c37-4762-bacc-00143e8bc7a4.heic?v=1781871521","url":"https:\/\/www.gradiamilitaria.com\/products\/no-38-maintenance-unit-royal-air-force-lapel-badge","provider":"Gradia Militaria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}