Original item: Only one available. This piece is a scarce WWI First World War Imperial Russian Navy Submariner's / Submarine Officer's badge.

By June 25, the Imperial Russian Navy had secretly purchased its first naval submarine, named Madame, from Isaac Rice's Electric Boat Company. The submarine was originally built as the American torpedo boat Fulton under the direction of Arthur Leopold Busch. It was the prototype for the Dutch Type 7 design, known as the Adder-class/Plunger-class submarine. By October 10, the Russian submarine was officially commissioned and shipped to the east coast near Vladivostok, Russia, and was renamed Som ("Catfish"). The first Russian submarine was not ready in time for the Russo-Japanese war. Part of the reason for the delay was the delayed delivery of torpedoes originally ordered from Germany in early 1905. Russia soon ordered more submarines of the same basic design, which were built by Neva Shipbuilding under a contract with a Dutch company in St. Petersburg, Russia.

This particular badge was issued to Russian officers within the Imperial Russian Navy. It features a submarine in the middle, with an anchor in it bordered by a chain. The badge is in good condition but unfortunately no longer has the screw back present with it.

This is a beautiful, seldom seen badge of the Russian Navy during WWI and is a great candidate for further research!

The Russian Navy is the naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696, the present iteration of which was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had itself succeeded the Soviet Navy following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late December 1991).

The first iteration of the Russian Navy was established by Peter the Great (Peter I) in October 1696. Ascribed to him is the oft quoted statement: "A ruler that has but an army has one hand, but he who has a navy has both." The symbols of the Russian Navy, the St. Andrew's ensign, and most of its traditions were established personally by Peter I.

The Russian Navy possesses the vast majority of the former Soviet naval forces, and currently comprises the Northern Fleet, the Pacific Fleet, the Black Sea Fleet, the Baltic Fleet, the Caspian Flotilla, 5th Operational Squadron in Middle East, Naval Aviation, and the Coastal Troops (consisting of the Naval Infantry and the Coastal Missile and Artillery Troops).

The Russian Navy suffered severely after the dissolution of the Soviet Union due to insufficient maintenance, lack of funding and subsequent effects on the training of personnel and timely replacement of equipment. Another setback was attributed to Russia's domestic shipbuilding industry which was in decline due the absence of contemporary hardware and technology. Some analysts even argued that because of this Russia's naval capabilities faced a slow but certain "irreversible collapse".

In 2013 the rise in gas and oil prices enabled a sort of renaissance of the Russian Navy due to increased available funds, which may have allowed Russia to begin "developing the capacity to modernize". In August 2014, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russian naval capabilities would be bolstered with new weapons and equipment within the next six years in response to NATO deployments in eastern Europe and recent developments in Ukraine. Total tonnage for the Russian Navy as of 2019 is 1,216,547 tonnes.