Bullion Wings v. Metal Wings

[stratasfan]

Hi, Everyone! This has been something in the back of my mind since I first started researching (on a basic level) wing badges about a year and a half ago. I've been searching online, but only get for-sale items, and couldn't find a thread on this forum that answered my exact question. I even looked at some of the books I could find about AAC/AF insignia, but to no avail. I'm particularly asking about the greater WWII era. Later 30 through the 40s. I haven't really researched wings in any other era, but am interested if this question covers a longer period of time.

 

What exactly is the difference between bullion wing patches and metal wing pins? (And I don't mean the material that goes into making them! ) Why would you wear one or the other? When would you wear one or the other? I know that the RAF and the RCAF only award bullion wings. Were you awarded them? Did you have to have them made or buy them at a PX?

 

I'd really be interested if anyone has any info or thoughts. Bullion wings are everywhere, but I can't find out anything about them, other than grading, value, style, etc. I saw one in a thread a couple of days ago that someone posted about a pair of bullion wings they thought were Italian made. They were gorgeous and a work of art! Which pops another question into my head. Were they hand embroidered or machine done?

 

Thanks to any of you guys who answer! I am purely looking for enlightenment on this point!

[Brig]

I believe it ultimately came down to individual preference. Some liked the look, some liked that you didn't have to worry about them falling off, some probably found them more comfortable when working in their uniforms, no pins and clasps pushing against the chest, etc

 

Lots of bullion was hand done, however eventually machines came into use. Usually machine stitched bullion has a very tight weave in comparison to hand done

 

Of course, my bullion experience is largely outside wings, as I don't collect wings, but have handled bullion SSI and custom ribbon stacks with bullion devices

[Garth Thompson]

OK I'll give it a shot. This would be a very broad brush answer. The US AAC/AAF official wings were metal usually sterling silver. The graduate wings awarded upon completing flight school/training were clutch back metal wings. Everything else was private purchase. The embroidered bullion wings were usually theater made. The different styles of embroidery were unique to the places they were made ie. England, Italy, CBI and so on. While unauthorized these were very popular with the pilots and airmen and tolerated by higher authority. The RAF. RAAF, RSAAF, RCAF all issued cloth embroidered wings. The bullion made examples are unofficial.

Hope this helps a little,

Garth

[stratasfan]

Oh! So, there is a difference between "bullion" and "embroidered". I hadn't really put two-and-two together. So, no bullion wings are official then. I haven't run across bullion SSI or ribbon devices. Are the bullion patches very thick, compared to embroidered patches? One last question for you at the moment, too! Does"bullion" mean the type of thread it is embroidered with or is that just a name for the type of patch?

[Sabrejet]

These are embroidered WW2 USAAF wings....cut and uncut.

[Sabrejet]

Cont'd...

[Sabrejet]

These are bullion.

[Sabrejet]

British-made embroidered wings...probably the most widely used embroidered wings ( ETO, 8th / 9th AF )

 

 

[Marksman]

As i were in the German Bundeswehr - i realy loved the Pinback Badges - thes look good andthe chance to loosethem are very low - i realy, realyhate the cluchback bages - man every time i had one i were in panic that the cluch fall of and i loose the Badge.

 

On my Field Uniform i were cloth badges, ok metal badges are not allowed - but even when i would prefer the cloth ones in "field".

 

Maybe that were the same with wings - if you move / work alot in your Uniform you were cloth wings to stay save that you dont loose them.

 

 

And of course the personal prefer...

 

 

 

Greetings

Stefan

[Garth Thompson]

Oh! So, there is a difference between "bullion" and "embroidered". I hadn't really put two-and-two together. So, no bullion wings are official then. I haven't run across bullion SSI or ribbon devices. Are the bullion patches very thick, compared to embroidered patches? One last question for you at the moment, too! Does"bullion" mean the type of thread it is embroidered with or is that just a name for the type of patch?

 

The use of the term bullion refers to an insignia made with metallic thread usually gold or silver although aluminum was common during and after WW2. All cloth insignia are embroidered in one of a few different ways. Bullion thread patches are thicker than their regularly embroidered cousins.

Hope this helps,

Garth

[pfrost]

I'm sure someone will have the exact regulations, but I'm pretty sure that bullion wings were officially authorized for wear from almost the beginning (it isn't uncommon to see a high ranking officer with bullion wings). IIRC Hap Arnold's first drawing for the military aviator badges indicated that they were to be made in bullion. Bullion wings were very popular with the US Army and the USN pilots from day 1. They were made in the United States and overseas, and in a variety of theaters of operation (the CBI and England being relatively more common). I would argue that they were both hand embroidered and machine made and ranged from extraordinary to "ho-hum" in quality and workmanship.

 

Pretty much all the different ratings show up in bullion and metal wings. They seem to have been a bit more expensive than the metal wings, but not so expensive that enlisted men didn't buy and wear them as well.

 

The photographic evidence suggests that bullion wings were worn on fancy "special occasion" uniforms and everyday "work" uniforms. It isn't uncommon to see a mixture of pilots or crewmen wearing a mixture of metal or bullion wings in group photographs. US Navy aviator wings are especially common.

 

P

[pararaftanr2]

pfrost,

As for U.S. Naval aviator's wings during WW2, the use of bullion sewn-on wings or metal pin-on wings was a question of the uniform fabric. The service blue uniform and green winter working uniform were both made of worsted wool and had to be dry cleaned, therefore sewn-on bullion wings were used. The summer khaki uniforms were cotton and could be washed conventionally, therefore the removable metal wings were used. Hope this helps.

Regards, Paul

[pfrost]

You will find bullion USN aviator wings on the aviation green fabric, the blue backing, the khaki, and the white uniform material. I would agree it is more common to find them with blue (or black) backing and then the aviation green than the khaki or white, but you do find them.

[stratasfan]

Thanks to all for the fabulous info! You never fail to amaze with the depth of interesting information that you guys can lay out so nicely! I was excited to see all the replies when I opened my inbox. The photos are great, as I can now really tell the difference. I spent a little while looking online at photos of bullion wings and I could see how some were really nice and some were not so nice. However, as a whole . . . it is an art form! Some are exquisite! Actually, the photo of the bombardier wings that Sabrejet posted are some of the most beautiful things I've seen! I saw a picture of an epaulet that was decorated in gold thread and it looked like it was bullion. Now I am going to have to spend some more time looking at photos online.

 

A couple of more quick questions about bullion wings. Do they still make them? If not, what timeframe were they really worn? It would make sense about them being on uniforms that would be dry cleaned. I never thought about that.

 

Also, a question about collecting. I am assuming that there must be collectors of bullion wings/patches, as they are way to cool to not have attracted attention! Are bullion wings rarer than metal pin varieties or are they about the same as a collection? I've never looked, but are they in the same price range as sterling/metal wings?

 

If I wanted to search properly for bullion wings, are they really called "bullion wings"? Or is that just a popular term?

[Sabrejet]

Bullion wings are reproduced today....some to deliberatley deceive, others as honest reproductions for collectors. Original WW2 bullion wings being 70+ years old tend to exhibit varying degrees of tarnish whereas new-made ones don't...though some modern fakes are chemically treated to give them an aged look. Unfortunately, the only way to learn how to tell them apart is by educating yourself and handling as many as possible until you get a "feel" for them...there's no quick fix really. We've all made mistakes but the main thing is to learn from them! Re availability, metal wings are far more numerous and therefore easier to acquire.

[pfrost]

Bullion insignia go waaaay back and metalic thread embroidery is very common on military uniforms going back centuries.

As far as wing insignia go, the first drawing for the military aviator badges were for bullion thread. I don't recall the exact date, but it was in 1917 or 1918. Metal wings soon followed, but the bullion ones were probably the first. You see a wide range of metal and bullion wings being worn all through WWI. I believe a fair amount of bullion wings were made in France during the war, as they had a very strong textile and embroidery manufacturing system. You also see American made bullion wings, and I believe that some rare wings were made in England or Italy. But if I had to guess, I would say most bullion wings during WWI are either American or French made.

 

In the post war years of the 20's and 30's, you see some of the finest (IMHO) examples of bullion made wings. Mostly done in the US, they really are fine works of art.

 

In WWII you see an increase in the bullion wings being made and worn. In addition to the US manufacturers, you see bullion wings made in England,Italy (later in the war), and in the CBI (China and India, in particular). After the war, you can also find bullion wings made in Germany and Japan as well. To my knowledge, US pilots can still buy and war bullion wings, but I could be wrong. So bullion wings can be found from just about any era from WWI to today.

 

As for collecting, many people look for bullion wings. The major drawback is that since bullion work really only requires someone skilled in embroidery and a supply of the bullion thread, fakes abound. You will even find situations in which people have taken apart less expensive bullion insignia and recycled the threads into fake (and more valuable) wing insignia. For that reason, I think that many people steer clear of bullion wings.

 

That being said, I have found that even good vintage WWI bullion wings were sell for a fraction of what a vintage metal wing will sell for. For example, most Dallas wings still sell in the $1250-1500$ range (in general). While an equally good vintage WWI bullion wing may sell in the $250-750 range (in general). In fact, I have found deals on eBay for as low as $150 for a bullion wing (not often but sometimes! On the other hand, an English-made WWII pilot wing on blue backing may go for a couple hundred bucks, and a really nice CBI wing for even more. Still, I would say as a general rule of thumb a bullion wing is going to worth about 75-50% of what a similar metal wing is worth.

 

Bob has a nice site where you can see a fair number of bullion samples: http://www.ww2wings.com/main.shtml

I have posted some of my bullion wings from my collection: http://pfrost.bol.ucla.edu/Home.html

There is this thread dedicated to WWI bullion wings: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/29382-ww1-bullion-wing-variations/

And this thread showing some wings from the between the war period: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/45745-1919-1941-vintage-pilot-wings/

 

And if you just do a search for bullion wings, you ought to find plenty of other information.

[Sabrejet]

Here's an example of a repro WW2 Bombardier's wing with combat blue backing I just found on eBay. It's honestly sold as a repro and priced accordingly. You see how it looks "fresh"...but it could easily be distressed.

 

 

[cthomas]

'Pfrost' - a slight correction....

The very first drawing for a US military aviator badge was done in 1913 and was prescribed in silver, though the Army went with gold.

This first aviator badge design was eventually replaced by SR#41on 15 August 1917.

It was SR#41 that first called for two silver embroidered wings on a blue wool felt background.

The rest is history...

- Chuck

[pfrost]

Chuck, you are right, of course. But since the first badge was so limited, and the discussion was more on "wings" I didn't include it in my post.

 

Bullion insignia were being worn in the US Army well before then, and while it is kind of moot, I would expect at some point if that original badge design had survived, someone would have made it in bullion!

[5thwingmarty]

Bullion wings were also available from U.S. sources. Here is a page from a WWII Roy Paris catalog with one example of a bullion wing they offered. They also offered bullion AF insignia as well.

 

 

[Sabrejet]

Interesting to see the Air Corps patch actually described as a "novelty disc" ! I've got an original one myself and have also seen WW2 pics of them sewn onto OD field jackets. Always considered it, and similar items to be PX patches!

[Sabrejet]

....and similar quality bullion AAF patches similar to those illustrated above are still readily available today.

 

http://www.eastmanleather.com/usaaf-shoulder-roundels-c-51_57.html?osCsid=np0fmis9ve65baf7eei97nr4b1

[cthomas]

Metal & bullion/embroidered insignia were both used extensively throughout military history - from ancient times to present day. The same is true for our US military. I don't think one predates the other, is my point.

As for aviation wings, the same is true. Let not SR#41 distract from what came first - metal or embroidered/bullion - as I'm sure they were both equally popular with those early aviators, and both shared an equal footing (or timeline if you will) in aviation history.

- Chuck

[cthomas]

The fact that the first aviator badges were never made into bullion, may be an homage to those early birds, or the simple fact the Air Service was after its own identity over the parent unit, the Signal Corps.

What many aviation historians do not know, even seasoned ones, was the fact the US Air Service was still debating insignia design during the war. I need to dig up the documents, but to sum it up...

Air Service HQ (AEF) was convening boards and accepting prototype designs while the war was being fought. No joke.

Some of the most bizarre material I ever encountered while researching Gorrells...

- Chuck

[stratasfan]

Boy, thanks for the history. I'm really enjoying looking into this, as I've never really noticed them before. The catalogue page is really cool to see. I never think about the guys having to buy patches and pins! The pictures in the link to buy the AF bullion patches are really nice! Some are truly works of art!

 

I was looking at some and here are three links:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Estate-Find-WW1-WW2-Military-Bullion-Patch-Lot-USAAF-Vintage-US-Army-Air-Force-/331690588705?hash=item4d3a4cba21:g:2swAAOSwA4dWLC-Q

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-WWII-Air-Force-tin-Wire-Bullion-Theatre-Made-Patch-/301775258294?hash=item46433502b6:g:I~YAAOSwhcJWKDyK

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bullion-15th-Army-Air-Force-patch-WWII-US-Army-AAF-silk-Italian-theater-made-/271992192303?hash=item3f53ff7d2f:g:bfUAAOSwsB9V~2Wf

 

How can you tell that some are theatre made? The styles of each patch I've looked at always seems to differ slightly, so I was wondering if there were major differences or was it the type of thread?