stratasfan Posted February 19, 2016 Share #1 Posted February 19, 2016 Just stumbled across this auction and was wondering what anyone thought of this? I've never come across any pin like this before, but it is even Amico. It looks like the center of the Aerial Gunner wing badge, but no wings! What was this type of pin for and where would you have worn this? Who would have worn this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-WW2-Amico-Sterling-USAAF-Aerial-Gunner-Wings-Badge-Pin-US-Army-Air-Force-/322013391702?hash=item4af97e6b56:g:YXQAAOSwPc9Wx3Zz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebuddy Posted February 19, 2016 Share #2 Posted February 19, 2016 Looks like a sweetheart pin ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BROBS Posted February 19, 2016 Share #3 Posted February 19, 2016 Sweetheart piece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pconrad02 Posted February 19, 2016 Share #4 Posted February 19, 2016 These were awarded for high scores at gunnery school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pconrad02 Posted February 19, 2016 Share #5 Posted February 19, 2016 Relatively uncommon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratasfan Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share #6 Posted February 19, 2016 How interesting! I wondered about it being a sweetheart pin, but it did look more like insignia. Where would you have worn these if you made high marks at your gunnery school? These were awarded for high scores at gunnery school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
268th C.A. Posted February 19, 2016 Share #7 Posted February 19, 2016 I was thinking a DUI. Either way its a nice find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted February 20, 2016 Share #8 Posted February 20, 2016 Very interesting piece - thanks for showing it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwnorma Posted February 20, 2016 Share #9 Posted February 20, 2016 Back in the mid-80s, I knew a few enlisted B-52 tail gunners who wore this insignia under their lapels. The AF did away with the Aerial Gunner wing badge in the 50s leaving only the Enlisted Aircrew badge. Later in the 90s, the AF removed all the B-52 tail guns and did away with the gunner position. All the guys I knew came from the B-52 community. There was also a community of Special Operations Forces, Gunship gunners, but I don't know if they also unofficially wore this badge. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted February 20, 2016 Share #10 Posted February 20, 2016 There are multiple theories about these wings, with almost no real documentation one way or the other. They show up periodically and they are almost always hallmarked AMICO. I have seen them called sweetheart items, top aerial-gunner awards, retired/no longer rated gunner devices, awards for air-to-air victories, gunnery student insignia, etc. My sense is (and I am not totally kidding) what you think they are tends to be based on what a militaria dealer told you they were or whether or not you have one for sale. My sense is that they were made available as sweetheart items that got used in a number of unofficial capacities. There are some photos of guys wearing these pinned on their hat band. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/16258-early-aac-arial-gunner-qual-badge/?hl=%20amico%20%20gunner%20%20sweetheart http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/184241-gunner-proficiency-badge-or-sweetheart/?hl=%2Bamico+%2Bgunner+%2Bpin&do=findComment&comment=1419506 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted February 20, 2016 Share #11 Posted February 20, 2016 Here a some similar bombardier devices made into earrings. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-WW2-US-Army-Air-Corps-Bomb-Earrings-Sterling-Homefront-Sweetheart-/350826737458?hash=item51aee72f32:g:byMAAOxyYYlRptN9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratasfan Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share #12 Posted February 20, 2016 Thanks for all of the posts! Particularly the links to the other threads. Makes sense why I couldn't find out anything, as there seems to be no real name for this type. I absolutely love it! I saw it as I was scrolling through eBay and thought first that it was the center of gunner wings. However, when I looked at the photo of the back, it was obviously made that way. I really enjoyed the one thread in particular, as you get to see a photo of a young man wearing one! I'm always a little skeptical when I see "rare" in a title, as it is so often misused and means nothing these days. However, I think this does qualify! It is really a fun pin! I saw this morning that someone already bought the auction, so I guess they don't stay up long! Thanks for all the input! Definitely a fun little item! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BROBS Posted February 20, 2016 Share #13 Posted February 20, 2016 Wow someone paid $125 for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratasfan Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share #14 Posted February 20, 2016 Well, they took a "Best Offer", but that generally means only a little off. You don't often get a large price reduction. So, close to it, anyway! Why? Is that too much? What would be a fair price to pay for one of these? Wow someone paid $125 for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted February 20, 2016 Share #15 Posted February 20, 2016 It depends on what you think they represent. They are rather uncommon, so that is going for it. If you think it was a "top gunner" award or something related to an aerial gunner efficiency award, and you were a collector of gunner items, then ~$125 is probably not an unreasonable price. If you think these are simply sweetheart/patriotic jewelry (for example, to be worn on the lapel of a suit jacket) then $125 is pretty pricey. I believe that some of the more "high end" dealers would ask a bit more than $125 (and would give you a pretty good story), while if you could find this at a flea market, you may pay as little as $1. My sense is that eBay is the great equalizer and so ~$100 or so seems to be the going rate. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott C. Posted February 21, 2016 Share #16 Posted February 21, 2016 These were awarded for high scores at gunnery school I've seen illustrations of the "Distinguished Aerial Gunnery Badge" that had the winged bullet over a target surrounded by a laurel wreath and suspended from a "Distinguished" bar. These were reportedly awarded in gold and silver. There was a similar set of award for aerial bombers. I've also seen (and have an example of) the Army Expert Gunnery badge with Aerial Gunner and Aerial Bomber bars suspended below. If this is for high marks at gunnery school, it must be in addition to the above awards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted February 21, 2016 Share #17 Posted February 21, 2016 The distinguished Aerial gunner and bombardier awards were vastly different than these little pins. IIRC they were awarded only in the 20's and maybe 30's, during annual competitions held by the USAAC--I also believe that they were obsolete by the WWII, so they precede the gunner wings by quite a bit (Cliff would know more than I do). They were made in gold are much larger than these little AMICO pins. To see examples go to Bob's site: http://www.ww2wings.com/wings/btw/us/presleydistinguishedgunner.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wharfmaster Posted February 21, 2016 Share #18 Posted February 21, 2016 Until someone comes up with an official Government document on this item, it's a sweetheart. Unless you can find a period photo of a soldier in uniform wearing any given badge, it didn't happen. W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BROBS Posted February 22, 2016 Share #19 Posted February 22, 2016 like many other sweetheart items, it was worn in an unofficial capacity as shown in the photo linked above. I don't believe that it's anything other than a sweetheart/decorative pin. Same thing with Seabee pins... I have a photo of a CPO wearing a Seabee crest (American flag shield with Seabee builder in center) on his overseas cap. This was not an authorized or issued pin, just something he put on "for decoration", and I imagine the pins in this thread were used in the same manor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratasfan Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share #20 Posted February 22, 2016 If someone has one of these pins, I would appreciate a nice picture of the front and back that I would be able to use on our website. This is very intriguing and I really like this little pin! Until someone comes up with an official Government document on this item, it's a sweetheart. Unless you can find a period photo of a soldier in uniform wearing any given badge, it didn't happen. W There is a picture in the first link that pfrost posted in one of the first replies. If you just scroll towards the bottom of the first page of posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wharfmaster Posted February 22, 2016 Share #21 Posted February 22, 2016 If someone has one of these pins, I would appreciate a nice picture of the front and back that I would be able to use on our website. This is very intriguing and I really like this little pin! There is a picture in the first link that pfrost posted in one of the first replies. If you just scroll towards the bottom of the first page of posts. Thanks, missed it. W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan H. Posted February 22, 2016 Share #22 Posted February 22, 2016 My recollection of this pin is that they were awarded to the top scoring students in each class at "Kingman Gunnery School" at Kingman Field in Arizona. As I recall, there were photos in the class books where you can find students wearing these pins on their caps. Maybe someone here has a class book from Kingman and might be able to take a look? Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BROBS Posted February 22, 2016 Share #23 Posted February 22, 2016 Ok that I could see. Some type of private awarding from a contractor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted February 22, 2016 Share #24 Posted February 22, 2016 I have one of the Kingman year books and I couldn't find any indication of any of the cadets wearing that pin, much less any notation as to which of the cadets were "top scoring" students, and thus worthy of special honors. But I didn't spend a lot of time looking at every photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gomorgan Posted February 22, 2016 Share #25 Posted February 22, 2016 I'm thinking ASMIC ran article on these some time back and photo of graduate with this pinned on the front his cap between EM badge and chin strap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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