tomcatter Posted February 18, 2017 Share #1 Posted February 18, 2017 Hi guys,These are two nice sets of US Army Aviator Wings, both from Meyer and almost from the same era (mid-1950's I guess).One is the classic silver wing, the other is gold filled.I suppose the gold wings are intended for an Instructor, but I wonder if they are issued or not: what are your thoughts about?On the back "NS Meyer Inc NY" marking with early "9M" shield. Short pins. Very "tridimensional" design, not "flat faced" as many recent wings.Thank you for looking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomcatter Posted February 18, 2017 Author Share #2 Posted February 18, 2017 Silver pair of Wings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomcatter Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share #3 Posted February 20, 2017 Common guys... what do you think about golden wings? They were issued or "unofficial"? Thoughts welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted February 20, 2017 Share #4 Posted February 20, 2017 I doubt that they are instructor wings. Gold "instructor" wings are really something (in general) that was used by civilian instructor pilots during WWII. USAAF instructors wore a small pair of wings on the cuff of their sleeve and regular silver pilot wings on their breast. I have very little knowledge of US Army aviation insignia, but I had heard that wearing of gold colored wings were approved for the dress uniform. They could be sweetheart wings or maybe something that was awarded unofficially at retirement? Pretty cool, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomcatter Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share #5 Posted February 21, 2017 Hi Patrick,I don't know, these wings belonged to a WWII USAAF Veteran who after the war served in the US Army Aviation. He was a Pilot and in the 1960's he became an Instructor, but I don't know if he did this last job in the US Army or in a civilian company (unfortunately my infos about him are very vague). This is the first golden US Army wing I've ever seen, so I wonder what it could be. You're probably right, it could be a kind of unofficial award for the retirement, I think it's a quite plausible theory. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KurtA Posted February 22, 2017 Share #6 Posted February 22, 2017 I wonder if it's something some police departments adopted? (knowing what this individual did after his military service would have gone a long way in proving or disproving my theory). I have one too and always wondered what is was for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Ragan Posted February 22, 2017 Share #7 Posted February 22, 2017 Gold U.S. Army Aviator wings are for civilian Dept. of the Army pilots. I have a complete set of three. basic, Sr. and Master ratings and got them all from a Dept. of the Army civilian pilot who worked at the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama. These guys are like civil corporate pilots but the Army gives them these gold plated wings. I believe most if not all these civilian pilots work at Army depots. You will find these in the shiney finish and a dull finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomcatter Posted February 22, 2017 Author Share #8 Posted February 22, 2017 Great, thank you very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Ragan Posted February 22, 2017 Share #9 Posted February 22, 2017 Great, thank you very much! You are most welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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