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N.S. MEYER EARLY BRASS PILOT INCISED


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NS Meyer's used at least three patterns for pilot wings. The "slick" version which is likely pre-war to early war. The pre-war wings (observer, pilot, balloon and airship, for example) wings all use the "slick" pattern. Then the "first" pelican beak pattern which probably goes to about 1942 until about 1950's, For example, you won't find the WWII ratings (bombardier, navigator, etc) of NS Meyer wings in the slick wing pattern and won't find the pre-war wings (i.e balloon, airship) using pelican beak pattern.

 

After the KW, they seemed to use a modified pelican wing pattern that you find with the alpha/numeric system (although there may have been some overlap).

 

Thus, in general (I expect that there are exceptions-there always are), slick NS Meyer wings are probably pre-war, although there was clearly overlap with the pelican beak wings during the war. Pelican beak wings seem to be strictly war-time and post war manufacture. Then the last pattern seems to be post KW.

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I did not know that the Army Air Service's pilots wore yellow colored brass wings at one point in time. I had thought that they always had been silver colored, usually made of sterling and sometimes of coin or simply silver plated over brass or nickel. When did the AAS authorize these yellow color brass wings for wear?

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I think you're seeing a bit of the wing's underlying brass foundation peek through a somewhat worn silver wash...

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I suspect that the silver plate has simply been polished off. At one point these wings would have been silver. They were never intended to be "yellow color brass", I think.

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