Patchcollector Posted October 5, 2017 Share #1 Posted October 5, 2017 Hi all, Hoping to confirm an ID on this Wing.The seller states"The winged "R" is known to be an unauthorized wing for USAAF radio operators."It is the smaller "Hat size".Sellers pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchcollector Posted October 5, 2017 Author Share #2 Posted October 5, 2017 Last pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Ragan Posted October 5, 2017 Share #3 Posted October 5, 2017 It looks more like a Veit Nam era Army wing to me. Note the upswept wing tips. There were several types of unauthorized crew member wings that were made for Army troops in that time frame with different letters for different crew positions. Just a SWAG on my part, other opinions may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mghcal Posted October 5, 2017 Share #4 Posted October 5, 2017 I thought it was Vietnam as well. Really cool wing congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustywings Posted October 5, 2017 Share #5 Posted October 5, 2017 How wide is your illustrated piece? If it's in the 1.5 +/- inch range, it might have been worn on the O/S cap or uniform collar of a WWII era Civilian Contract Flight Instructor... with the letter "R" representing a flight school? Riddle? Ryan? Rankin? Interesting piece... thanks for stirring the collective juices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted October 5, 2017 Share #6 Posted October 5, 2017 I think Russ is correct, I have seen this type of thing associated with contract flight school insignia. I suspect that it is an AAF branch of service collar insignia that has had the prop removed and the "R" added to indicate the school. I seem to recall seeing a similar item or two posted in the instructor thread. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchcollector Posted October 5, 2017 Author Share #7 Posted October 5, 2017 Thanks everyone for all the input and good info.When I first saw the Wing,I was reminded of this Forum thread about the Vietnam War era Recovery Wing: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/291549-611th-tran-vn-group/ It does resemble an Army Aviation piece with the upswept wings.I'll post an image of that Wing here. Russ and Patrick have a good point as well about them possibly being WW2 School related.Patricks remark about how it looks like an AAF branch of service collar insignia that has had the prop removed and the "R" added to indicate the school prompted me to start looking online for a similar AAF branch of service collar Wing with the upswept wingtips.I did not locate one.If anyone has an image of one please post it. Russ to answer your question,yes the Wing is approximately 1.5 inches long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted October 6, 2017 Share #8 Posted October 6, 2017 Check this thread out, post 137-138 A very similar insignia without the "R". http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/71999-caawtscptflight-schools/page-6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchcollector Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share #9 Posted October 6, 2017 Yes indeed,it does look similar.Thanks for the link Patrick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted October 6, 2017 Share #10 Posted October 6, 2017 No problem. Chances are, if it is a WWII-related wing, Russ will have an example. But my sense is that it is a civilian item-probably from one of the flight schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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