A Gunner Wing

[Patchcollector]

Happy Sunday all,
A recent find is this Air Gunner Wing.Some features that I found interesting are the one piece construction and the raised Sterling hallmark.I'm not sure who made these.I found the pattern on the WW2 Wings website,but the one shown there,which I'll provide a link to,has the disk behind the winged bullet,which mine is missing.I'm wondering which came first,the disk or diskless version?

 

 

Here is a link to the variation with the disk:

 

 

http://www.ww2wings.com/wings/usaaf/gunner/aafgunnerster112201.shtml

[stratasfan]

Cool wing! I haven't often seen photos of gunner wings without the circle behind the bullet. Are these 2" or 3" wings?

[5thwingmarty]

This same pattern of wing can be found with a LeVelle & Co. hallmark. I don't know of any proven sequence of production but I presume LeVelle started with the targetless and hallmarked design. Next would probably be this design without the maker's hallmark, and then a similar style with the target behind the winged bullet. A similar wing as yours can be found that has the winged bullet attached to a separate wing which has no target. I don't think these were necessarily made by LeVelle.

[Patchcollector]

Cool wing! I haven't often seen photos of gunner wings without the circle behind the bullet. Are these 2" or 3" wings?

 

Thanks stratasfan!The ones without the disk,or circle,or target as 5thwingmarty most correctly called it are seen less often than the versions with the target.The Wing I've posted in this thread is full size,or three inches wide.

[Patchcollector]

This same pattern of wing can be found with a LeVelle & Co. hallmark. I don't know of any proven sequence of production but I presume LeVelle started with the targetless and hallmarked design. Next would probably be this design without the maker's hallmark, and then a similar style with the target behind the winged bullet. A similar wing as yours can be found that has the winged bullet attached to a separate wing which has no target. I don't think these were necessarily made by LeVelle.

 

Thanks 5thwingmarty for that info and pointing me in the direction of Levelle.I did a search and found this discussion:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/277119-maker-of-gunner-wings-help/?hl=levelle&do=findComment&comment=2242789

 

and another:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/236738-can-anyone-date-this-pattern-of-wing/?hl=levelle&do=findComment&comment=1886528

 

 

In the second thread that I linked to mtnman posted an image of one similar to mine except his is maker marked.I'll add a copy of his image here for comparison purposes.

 

 

I'm wondering if the ones simply marked "Sterling" may have been made as "Graduation" pieces?

[5thwingmarty]

Here are front and back photos of my LeVelle gunner and my two-piece targetless wings side by side. Stylistically they are very close, so maybe both from LeVelle. I believe other types of wings were made from the base wing, but the primary tell for the LeVelle attributes wings is the Sterling mark on the right side of the wing.

 

[5thwingmarty]

And the backs.