USMCRECON Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share #51 Posted March 6, 2011 This is a pair of fairly run-of-the-mill pin-back USAF non-sterling Senior Navigator wings by Gemsco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMCRECON Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share #52 Posted March 6, 2011 Two more to go! This is a pair of sewn-on bullion wings attached to a USAF officer's blue Ike-style uniform jacket. These were posted a year or two ago along with the entire uniform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMCRECON Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share #53 Posted March 6, 2011 This one is a nice set of bullion Senior Pilot's wings that awe mounted to a USAF Colonel's blue uniform blouse. They're clutch-back mounted but one of the clutch posts is a bit loose so I didn't want to try taking them off the uniform to photograph the back. The interesting thing about this one is the other wings that were over the right pocket. I'm not sure of the vintage, but they're Nationalist Chinese (Senior??) Pilot's wings. I've included a picture of them as well since they were on the US uniform. They look like they have a goldish tint in the picture but they're slightly tarnished silver in color. I have a handful of other wings that I didn't bother to photograph since they are not all that different from examples already posted or would be hard to remove from a uniform to show the back. Beyond that, I just got tired of photographing them. I hope those of you who view this thread enjoy looking at them. A couple forum members have already commented on a couple of the wings and I invite anyone else who wants to to comment on any of my wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMCRECON Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share #54 Posted March 6, 2011 A terrific collection USMCRECON! Here's a pair of British-made wings from my collection to compare with yours. Sabrejet :thumbsup: This is the one I really wanted to post and messed up twice.....going to go lay down now. Thanks for the comments and for posting ther pictures of your wings, Sabre. After seeing yours, I feel better about the stampd pair I have with the cotter pin mount. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted March 6, 2011 Share #55 Posted March 6, 2011 I've posted some of these wings previously and many were photographed through the glass of the display case. Yesterday I took the screws out and opened the case to clean the glass and thought it might be a good time to take some photos of them. Since I was in the mood to do some photography, I went ahead and photographed several others that are attached to uniforms. I'll probably be posting them a handful at a time over the next coiuple days until I get throuhj them. Anyway.......here we go: This one is sewn to the blouse so I can only photograph the front. I've had this uniform for probably at least 10 years. It belonged th (then) Captain George Kenney, later Commander if the 5th AAF in WW-II. This bullion wing is very interesting and I was pleased to see it on your thread. I have the same pattern on a Boston-made WWI jacket to a Lt. Mine is for a military aviator (with the star of the top). I have studied my wing very carefully, and frankly I like it a lot and don't think it is fake. Mine has been on the uniform for a very long time, but it is hard for me to believe that a Lt. actually earned the military aviator ranking. So one wonders what is the story there? On the other hand, I have discussed this wing with a number the more advanced WWI wing collectors, and it kind of falls in the 50:50 range. Some think it is perfect, some think it is a fake. As I said, I lean towards it being a good wing and am happy with it in my collection. To date, I have yet to see any other wings in this pattern other than yours. What type of provenance do you have? Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted March 6, 2011 Share #56 Posted March 6, 2011 This pair I'm not so sure about. I've had these so long that I don't even remember when I got them....probably 15 years ago or more. I looked at the gold US with a magnifying glass and the letters look to me to have been applied separately. It has some sort of marks on the back but I don't know what thy mean. Any comments would be welcome. Hello, Sorry, but I believe that this is one of Joe W reproductions of a extant wing. I may very well be wrong, but I had heard that the original (I believe to be shown here http://www.flickr.com/photos/17280737@N02/2352127174/ ) was used to make a series of copies. I periodically see these on ebay being sold. Sadly, I think that wing No 16 and 41 are also maybe "collector copies". Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seabee oef Posted March 6, 2011 Share #57 Posted March 6, 2011 Very nice collection you have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMCRECON Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share #58 Posted March 6, 2011 Hello, Sorry, but I believe that this is one of Joe W reproductions of a extant wing. I may very well be wrong, but I had heard that the original (I believe to be shown here http://www.flickr.com/photos/17280737@N02/2352127174/ ) was used to make a series of copies. I periodically see these on ebay being sold. Sadly, I think that wing No 16 and 41 are also maybe "collector copies". Patrick Hello Patrick. Thank you for both your comments. The bullion wings on the Kenney uniform are one of my favorites as well. As for the wings you believe to be repros, I had doubts about those as well. I've had them for several years but, mercifully, none of them were particularly expensive. Thank you for taking the time to reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffP Posted March 8, 2011 Share #59 Posted March 8, 2011 Oops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted March 8, 2011 Share #60 Posted March 8, 2011 Bill: I've greatly enjoyed seeing this collection on the forum. You were a busy man this weekend..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffP Posted March 8, 2011 Share #61 Posted March 8, 2011 This bullion wing is very interesting and I was pleased to see it on your thread. I have the same pattern on a Boston-made WWI jacket to a Lt. Mine is for a military aviator (with the star of the top). I have studied my wing very carefully, and frankly I like it a lot and don't think it is fake. Mine has been on the uniform for a very long time, but it is hard for me to believe that a Lt. actually earned the military aviator ranking. So one wonders what is the story there? On the other hand, I have discussed this wing with a number the more advanced WWI wing collectors, and it kind of falls in the 50:50 range. Some think it is perfect, some think it is a fake. As I said, I lean towards it being a good wing and am happy with it in my collection. To date, I have yet to see any other wings in this pattern other than yours. What type of provenance do you have? Patrick Those two bullion wings are definitely a match, and the Military Aviator wing on a Lieutenants uniform should raise a question or two. According to War Department Bulletin No. 35 dated 4 May 1914, only Regular Army "career" officers with the rank of Captain or above, and with a minimum of three years flying experience as a Junior Military Aviator (JMA), could qualify for a Military Aviator (MA) rating. That regulation ruled out any Reserve Military Aviator (RMA) from ever being able to qualify as a MA; however, one (1) exemption to that regulation was made right after the Armistice was signed via an Act of Congress when a small group of RMA Captains who had seen combat during the war were given a Military Aviator rating. Like Patrick, it would be interesting to know what provenance the bullion RMA wing attributed to General George C. Kenney might be. See pictures below: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cooper Posted March 9, 2011 Share #62 Posted March 9, 2011 Could these be Smilo? Very nice wings Bill, all of them!! Although I do not collect the earlier wings I love to see them :thumbsup: Cheers!! I think they are and the other two are LeVelle. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cooper Posted March 9, 2011 Share #63 Posted March 9, 2011 Here's a shirt-sized pilot's wing. It's nicely made and rather broad in design. It has no markings other than sterling. I consider this to be a Bell pattern. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cooper Posted March 9, 2011 Share #64 Posted March 9, 2011 This is a pair or almost identical Balfour wings except that they are Command Pilot wings. I believe they are from the same era as the Senior Pilot wings above.....comments welcome, as always. I LOVE these the two Balfour wings very nice! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMCRECON Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share #65 Posted March 9, 2011 Those two bullion wings are definitely a match, and the Military Aviator wing on a Lieutenants uniform should raise a question or two. According to War Department Bulletin No. 35 dated 4 May 1914, only Regular Army "career" officers with the rank of Captain or above, and with a minimum of three years flying experience as a Junior Military Aviator (JMA), could qualify for a Military Aviator (MA) rating. That regulation ruled out any Reserve Military Aviator (RMA) from ever being able to qualify as a MA; however, one (1) exemption to that regulation was made right after the Armistice was signed via an Act of Congress when a small group of RMA Captains who had seen combat during the war were given a Military Aviator rating. Like Patrick, it would be interesting to know what provenance the bullion RMA wing attributed to General George C. Kenney might be. See pictures below: I've had both the WW-I and the 20s uniforms for a long time. If I remember correctly, I got them in the late 90s. The only provenance I have is that they're named and the seller had several items from the Kenney "estate" for sale. I had no reason to doubt him at the time. :ermm: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMCRECON Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share #66 Posted March 9, 2011 I LOVE these the two Balfour wings very nice! John I like them as well. Both are in almost unworn condition. Both came with sterling clutches and the detail is very nice and sharp. I also like the very fine detail of the horizontal lines in the fill area between the two lower legs of the star on the Senior Pilot's wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMCRECON Posted March 11, 2011 Author Share #67 Posted March 11, 2011 Those two bullion wings are definitely a match, and the Military Aviator wing on a Lieutenants uniform should raise a question or two. According to War Department Bulletin No. 35 dated 4 May 1914, only Regular Army "career" officers with the rank of Captain or above, and with a minimum of three years flying experience as a Junior Military Aviator (JMA), could qualify for a Military Aviator (MA) rating. That regulation ruled out any Reserve Military Aviator (RMA) from ever being able to qualify as a MA; however, one (1) exemption to that regulation was made right after the Armistice was signed via an Act of Congress when a small group of RMA Captains who had seen combat during the war were given a Military Aviator rating. Like Patrick, it would be interesting to know what provenance the bullion RMA wing attributed to General George C. Kenney might be. See pictures below: Something I just noticed when looking at the comparison picture cliff posted of my WW-I bullion wings next to the ones Patrick posted with the star in his comment got me thinking about something....the black wool backing above the shield on my wings is cut very close to the shield, where there is considerably more border around other areas. I went back and looked at mine uniform again this morning and I believe mine originally had a star above the shield which was carefully trimmed off before they were sewn on the blouse. Perhaps the wings with the star were all that were available. Maybe the maker cut the star off....I don't know. Could also be that its just the way they were made cropped close like that above the shield. I'm certainly no wing expert but, as with Patrick, these have been on the blouse for a long, long time and I believe them to be original and authentic. That said, there's nothing at all wrong with healthy skepticism and I welcome everyone's opinions. I thank all those who have commented on my wing collection and also welcome any further comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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