WWII Jump Wings and Ovals

[Tonomachi]

I've only come across two of them. One I purchased on eBay that was not on an oval and this one which also sold on eBay. So I've only come across two of them and both have the Italian style tubular catch that you see on WW2 era Italian paratrooper and aviator wings.

[Kadet]

Another 505th oval/wing combo on a named Ike to a veteran of both the Normandy and Holland combat jumps

[Tonomachi]

Is this a 511th PIR unfinished or error oval missing the inner white border or maybe an unidentified quartermaster unit oval?

 

 

 

 

[Allan H.]

My vote is 511th missing the inner border. That is cool!

 

Allan

[chief4af]

Looking for help with ID and date of Manuf. of jump wings attached. Asian made came with a Meyers 1950 Army Pilot wings pin back.

 

Thanks

Marty

[Tonomachi]

I have the same image (rear only) of this same wing (see below) in my photo reference which I've had for years and never knew what the front looked like until now.  I can't remember where I found the image and why there was not an image of the front.   The fact that it came with a 1950s to 1960s era US Army pilot wing is interesting as I had always assumed it was either a theater made WW2 or post war occupation era piece.  It would be nice if someone could make out the Chinese characters on reverse which would tell us if it is of Chinese or Japanese manufacture.

 

The following is just speculation on my part.  What is obvious is the Chinese characters on the back indicating Chinese (Taiwanese) or Japanese manufacture.  The pin back assembly looks original to the wing which is a little baffling.  The pivot point pin back assembly attachment resembles the way in which the Japanese made copies of US paratrooper wings after WW2.  However this egg shaped ball catch was not used by any of the Japanese manufactures of US paratrooper wings during the occupation.  The Germans used a similar ball catch on one of their occupation era US paratrooper wings but this is obviously not of German manufacture.  The few WW2 era Chinese made US paratrooper wings that have surfaced in OSS related groupings use a very crude pin back assembly and doesn't match the pin back assembly on this wing.   None of the WW2 era Chinese (OSS Det 202 trained) airborne/commando wing variants utilize this pin back assembly.  

 

The US occupation of Japan lasted until September 8, 1951 and the US Army did not come out with their pilot wings until February 12, 1957.   We still had US forces that remained in Japan as well as Okinawa so this could still be a later period Japanese made copy of a US paratrooper wing.  From the front it has that pronounced zig zag chute skirt line that you see on a few pin back sterling paratrooper wings like the examples below.  

 

So I don't think we are going to be able to tell who, what, where and when unless someone can decipher the Chinese characters on the back.  I would consider this a rare piece as this is the only one that has surfaced to my knowledge and I have been looking for variants for my collection for many years now.   These is the off chance that this was made in India during WW2 and is OSS related.  The OSS Det 101 "Burma bars" were made in Calcutta during WW2 because the OSS weren't authorized to wear the CIB even though they were fighting like infantry in a war zone.  To rectify this injustice they came out with their own CIB they called the Burma bar.  Some of the Burma bars have this same egg shaped ball catch.  

 

 

[Giuseppe]

 

Good evening everyone. I could get hold of a jump wings. I would like to know, given your knowledge, if this is original and if it is from the period of the Second World War. I also put you a photo of another brooch that I already have if you can give me some information. I am writing to you from Italy

[Allan H.]

It appears that your wing could date to the WWII period. I do not however have much confidence that the stars have been affixed to the wing for all that long.

 

I would also mention that it is interesting that you have an officer's crossed rifle insignia for the 101st Infantry Regiment, which was a regiment in the 26th "Yankee" division. It has no connection to any airborne unit, and no, 101st A/B officers didn't wear collar brass with division numbers.

 

Allan

[Giuseppe]

They told me that finding WWII jump wings is difficult and expensive. This is on sale at a price below 100 euros. The stars also seem strange to me that there are. For the other brooch I know it has nothing to do with jump wings I wanted to understand who was wearing it Thank you

 

[WarRelics]

I saw this small set of jump wings for sale. They are described as possibly theater made. My question is are they theater made and if so, when and where. I know there were theater made wings but they are a mystery for me. I would appreciate some input on these. I have attached photos from the listing.

[Allan H.]

On 10/10/2022 at 4:00 PM, Giuseppe said:

They told me that finding WWII jump wings is difficult and expensive. This is on sale at a price below 100 euros. The stars also seem strange to me that there are. For the other brooch I know it has nothing to do with jump wings I wanted to understand who was wearing it Thank you

 

Believe it or not, WWII vintage parachute badges aren't all that difficult to find and can be purchased for under 100 Euro with ease. If the wing with the two stars were more convincing, it would command a much higher price.

 

Allan

[Allan H.]

I saw this small set of jump wings for sale. They are described as possibly theater made. My question is are they theater made and if so, when and where. I know there were theater made wings but they are a mystery for me. I would appreciate some input on these. I have attached photos from the listing.

 

Your wing is lapel sized, so I would expect it to be worn on a civilian coat. Most of these wings are pin back, so finding this one with a screw post is unusual. As I look at the post and the mounting base, I would say that the wing itself was not originally affixed in this manner. While it does look that there has been some grinding to the back side of your wing, I can't say that there was ever a pin and catch assembly affixed. I will say that the front of your wing looks much like other US made wings of this size, at least they do to me.

 

I would say that someone wanted a wing that they could attach with a screw post, and thus had a jeweler modify a wing for their use. It looks like it was done decades ago.

Allan

[triplecanopy]

I agree with Allan. It would be very hard to put a date of manufacture or place of origin on the wings in question. Any number of jewelry shops (both US and foreign) that cater to the military could have made or modified those small wings. I believe that they were made for civilian attire since they are unofficial both in size and color.

 

As a point of comparison, here are regulation size jump wings as shown in the left vertical column. In the next column are regulation miniature mess dress jump wings that are authorized for formal wear on mess dress uniforms. In the third column are  a mix of regulation and non regulation miniature wings that I have collected over the years.  In the far right column are wings like yours that were made for civilian wear. Small pins like these are often seen at military shows along with other novelty pins.

 

[WarRelics]

I had thought that they might have been made to wear on a helmet since they have a screw back but it makes sense that they were for another purpose since they aren’t full size. Thanks for your input guys.