Moody Bros Jewelers of Los Angeles: examples and patterns

[MattS]

I agree, came from someone who trained at Kingman AAF (Army Air Field) in 1944 most likely.

 

Just a matter of semantics, the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) became the United States Army Air Force on 20 June 1941. Gunner wings were not authorized until 29 April 1943 so these are USAAF wings.

[Edelweisse]

MattS...thanks for the correction and info.

[Tesla]

I just received this today. When I saw it available my first action was to check the forum here because I had never seen or heard of this one before. I found a thread that has an example that was converted to a bracelet and back into a wing. Thanks to Tod and Cliff for the information they shared about the Moody Brothers Jewelers/resellers.

[Tesla]

Here is a close up of the back...

[rathbonemuseum.com]

That is great. First one Ive seen. Glad to know they exist. Have to think there is a pilot out there somewhere.

[Tesla]

I picked up the wing with the Beverlycraft style back because I thought it was a variant of their aircrew wing. The pin assembly is opposite of the Beverlycraft standard and the wing has a good weight to it ( sorry I dont have a scale yet). I didn't realize that it was a match to the Moody Brothers aircrew wing until I placed all of my Moody wings in the same case as my Beverlycraft wings. The front is an exact match of both wings and they are exactly the same length. The sterling marked wing is heavier and thicker even with the Beverlycraft style divot. There is another thread addressing the wing and I will add it to this when I find it. I am leaning towards it being a Moody Brothers aircrew which is only stamped Sterling. I would appreciate any thoughts and input.

[Tesla]

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/288684-unusual-two-piece-air-crew-with-detailed-feathers/?hl=%2Bbeverlycraft+%2Bwing&do=findComment&comment=2405201

 

 

Here is the other thread...

[rathbonemuseum.com]

What i have not seen on my Moody Bros gunner and bombardier wing is this highly detailed feather pattern. An anomaly.

[juvatwad]

These are on a recently acquired uniform. It appears as if whatever marking were on the wings after their manufacture have been obliterated and replaced with the Moody Bros stamping. You can see traces of the original sterling mark just below the "new" sterling stamping,

[268th C.A.]

these look like Moody Bros, wings, I think the Sterling was over stamped. as it was too lightly stamped the first time. 

[juvatwad]

I don't know. On my example and a couple others I've seen the back of the shield looks intentionally rubbed/scraped down. 

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Bringing this Moody Bros thread back up as some other interesting pieces have surfaced. Out of an antique store sale in Kingman, AZ come these award bracelets. @rustywingsfeatured a couple earlier on the thread but I was able to purchase a complete set on original cards of these pieces. All of them relate to Kingman Army Air Field (KAAF) which was located 9 miles east of Kingman town. The different award classes were:

1. Academics

2. Physical Training

3. Moving Target

4. Moving Base

5. Air to Air

A bracelet was apparently awarded to the top student in each category. No mention of these bracelets have so far been found in the KAAF yearbooks or local newspapers. It is unclear how many classes received them. The Kingman facility was specifically built as a ground to air gunnery school, one of six in the country, and the program ended promptly at the end of the war.

 

The card for each bracelet prominently features the Moody Bros. name and the patent number for their watch strap "corkscrew link". The patent was filed by Frank S. Moody and Leo R. Pauwels of Los Angeles, in a partnership called Paramount Watch Band Manufacturing Co. The patent was for the linkage itself. It was awarded in 1939. 

 

The interesting issue with Moody Bros. wings is that they are found so often with the Moody hallmark (vs. being blank) and mainly appear as air gunner wings and rarely as bombardier wings. They were a very small manufacturing outfit in downtown Los Angeles. This leads me to speculate that they did not chase national distribution or working through the government procurement system. Instead, they were contracted locally by the big air gunnery schools or their overarching command, which were mainly located in the southwest, and supplied to them locally. I am still looking for contractual evidence but with these custom bracelets and the absence of other qualification type wings, the evidence points this way. 

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Some images and clippings of KAAF field. Bugs Bunny was their official mascot and was used with permission from Warner Bros.

 

[5thwingmarty]

As an aerial gunnery training school, Kingman students went through a variety of shooting exercises including shooting at clay pigeons from stationary positions (moving target?), shooting at targets from moving trucks (moving base), and shooting at towed target sleeves from planes in flight (air to air).

 

I believe some of the trucks had gun turrets mounted on them with shotguns in the turrets.  They drove around a course with mounds around it.  Targets would be raised up from behind the mounds for the students to shoot at.

[cwnorma]

Tod,

 

Awesome research work!  Despite Moody Bros apparently not pursuing national contracts, it is clear they were interested in fostering relationships with the flying fields.

 

These bracelets, especially on the original card, are absolutely wonderful!

 

Each of these nuggets, pushes back the veil on the "story of wing badges" that much further.  Thank you!

 

Chris 

[rustywings]

Tod, you’ve unearthed a treasure-trove of wartime era artifacts and fresh information!!!  Thank you very much for sharing your images and research with us!  It’s eye opening stuff!

[5thwingmarty]

Since there was no example of the Moody Aircrew wing in this thread, I thought I would add some more photos.  In hand the Moody hallmark is still just visible on the left side of the wing.

 

[Threewood]

My latest find, Moody Bros. L.A. Cal. Aerial Gunner Wings.