Jump to content

Air-Sea Rescue Wings


Paul S
 Share

Recommended Posts

I hope someone has some experience or knowledge about the wings I’ve posted below. Here is what I think I know about them and some questions I have.

 

1. I know that the top wing has been used by fire and rescue since the early 1950’s and is currently in use. I believe them to be worn primarily by ground personnel but have heard someone say that they were also worn by some Bright Light air/sea rescue members aboard helicopters during Vietnam. Does anyone know if that is true?

 

2. I recognize the second wing to be a WWII or perhaps just post WWII wing that I believe was not officially authorized by the AAF/USAF. I believe this wing was worn by crash rescue crews at the airbases, but know little about them than that.

 

3. The top wing is marked GEMSCO while the lower wing is marked AMICO with the device added on. Both are 3” wings. Does anyone have a picture showing an airman wearing them? Does anyone know something of the story of how they have been used over the years?

 

4. The lower wing is the same design that was used to make some LeVelle aircrew wings and perhaps a few others, even though it bears an incised AMICO mark.

 

 

Paul S.

post-3515-1217603161.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

These Crash-Rescue wings have been around for years, but they were never authorized. The example you show on top are pretty common but I haven't seen an example like the bottom pair. Thanks for sharing these.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

Thought I would refresh this question to see if any new readers have any information about these wings...perhaps a picture of them being worn. They seem to have been made by several known makers which would seem to suggest there was some demand for them somewhere.

 

Paul S

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only demand for wings like these are as keepsakes maybe for firefighters. Never authorized and not worn on uniforms makes them all fantasy pieces and not considered "real" wings by members of the Air Force or collectors. In J. Duncan Campbells famous book on Army wings, he talks about fantasy pieces like these, but doesn't illustrate them because they were never made to be worn on uniforms and thereby not considered "real". These are in the same category as fakes and repos, but many of us have examples of wings like these just because they were made.

I can just about hear some First Sergeant catching some hapless Airman wearing a set of these phoney wings! pinch.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In 1941-1942, the GHQAF/USAAF Firefighting School was at Mitchell Field, Long Island NY. I think later on there was more than one such school (do I recall Kirtland AAF, Albuquerque NM?) and the one at Mitchell was probably closed.

 

I recall seeing a class "yearbook" with such a wing printed on the cover and inside...I also think some of the instructors (Senior NCOs) were wearing it, as a badge, on their uniform jackets. I do not recall if the wings shown used the USAF shield shape or the round escutcheon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recall seeing a class "yearbook" with such a wing printed on the cover and inside...I also think some of the instructors (Senior NCOs) were wearing it, as a badge, on their uniform jackets.

 

Thank you...that's a good clue to dig into. I have a gent well versed in Army firefighting asking around his community about the subject. That there appears to have been enough use of these badges to interest a number of makers to make them would indicate some kind of tradition somewhere. I've seen a Meyer wing with a 9M mark in the later design that would date to as late as 1965.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From what I understand the top crash wing was approved an authorized but not as a wing. The authorization was to use the wing as a DI for some units in the UK. Someone may want to dig further.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lee,

Would you consider these badges in the same light?

I don't know what the official deal was on these crash boat badges. I've been told they were authorized and I've heard they were not. Best I remember tho, I've seen photos of these being worn.

Now the crashcrew wings may have been worn also, but not authorized. Remember that a wing badge was supposed to be for someone who had a flying job as primary duty in the Air Force. Firemen didn't fly... they were all ground troops. Crewmen who held a billet as an aircrewman on a rescue aircraft would already have had official wings such as Aircrew wings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The AAF Firefighters wing came about at the end of WWII. They were "Official - Unofficial" wings that became Official at the unit level and authorized to wear the wing while assigned to the unit. Many other such unit badges exist. This is also common in the USAF for example I belonged to the 2nd oldest continuous organization, Deputy for Engineering, in the Air Force started in 1917, yet since it is not a numbered unit it is not recognized officially. The organization has a patch etc, while not official yet worn by military members of the organization on BDU's. Don't let the Colonel catch one of his members not wearing it. Not a small organization with 1500 members.

 

This badge was awarded to those Firefighters who graduated as Airborne firefighters, and were assigned to PEDRO HH-43 Huskie Firefighting Units. The badge is still in use and I have enclosed a picture of both sizes. As far as I know it was made by Gemsco and Meyer. I do not know who is making them today, but new ones keep popping up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

post-1465-1236795166.jpg

The AAF Firefighters wing came about at the end of WWII. They were "Official - Unofficial" wings that became Official at the unit level and authorized to wear the wing while assigned to the unit. Many other such unit badges exist. This is also common in the USAF for example I belonged to the 2nd oldest continuous organization, Deputy for Engineering, in the Air Force started in 1917, yet since it is not a numbered unit it is not recognized officially. The organization has a patch etc, while not official yet worn by military members of the organization on BDU's. Don't let the Colonel catch one of his members not wearing it. Not a small organization with 1500 members.

 

This badge was awarded to those Firefighters who graduated as Airborne firefighters, and were assigned to PEDRO HH-43 Huskie Firefighting Units. The badge is still in use and I have enclosed a picture of both sizes. As far as I know it was made by Gemsco and Meyer. I do not know who is making them today, but new ones keep popping up.

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/sty.../attach_add.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the additional information. The reference to the HH-43 Huskie units and to the early Mitchell Field firefighting school are both useful in discovering this story. I had another gent suggest that certain members aboard Vietnam era SAR helicopters wore these wings, but haven't found any verification.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 12 years later...

Resurrecting a very old thread....

I found these wings on the bay today.

GEMSCO A.G.O. G-2.

They date from 1960-65

I was able to get in touch with a gentleman who flew with a PEDRO HH-43 HUSKY Fire Fighting Unit  and this is what he said:

" I flew as an airborne firefighter from 66-70 and we "unofficially" wore those wings as opposed to regular crew member wings."

If anyone wants to see more about PEDRO in Vietnam check out www pedronews.org

s-l1600.jpg

s-l1600 (1).jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think they were worn or even considered in WWII.  Lee makes some excellent points about unauthorized wings/insignia.   As for the crash crew, I suspect if you were a fireman who was going risk his life to be the one to get your pilots out of a burning/crashed aircraft, their may have been some leeway in what the Commanding officer and other NCO's would overlook.  USAF stuff is out of me interests, but I suspect it is totally possible.  I have one or two of these badges.  They sure are fun to have, but likely not WWII.

 

The USAAF crash boat/PT boat pins were made in WWII but I also don't think that they were actually worn (although I do recall seeing a photo of a Navy guy with one).  I think that a lot of these PT boats were made and handed out as souvenirs and keepsakes to the guys and their family who were building these ships at the various boat yards (Elco, Higgins, Vosper, Huckings etc).  You find these badges with pinbacks, clutchbacks and as tie clasps, and can be collected by any number of ways. 

 

In fact, many of the PT boats produced in WWII in the USA were "lent" to the Russians and English as part of the lend/lease program (about 150-200 went to our allies). The number of boats that served in the USN was about 500, with mixed combat results (although they seemed to have enjoyed some success early in the war during some of those first campaigns [certainly MacArthur liked them!]).  I read that MTB were initially seen as a stop-gap measure by the Navy, being fast and easy to make (in wood, which limited the use of resources needed for larger war ships).  About 100 boats were lost in combat and almost all the rest were run aground and burnt after the war. 

 

The RAF and USAAF/USAF did use a variety of PT-like crash rescue boats during WWII and the KW but eventually these were replaced by helicopters.  There was a least one crash/rescue squadron that operated and conducted both search, rescue and covert combat actions in the water around Korea.


But I don't recall ever seeing any specific USN or USAF regulations about wearing PT boats, and in fact, I suspect the PT boats were actually not all that effective in winning the war against the Japanese, but ultimately, the glamour and romance of JFK and PT109 and John Wayne's "They were Expendable" kept these small boats in the public's eye and provided a luster for public morale early in the war.

 

They sure are fun badges to collect though

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...