Some scarce CAA Wings on eBay

[Patchcollector]

Hi all,

Was just looking around on eBay when I saw some auctions for a few Wings that are seldom seen.

 

Here is a link to one of them,the others are being offered by the same seller:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-CAA-Civilian-Pilot-Training-Gilt-Silver-Full-Size-Wings-Early-Wright-Flyer/272097244654?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20131231084308%26meid%3D0c15c12bdde04a8c874c2aea1316b685%26pid%3D100010%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D24%26sd%3D301841683633

 

Here is the sellers' description of this Wing:

Details about Rare CAA Civilian Pilot Training Gilt Silver Full Size Wings~Early Wright Flyer~

Offered here is an original, early war, Civil Aeronautics Administration War Training Service wing badge for civilian pilot instructor. This full size, gilt sterling silver wing, used only a short time, was soon replaced with the more commonly seen Indian head pattern wing in silver. The wing measures 3 1/16" across and it is die struck with fine details, The center of the badge features a cross wing view of the Wright flyer. The back has a long pin and roller catch. Back is marked Pat. Pend. and Sterling in raised letters. The first two photos taken with a flash, show the actual deep tone of the gold finish. The other photos, taken in daylight make the gilt finish look rather washed out. This is a very difficult wing to acquire. It comes from an old collection put together from the 50's through the 80's. It is in excellent condition showing just a hint of wear to the gold finish on the high spots. It is guaranteed original.

 

I'll post some sellers pics of the Wing I linked to.

 

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[pfrost]

that Wright flyer CAA instructor wing is a rare one. That will go for serious money.

[Patchcollector]

I figured that they are scarce,I had never even seen one before.I'm familiar with the "Indian head" variation but not the "Wright Flyer" one.
Since I have some time to burn I'm going to post pics of the other scarce Wings that this seller is offering.I figure that the pics of these Wings will be good for reference as the seller took some pretty decent quality photos.

 

 

This Wing is seller described as a "C1930 Civilian Pilot Training" piece.

 

Here is the sellers' description:
Offered here is an original, pre WWII period, full size gilt bronze wing badge for civilian pilot instructor. This full size, fire gilded wing measures 3" across and it is die struck with fine details, The center of the badge features the stars and bars shield, and the wings are very narrow and of the WWI style. The back has a long pin and early style "c" catch. Back is unmarked but has the snowflake pattern which is attributed to Amcraft. This scarce wing comes from an old collection assembled from the 50's through the 80's. It had an inked tag which read: "1930 civilian pilot instructor wings" It is in excellent condition showing just a hint of wear. Much of the original clear lacquer finish is still present. First one I have seen.

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[Costa]

MAN THEY BOTH WENT FOR BIG BUCKS AS PREDICTED----------------

 

[rustywings]

Hey Patchcollector,

 

I was a bit concerned the lack of response to your efforts in establishing this thread might give the perception you were being ignored? The likely reality is the wings you illustrated were desired and targeted by many collectors, including Forum members, who may have normally contributed to your initial discussion, but were hesitant to do so in fear of alerting the bidding competition! None the less, I appreciate all of your efforts. They are indeed unique pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[manayunkman]

All in all this seller has sold some great stuff.

 

Thanks for posting this thread

[pfrost]

I think Russ is spot on... the deafening silence of the forum when something good is on eBay!

 

"Wings? We ain't got no wings. We don't need no wings. I don't have to show you any stinkin' wings!"... at least until Monday night at 5:05PM when the auction ends...

 

P

[Costa]

I don't have to show no stinking wings

[VMI88]

 

This Wing is seller described as a "C1930 Civilian Pilot Training" piece.

 

Here is the sellers' description:

Offered here is an original, pre WWII period, full size gilt bronze wing badge for civilian pilot instructor. This full size, fire gilded wing measures 3" across and it is die struck with fine details, The center of the badge features the stars and bars shield, and the wings are very narrow and of the WWI style. The back has a long pin and early style "c" catch. Back is unmarked but has the snowflake pattern which is attributed to Amcraft. This scarce wing comes from an old collection assembled from the 50's through the 80's. It had an inked tag which read: "1930 civilian pilot instructor wings" It is in excellent condition showing just a hint of wear. Much of the original clear lacquer finish is still present. First one I have seen.

I posted a very similar wing in this thread:

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/155637-another-unknown-wing/.

 

The main difference is that mine has a ball catch and a smooth back. The general consensus at the time was that these were generic instructor/civilian pilot/sweetheart wings.

[pfrost]

Considering the Wright flyer and Indian Head CAA-WTS wings and some of the other items being sold--and assuming that they were all from the same person, I would expect what you had was a grouping from a contract civilian flight instructor. I can't be sure if he was working at one of the original contract flight schools or in some other capacity, but I would think that to be a good bet.

 

That being said, I believe that the WTS was set up right around the time the US entered the war, with the previous program (the Civilian Pilot Training Program) being changed to the CAA-WTS to reflect the change from training civilian pilots to training military aviators.

 

Depending on the program or flight school, many of the early civilian instructors and civilian flight schools used a variety of insignia, wings and uniforms (or not). Somewhere, I have a photo of a civilian instructor wearing a badge on his hat that is very similar to the NS Meyer/WWI style gilt wing shown in post 10. I believe that this gilt wing was probably used as a type of cap badge (or maybe breast badge), but could also have been patriotic jewelry. The discussion on VMI88's thread was pretty comprehensive.

Frankly, I doubt that any of these things actually predate WWII. But I do suspect it was a nice grouping from a contract civilian instructor that probably was used early in the war. By late 44 and 45, they had pretty much phased out the WTS program as the military was more than capable of producing as many pilots as they needed.

 

P