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Juarez/Lampl Glider Wings


5thwingmarty
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5thwingmarty

Occasionally there is discussion about the sources of lettered pilot wings made by applying letters to standard pilot wings. Most of the time it cannot be determined whether the letters were applied "at the factory" or later by some other jeweler. I think in the case of at least some of the Juarez/Lampl wings the work was done "at the factory". The attached photo shows my two Juarez/Lampl glider pilot wings. On both wings, the attached G is exactly the same. Although my photo distorts the sizes of the wings, comparing the two G's in hand and measuring their heights, widths, thicknesses and details they are the same. If anyone has other similar pairs of wings please post them as well.

 

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I have no doubt that both patterns were made at the "factory". I think both versions have the "G" applied rather than part of the original die, but I may be recollecting incorrectly.

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5thwingmarty

You are correct that both versions have the G applied. I didn't realize all the Juarez/Lampl letter wings had the letters applied until I think Russ pointed that out.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Glider Pilot Daughter

Hello all,

I found this forum while researching information about my father's WW2 Glider Pilot wings. I believe they are Juarez/Lampl wings. the size and shape fit and they are marked coin silver, but I am confused by the shape of the G. It clearly ends in an arrow shape. I couldn't find one like this on the internet. I have a picture of my Dad wearing these wings in a newspaper article dated 1942 so I know they are original. I am planning on putting these up for sale and want to make sure that I do not misrepresent them. The tip of the pin is missing, should I have this fixed or would a collector rather have it in this condition?

post-167781-0-25243800-1491788543_thumb.jpg

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Your dad probably bought these as a Pilot wing and then just had the G applied somewhere else. Would be great to see the photo you have of him wearing the wing! On the repair it's best to just sell it as it is now.

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I agree with the recommendation to sell it as is. Repairs are rarely done correctly and most collectors would rather have a wing to be as original as it can be. And I also agree that this was not originally a Glider Pilot wing but rather a regular Pilot wing that had the G added - likely by some local jeweler that your dad paid to add it as you have the photo of him wearing it during the war. When you sell it you may want to offer a copy of the photo to go with it to show its provenance that it was actually created during the war. Also, wings that have known original owners usually sell for a premium over ones that are anonymous.

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