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South Vietnam Airborne Jump Wing Collection


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Very nice collection! The Republic of Vietnam (RVN) also known as South Vietnam (SVN) existed from 1954 until 1975 and was heavily influenced by both French and American military presence. The ARVN or Army of the Republic of Vietnam got its parachute badge design from the French and adopted a smaller version of their basic jump wings. Having three levels of proficiency was an adaptation of American military practice. The Basic wings have just the single star at the bottom like the French basic wings. The Senior wings have an additional star added in the suspension lines and the Master parachutist has a palm frond added instead of a star. The Vietnamese also had gold instructor wings with the three rings at the bottom also in three levels of proficiency. Many US Advisors and Special Forces soldiers were awarded ARVN parachute wings for their service with South Vietnamese Airborne and Special Forces units. I might add that Army SVN wings are stubby and have uplifted wings while SVN Special Forces wings are a bit longer and have mostly straight wings. Shown here are mostly RVN Army and Instructor wings with older French wings for comparison. Both types were made in cloth and metal. Some are serial numbered.

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Great collection of Southeast Asian wings. There were quite a few SF soldiers who were awarded both Cambodian and Laotian wings like Tonomachi has displayed. Very nice examples of rare wings. I am curious about one though. It is in the lower right corner and I believe it is from Gabon. Thanks again for sharing your collection with us.

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Great collection of Southeast Asian wings. There were quite a few SF soldiers who were awarded both Cambodian and Laotian wings like Tonomachi has displayed. Very nice examples of rare wings. I am curious about one though. It is in the lower right corner and I believe it is from Gabon. Thanks again for sharing your collection with us.

Good eye regarding the paratrooper wing from Gabon which is an original piece and not one of the French re-strkes. I didn't have a place for it so I stuck it in this shadowbox where it really doesn't belong.

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Patchcollector

Nice assortments of Wings.If possible,I would be interested to see some closer images of the longer Wings near the top row with what looks like the French cross of Lorraine on them in post # 3.What era are they from,and who wore them?

 

Also,the Wing with the umbrella in post # 6.If better images are available,I would like to see them.What is the story on that Wing?

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These wings are from the Post-WWII era when the French made an effort to reoccupy their Indo-China territories after the Japanese were defeated in Southeast Asia. The information I have indicates that these wings were in use from 1945 to 1952. They were worn by members of an Airborne unit consisting of Vietnamese soldiers who were commanded by French Officers with a unit designation of 3 BPVN. They were later absorbed into the French Airborne units until the French efforts ended completely in 1954. I believe that these examples were all made locally however, I know that reproductions of these exist. I am pretty sure that these are authentic.

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Patchcollector

Those are amazing.I've never seen them before.The Indochina stuff fascinates me,although I know very little about it.Thanks for the close up images and the info.

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There does not seem to be a lot of information about Indo-China parachute wings. I can only find them referenced in two publications: FRENCH AIRBORNE TROOPS WINGS and INSIGNIA by Jacques Baltzer and Eric Micheletti and FRENCH Parachutists Brevets by Gilbert Lafleur and Harry Pugh. Both are great books and still available, I believe.

 

Here is a copy of the INDO-China parachute badge made by M Richard and is a known restrike. They are also not very common. Notice that the quality seems better than the originals.

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Patchcollector

Thanks for the additional info.Sometimes the fakers make a copy too well,leaving out the flaws that the originals had,which is good for us collectors as it makes the fakes easier to spot.

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Nice assortments of Wings.If possible,I would be interested to see some closer images of the longer Wings near the top row with what looks like the French cross of Lorraine on them in post # 3.What era are they from,and who wore them?

 

Also,the Wing with the umbrella in post # 6.If better images are available,I would like to see them.What is the story on that Wing?

I got this a long time ago and initially everyone thought it was a fake piece or a fantasy piece. However a collector who specializes in French insignia told me that it was worn by a French Indochina special forces type unit which I wrote down a long time ago but have since misplaced.

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Patchcollector

That is an interesting Wing.Love the design.Hopefully someone will recognize it so that it can be ID'd.Thanks for the better view.

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  • 1 year later...

I picked up a USMC 3rd Recon Battalion jacket today with a Vietnam Jump wing on it and wondered if anyone can tell me more about the wing.

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  • 8 months later...

I found my notes on the identification of the badge that looks like an ARVN jump status indicator badge with an umbrella.  It is believe it or not called the Mary Poppins Platoon Combat Qualification parachutist badge.  There were supposedly two variants, the first an all silver badge called the MPP basic qualification badge and the silver and gold version called the MPP combat qualification badge.     The story behind this badge is explained in the attached newsletter.

 

 

 

 

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  • 8 months later...
Cobra 6 Actual

Tonomachi, you had us going there, right to the very end. Then I noticed who the ‘inspiration for this article’ was dedicated to, Harry Flashman. “The Flashman Papers” is a series of fiction books by George MacDonald Fraser. It recounts the improbable and humorous misadventures of Harry Flashman. The novels are built around real historical events with Flashman inserted into the stories as either the hero or the buffoon or both. 
 

The other thing that “gave it away” was the HAHO parachute jump of “Stosh” where he jumped from the aircraft near Son Tay and landed in Bien Hoa, a distance of ~1000 miles. Whomever wrote this is s master storyteller! Thanks for sharing!

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1 hour ago, Cobra 6 Actual said:

Tonomachi, you had us going there, right to the very end. Then I noticed who the ‘inspiration for this article’ was dedicated to, Harry Flashman. “The Flashman Papers” is a series of fiction books by George MacDonald Fraser. It recounts the improbable and humorous misadventures of Harry Flashman. The novels are built around real historical events with Flashman inserted into the stories as either the hero or the buffoon or both. 
 

The other thing that “gave it away” was the HAHO parachute jump of “Stosh” where he jumped from the aircraft near Son Tay and landed in Bien Hoa, a distance of ~1000 miles. Whomever wrote this is s master storyteller! Thanks for sharing!

So if I understand you correctly this jump insignia and the story is all made up?  I wasn't aware of this as I think I got this piece at an insignia show many years ago and then found the article either on the Internet or through the Chute & Dagger Association.

 

 

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Cobra 6 Actual

My apologies for not being clearer. I don’t actually have any insight into whether the wing is authentic or not. But, the story is some kind of parody. By the way, “The Flashman Papers” are really fun books!

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