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Craigslist SPH3


Paulruss
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Great pick up. Taped and decorated SPH-3's are fantastic. My guess is the aviator's initials are on the back of the helmet: "LEO"

Curious as to the "AC" Wings of Gold. They were awarded almost exclusively to enlisted aircrew with very few exceptions. Fun mystery to try and uncloak!

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I hadn't thought about this, but it actually figures. I was wondering if that "LEO" taping could have been an acronym for L.E.O. (Law Enforcement Officier), but that would have been odd for an aviator, your guess here seems more likely.

So we would be looking for a Lt-Col L.E. Owen (or maybe Lee / Leonard Owen - nicknames are often made phonetically).
 

The shape of this "wings" yellow tape pattern with a round center immediately reminds of the Navy Aircrew badge, allright, but I've found that the Naval Aviation Observer & Flight Meteorologist badge has a similar shape, and would be legit for an officier.

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The Flight Meteorologist insignia is a military badge decoration of the United States Navy which is issued to officers of the Restricted Line who are commissioned as weather and meteorology specialists. To be issued the insignia, an officer must also have completed flight training to qualify as a Naval Aircrew Member. The insignia itself is very similar to the Naval Aircrew Badge.

This is pure speculation, but the presence of the "AC" on these wings might be a sort of Naval Aircrew training souvenir, or more simply, since this helmet was found on the collector market, it could be a later addition by somebody for whatever reason (display purpose ?). In any case, it seems to have just been written over the tape.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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