naval wings what era?

[donaldnol]

just purchase these wings few days ago they were in bad shape with on side of the wing folded over to the backside some and pins were bent, most of gold finish is gone mostly brass now, i just want to know what era are these from, they were sold as w.w.2 i know thats impossible because of the style of it and it has long back pins.

[pfrost]

Impossible is such a "harsh word".  And era is rather broad.

 

As WWII wrapped up, there was so much material in the pipeline that just going through the old stock from WWII took years to deplete. Thus "WWII-vintage" purple hearts, jump wings, rank insignia, patches, flight gear, combat infantryman's badges.... were still being issued well into the Viet Nam war time span.

 

Also, after WWII the US never really ramped up its military to the same level in subsequent wars like it had between 1941 and 1945.  A number of companies (like AMICO, AMCRAFT and AECO) went under in those lean years after WWII ended and the military was significantly downsized.

 

USN wings really didn't change much after WWII started up until right now.  There appear to have been some generalities, like the use of elctro-soldering techniques and "long pins" that can sometimes be applied to wings made after WWII... but in my opinion, its like arguing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.  From the front, the wings all look about the same (we can quibble about tiny details, but from across the room... its the same!) no matter when they were made.

 

Its, for all practical purposes, dependent on the collectors (and dealer selling it to you) and the only thing that matters is what you think.  Good luck selling even a nice hallmarked WWII vintage LGB pinback USN aviator wing for more than 35-50$ in today's market.  Looking at a clutch back 1/20th 10K gold filled wing, they are all but a dime a dozen.  -- because a ton of them were made starting around 1939 and basically didn't change.  Assuming Chris doesn't have a circular from the Beuro of Naval Aviation, I'm pretty sure that no one said "as of July, 7th 1949 only wings with 40 mm pins will be produced, and all the ones with 25 mm pins must be tossed overboard."

 

My advice, its as good as a WWII vintage wing as anything else. They is NO proof it isn't WWII.   Its a nice wing with some good salty wear.

[B-17Guy]

About the only thing you can say is that they are no earlier than 1942 since they have berries and they are pre alpha numeric.

If I had to narrow it down a little, because the the style of clutch pins and no alpha numeric, I would say 1944/45 to late 1950’s.

Like Patrick said, nice wing.

John

[donaldnol]

3 hours ago, pfrost said:

Impossible is such a "harsh word".  And era is rather broad.

 

As WWII wrapped up, there was so much material in the pipeline that just going through the old stock from WWII took years to deplete. Thus "WWII-vintage" purple hearts, jump wings, rank insignia, patches, flight gear, combat infantryman's badges.... were still being issued well into the Viet Nam war time span.

 

Also, after WWII the US never really ramped up its military to the same level in subsequent wars like it had between 1941 and 1945.  A number of companies (like AMICO, AMCRAFT and AECO) went under in those lean years after WWII ended and the military was significantly downsized.

 

USN wings really didn't change much after WWII started up until right now.  There appear to have been some generalities, like the use of elctro-soldering techniques and "long pins" that can sometimes be applied to wings made after WWII... but in my opinion, its like arguing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.  From the front, the wings all look about the same (we can quibble about tiny details, but from across the room... its the same!) no matter when they were made.

 

Its, for all practical purposes, dependent on the collectors (and dealer selling it to you) and the only thing that matters is what you think.  Good luck selling even a nice hallmarked WWII vintage LGB pinback USN aviator wing for more than 35-50$ in today's market.  Looking at a clutch back 1/20th 10K gold filled wing, they are all but a dime a dozen.  -- because a ton of them were made starting around 1939 and basically didn't change.  Assuming Chris doesn't have a circular from the Beuro of Naval Aviation, I'm pretty sure that no one said "as of July, 7th 1949 only wings with 40 mm pins will be produced, and all the ones with 25 mm pins must be tossed overboard."

 

My advice, its as good as a WWII vintage wing as anything else. They is NO proof it isn't WWII.   Its a nice wing with some good salty wear.

thanks for your opinion i value it. so this means i could say maybe korean war issue  thanks

[donaldnol]

2 hours ago, B-17Guy said:

About the only thing you can say is that they are no earlier than 1942 since they have berries and they are pre alpha numeric.

If I had to narrow it down a little, because the the style of clutch pins and no alpha numeric, I would say 1944/45 to late 1950’s.

Like Patrick said, nice wing.

John

thanks b-17 guy