U.S. Army Aviation Flight Wings (not USAAF - post 1947)

[triplecanopy]

Here is a rare Sterling basic flight wing made by Balfour and was awarded by the Army Aviation Association of America to the distinguished graduate of flight school. These wings are unique. I don't know how many were ever made or presented.  Note the high gloss finish and extra quality.  Marked Distinguished Graduate

Presented by AAAA.

 

Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA)

Their mission is to “Support the United States Army Aviation Soldier and Family”

AAAA was formed in early 1957 by a small group of senior Aviation Officers in the active Army, the Reserve Forces of the U.S. Army and industry. The Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) is the only not-for-profit organization dedicated to representing the broad interests of Army Aviation.

[triplecanopy]

Balfour also manufactured Gold colored Flight Instructor wings. These are simply marked LGB which is Balfour's hallmark. I don't know if these had any precious metal or were simply gold colored. Again the high quality is apparent. As to being official or not, perhaps some other wing collector might answer that question.

[triplecanopy]

Vanguard used the hallmark V-21 on insignia beginning in the 1960's. This example is marked Sterling

[Tonomachi]

Here is a theater made bullion US Army aviator wing with ribbons and CIB for the obsolete green dress uniform.  The next two US Army aircrewmen wings are South Vietnamese made the top being a crude stamping while the bottom is a sandcasting.  Lastly a SVN hand embroidered US Army aircrewmen wing above a SVN machine embroidered paratrooper wing on a boonie cap.  With the paratrooper wing my guess is that this boonie cap was worn by an Air Cavalry Pathfinder.  

 

 

[triplecanopy]

Very nice examples of authentic Korean and Vietnam war era theater made insignia. Thanks Dennis.

[triplecanopy]

At the start of this thread, I posted a set of OC Tanner Pilot Flight wings and did not show the reverse side. Below is the back of the set of OC Tanner wings. Arguably the hardest to find and highest quality wings were made by OC Tanner who took extra care in the workmanship of their insignia. Also I am told they used the highest quality sterling silver to make their badges. OC Tanner is still in business, but no longer make military insignia.

[triplecanopy]

Here is a beautiful set of OC Tanner AirCrew wings. Notice the extra fine detail of the Army Symbol.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

thanks for keeping up the examples @triplecanopy

[triplecanopy]

Shown here is a "Shirt Size" Master Army Aviator wings badge that was made by Military Post Supply and is marked M21 and Sterling. The Shirt size badge is also shown next to a full size Master Aviation wings badge for comparison. The full size wings are 2 1/2 inches wide where the shirt size is just 2 inches. I have not seen many of the smaller size wings.

[triplecanopy]

Here are color cloth senior Air Crewman wings from pre-1968. These were worn on the OD fatigues.

[triplecanopy]

Post 1968 subdued Army Basic Aviator Flight wings for wear on combat uniforms.

[cwnorma]

I don't know a lot about these, but find them very interesting.  Most interested in learning about how to tell early from later?

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

[triplecanopy]

I am learning about Army Flight Wings as I collect them, but for the most part the early wings seem to very much like jump wings in that they have broach pin backs and are marked with sterling and the manufacturers name. Later types have the alpha numeric code and are clutch back. The ones made after the mid 60's with some exceptions are mostly made and marked 1/20th silver filled or no silver content and made of some base metal.

[easterneagle87]

As a former Army Aviator this is a really nice thread! Really enjoy the images and info!

[mikie]

Lots of good info here! Thanks ! 
mikie

[triplecanopy]

Here is a current OCP pattern Air Crewman set of wings.  Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) is a military camouflage pattern adopted in 2015 by the United States Army.

[Threewood]

Senior Pilot wing by E & H Simon.

 

 

[Threewood]

Vanguard pilot wings.

[FtrPlt]

Here’s my presentation wings from 1986. No longer maker marked like the earlier Balfour wings but mine had my class number on them

[FtrPlt]

On 10/13/2023 at 12:20 PM, triplecanopy said:

Here is a rare Sterling basic flight wing made by Balfour and was awarded by the Army Aviation Association of America to the distinguished graduate of flight school. These wings are unique. I don't know how many were ever made or presented.  Note the high gloss finish and extra quality.  Marked Distinguished Graduate

Presented by AAAA.

 

Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA)

Their mission is to “Support the United States Army Aviation Soldier and Family”

AAAA was formed in early 1957 by a small group of senior Aviation Officers in the active Army, the Reserve Forces of the U.S. Army and industry. The Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) is the only not-for-profit organization dedicated to representing the broad interests of Army Aviation.

In the 1980's, each flight school class had a distinguished graduate. During my time, a new class started every two weeks so roughly 50 of these wings/year

[triplecanopy]

Rare examples. It is nice to know what a presented one looks like.

[Flip74]

Hi, here are my army aircrew wings.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any further information about dates etc…maybe someone can help?

Best regards

Philipp

[triplecanopy]

Your Master army aircrew wings are post 1957 and likely late 1950's era with the HBT cloth they used for material background. The subdued senior army aircrew wings are post 1968 when the Army went to subdued insignia for the fatigue uniforms. Those are ball park dates, but should give you some idea of time frames.

[triplecanopy]

Here is a set of basic Army Flight wings that I found recently made by GEMSCO and are also marked STERLING and A.G.O. G-2.  This is the first set of GEMSCO flight wings that I have seen with the AGO G2 markings. That marking is seen on Parachute Jump wings also.  AGO presumably means Adjutant General's Office. I believe that these wings would date to the early 1950's.  Any other ideas/comments ?

[Tonomachi]

1 hour ago, Flip74 said:

Hi, here are my army aircrew wings.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any further information about dates etc…maybe someone can help?

Best regards

Philipp

I believe your master US Army aircrewman wing was produced in Germany due to the gray backing material that you encounter on German made US insignia from the late 1950s to the 1960s.