Bombing Military Aviator (BMA) badge of 1918-1919

[jefmil]

Although I will be away for several days is there anyway you can post some higher res photos? Additionally what is the maker information on the reverse as I can not read it.

 

Thanks

 

i don't think I can post higher resolution pictures. I had to compress these to get them to upload.

 

The hallmark is double stamped and makes the first letter hard to read but I think it is a "P" or "B"

the back reads "B. A. DREHER & SON NEWARK N.J. STERLING"

[Jack's Son]

I agree with John, better pix would help !

The first wing appears to be a winner, I like it and it seems to have the period "Tiffany" catch and good detail. I like the second as well, but do not feel up to offering an opinion about it.

[pfrost]

I agree with John, better pix would help !

The first wing appears to be a winner, I like it and it seems to have the period "Tiffany" catch and good detail. I like the second as well, but do not feel up to offering an opinion about it.

 

I think they are both very nice wings :thumbsup: . Cliff is our resident expert and I am sure he can provide some insight (as perhaps could Terry (Maj) Morris), and you can check Bob's great site for some examples (of Cliff's wings) here... http://www.ww2wings.com/wings/wwi/us/us.shtml

 

The Dreher and Son wing looks fantastic and the other looks like the classic Eisenstadt pattern (IIRC).

 

Very rare wings and I do hope you can get some better photos of them posted. Thanks for sharing them.

 

Welcome.

Patrick

[hawk3370]

Very nice, the first set has the proper Dreher wing design (same as their pilot wing badge) and correct pin and catch for the period. A beautiful wing to be sure.

 

I have a few concerns about the second badge. From the pic the US appears to be silver should be gold. Most BMA wings have a gold tip on the bomb, this one doesn't appear to have that feature. The catch on the back is a later style catch not normally seen on a WW1 wing.

Would like to see better pictues. The Dreher wing would be rarer than hens teeth in my opinion. Waiting on Cliff to chime in as he is the resident expert in this area.

 

The 483rd Aero Sq was stationed at Camp Lee, VA.

 

Thanks for posting, very interesting set of wings.

 

Terry

[Sjef]

i don't think I can post higher resolution pictures. I had to compress these to get them to upload.

 

The hallmark is double stamped and makes the first letter hard to read but I think it is a "P" or "B"

the back reads "B. A. DREHER & SON NEWARK N.J. STERLING"

 

You could add only one picture per post. That way you upload single pictures of up to 150Kb. Additionally you can try and crop the pictures and get rid of all the unnecessary background.

[empireguns]

Those are nice wings! I know nothing as to authenticity but the first set does look like it is period.

[CliffP]

Both badges are fine.

 

As Terry said the first badge in post #1 was made by E. A. Dreher & Son of Newark, NJ, and one company, J. E. Caldwell & Company in Philadelphia, PA, use to sell them for a retail price of $7 each.

 

Although unmarked, I suspect the *second badge in post #1 was made by Eisenstadt. I have two just like it that came directly from the original owners about 30 years ago. Both of mine have an identical locking device on the back and one (not shown on Bob's web site) even has an identical type of back-plate which was made by gluing a layer of fabric to the back of a strip of leatherette. It also has four holes punched through it.

 

One more thing. Terry had a couple of very legitimate concerns about the *second badge because the letters "US" and the tip of the bomb appear in the photo to be silver rather than gold. I wondered about that too so just to be certain, I took the photo and by using Adobe Photoshop was able to adjust the hue & lightness of the photo to confirm that the letters "US" and the tip of the bomb are probably gold after all.

 

Hope all this helps.

 

Cliff

[jefmil]

Thanks for all the information guys.

I do not have the wings in my possession right now. It will be impossible to post new pictures. I may go back and try to crop the above pictures later this week.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,

Jefmil

[Lackland82]

nice wings, are you getting them?

[jefmil]

Thanks again for the information.

But at this time the wings are not for sale.

Jefmil

[Jack's Son]

I have a wing collection of sorts, and although I am not known as a wingman, I do have some very nice and seldom seen wings. This BMA Badge is one of my favorites, it was designed by one of the First Bombardiers of the AAC.

 

Granville "Granny" Guttersen was Killed in Action during the war, and his family published a book compiled of his letters home, and his diary entries. The book was published in a limited edition bound in leather for family members. The public edition was bound in cloth, I believe. This particular volume was given to "Granny's" cousin.

 

 

[Jack's Son]

Wings.....

 

[Jack's Son]

Wings.....

 

[Jack's Son]

Wings.....

 

[manayunkman]

Exquisite set of wings.

 

Those gold embossed wings are the b...no I wont say bomb.

 

They look great together.

 

Very nice JS

 

M

[Jack's Son]

Wings.....

 

 

Notice the Gold on the Nose and on the US...

 

[Jack's Son]

Wings.....

 

[Jack's Son]

Book....

 

[Jack's Son]

Book....

 

[Jack's Son]

Book....

 

 

[Jack's Son]

Exquisite set of wings.

Those gold embossed wings are the b...no I wont say bomb.

They look great together.

Very nice JS

M

Thank you, Manny. And I appreciate the pun!!

[pconrad02]

Not a wing guy HA! These are incredible! :jeal0001:

[Brian Keith]

Fantastic!

MSG BKW

[pfrost]

Very nice wing. Stunning in fact. With the provenance and the book, it is a rather nice thing to have as part of a collection from a non-wing guy!

[JDK]

That is a great wing! Thanks for sharing!

 

JD