Navy Wing Period?

[Dirk]

I have had these for years, bought them as a kid in the early 70’s...are they WWII or later? They are unmarked.

[donaldnol]

these wings were to be earned by completing there training and test thats why there's no hallmark on them they look eary W.W.2 -- nice example 

[Dirk]

Thank you!!

[rustywings]

6 hours ago, donaldnol said:

these wings were to be earned by completing there training and test thats why there's no hallmark on them they look eary W.W.2 -- nice example 

I respectively disagree. The pseudo-feathers, rather than berries in the shoulders; The absence of fine vertical lines between the ribs of the lower shield; The absence of fine horizontal  lines in the upper shield; A lack of any design details or embellishments on the badge; The cheap findings on the reverse; And the absence of any hallmark or precious-metal markings, all suggest to me, this economy-badge was  produced Post-War and maybe well into the 1960’s.  Just my two cents...

[Dirk]

Rusty wings would not be surprised if your right…bought it around 72 from my local antiques deal’s 50 cent junk basket….we did have several naval stations near by….having the pin instead of clutches throws me though….

[B-17Guy]

I used to fly with a pilot that was a former naval aviator and he once mentioned to me that he would see pin back wings available for purchase into the 1980’s, when was on active duty.

John

[pfrost]

I will be contrary and say that to me, in my opinion, there is no reason to think that this isn't actually a WWII vintage wing.  Again, its not like that any solid lines were ever drawn in the sand, were you can say that there is a solid and clear difference between WWII and post WWII made wings.

These are relatively cheaply made wings using the same general type of fittings of the Juarez wings (for example) (note the way that the pin and catch are made).  Not made in STERLING silver, I suspect that they were just a cheap every day wear type of insignia.  I wouldn't lose sleep thinking that they are WWII vintage.  Not rare or very valuable, in any case. Just a nice solid working naval aviator wing, in my opinion.

 

I did a quick look, and I do have an autobiographichal wing from a WWII pilot in this pattern.  He was a late war guy, and after the war ended he never flew a plane again.

[KurtA]

I’m with Patrick.  If I saw this reasonably priced, I’d be happy to buy it and add it to my collection feeling it is an original vintage (probably WW2) wing. The style and material type of the pin back assembly sell me on it. 

[Dirk]

Thanks Patrick and Kurt for weighing in! If it’s late war, that would be even better as I used it along side a post war China marine display to a Marine aviator who flew Corsair’s for a few months in China for a filler…along side log books, silver items, photos.

[pfrost]

They aren't hard wings to get but I have always liked this pattern myself.  I looked at mine and it has an almost painted on finish.

 

Its kind of the simple and economic wing you can imagine was worn day to day.  I also remember back in the day that some dealers would sell these a "Coast Guard" pattern wings.  But I still think that they were just economy wings and probably worn in WWII.

Here is another one on Bob's site that has the "paint" finish

[bschwartz]

And the one on my site came from the Wosk sister's haul.  Back when you had to buy some wacky combination of more common stuff to get a chance to buy the good stuff.  I don't recall how long the Wosk store was in business but I do know a lot of surplus WW2 came out of that haul.  It's still trading hands on eBay today.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

12 hours ago, bschwartz said:

And the one on my site came from the Wosk sister's haul.  Back when you had to buy some wacky combination of more common stuff to get a chance to buy the good stuff.  I don't recall how long the Wosk store was in business but I do know a lot of surplus WW2 came out of that haul.  It's still trading hands on eBay today.

It closed around 1945. That is why Wosk stuff is certain to be WWII or earlier.