WW1 Badges Granted to US Naval Aviators by British & French Naval Air Arms

[mtnman]

In the early days of World War I, the British became very aware of the U-boat threat from Germany regarding supply and support not only for the war effort but for the basic staples of life trafficked across the Atlantic to the island nation by ship. There were 2 periods of unrestricted submarine warfare, where the German U-boats did not surface before firing upon merchant ships, so to give Merchant Marine sailors the opportunity to disembark into lifeboats. The first was begun in February 1915 as a response to the British Navy disguising it ships as merchant vessels to lure the U-boats to the surface where they were destroyed as the guns on the disguised British ships were revealed and fired. This unrestricted submarine warfare by the Germans took a very heavy toll on merchant shipping until it was discontinued in September 1915 after the Germans took American lives in their attacks on the Lusitania and Arabic ocean liners. During this time, the British did their best to patrol for and spot U-boats as well as dropping bombs upon surfaced or near surface U-boats; they did this using naval aviator flown seaplanes dispatched from seaplane carriers with cranes which would lift the seaplane aircraft out of and back into large hulls used as hangers. The earliest examples of aircraft carriers were also utilized to launch aircraft as recon and attack aircraft against the U-boat menace.  Lighter than air ships or "airships" were also heavily employed to patrol and bomb when possible, lurking German U-boats.

 

The U-boats remained a threat after the September 1915 halt once again of unrestricted submarine warfare but at a mitigated intensity. This was the result of pressure from the United States and other neutral countries. When the Germans failed at the Battle of Jutland off the north east coast of Scotland in 1916, to gain mastery of the seas from Great Britain, they decided to resume unrestricted submarine warfare. This reinstitution of unrestricted submarine warfare along with the intercepted Zimmerman Telegram where Germany proposed an alliance with Mexico to attack the United States of America if they declared war on Germany, so Mexico could regain Texas, Arizona and New Mexico for itself, brought America into the war in April 1917.

 

Germany shot itself in the foot twice in early 1917 regarding its goal to keep America out of the war. In January the Zimmerman telegram was intercepted by the British, decoded and given to the Americans with all necessary accompanying proof of its authenticity, which was bad enough but then Germany slammed the last nail into its coffin with the reinstatement of unrestricted submarine warfare in February 1917. By April 6, America was in the war and this factor alone was one of the primary reasons Great Britain was not brought to its knees because between February and April 1917 submarine warfare had advanced to a level of unsustainable losses and the British would eventually starve to death. 500 merchant ships were sunk by U-boats alone between February and April 1917 with 13 merchant ships lost per day on average in the 2nd half of April 1917!

 

The Americans came in as quickly and efficiently as the transportation and logistics of the time allowed. By June, naval aviators were entering the both the Royal Naval Air Service and the French Aeronavale' schools and training bases on the coast of Scotland, England and France. Our Naval Aviators included both fixed wing aircraft/seaplane pilots as well as lighter than air pilots from the LTA (lighter than air ) program at the Michigan Institute of Technology or MIT. Our pilots trained as such bases as Felixstowe poking out into the English Channel in Suffolk England, Calshot Hampshire where the seaplanes were kept in everything from a small wooden hanger built in 1914, that still remains, this dwarfed by the giant steel framed hanger that now seconds in this new century as a sports complex. There were 2 seaplane hangers at Mountbatten in Plymouth that actually had a slipway ramp leading out into the Cattewater where the river Plym merges with Plymouth Sound leading out into the English Channel (see pics).

 

Arcachon and Fromentine were two very active US naval airbases where our seaplane pilots disembarked their giant hangers and took to the slipway (see photo of Arcachon US naval base slipway and hangers with men walking up one of the slipway ramps) into the English Channel or the Atlantic, on the French coast. Just as in Britain, our naval aviators both flew with French units and trained with the French at their bases and schools set up to accommodate both nationalities. There were many American aviators who received either Royal Naval air service or French Aeoronavale' insignia as they integrated with these established units and flew hand-in-hand with their brothers in arms from Britain and France.

 

The Royal Naval Air Service had a "gilt" (gold colored) eagle of approximately 2 1/8 inches or 55 mm in length that was to be worn on the domestic blue unifiorm on the left sleeve just above the rank striping at the wrist, and was manufactured with 3 screw prongs at the outer portion of the rear of each wing andd in the center mass of the eagles body on the rear of the badge. On the overseas uniform which was a knaki color, the badge was worn over the left pocket on the chest, just as the US Naval Aviator badge was worn by the American naval aviators. Regulations were drawn up concerning the wearing of the badge by those naval aviators awarded the badge by their host countries' naval aviation units and the badge was worn on the right chest directly across from the US naval aviator badge. The French wore their metal naval aviator badge on the right chest area. The actual metal badges began to be issued in mid 1916 For the French Air Force and early 1917 for the French Aeronavale' or Naval Air Arm.  This Discrepancy between paper certificates issued in the first half of the war and later metal badges or "brevets" AND certificates or "patents", occurred in both the French Air Force and the French Naval air arm or Aeronavale'.  There were about 2500 certificates issued in the Air Force and approximately 250 in the Navy starting at no. 1 in each service, before the metal badges, also starting at no. 1 in 1916 for the Air Force and early 1917 for the French Naval air arm, began being issued, so there is a discrepancy in numbering as well.

On top of this discrepancy between the numbered certificates and the numbered badges, the French recycled badges of those pilots who left the Air Force, were killed or were stripped of their pilot rating. This means that if a pilot was killed or left the service for whatever reason or lost their pilot rating in naval operations during World War I the badge would be taken and redistributed to the next pilot who earned the rating which means the NUMBER OF BADGES ARE EVEN FEWER then the recorded number of pilots/certificates that followed the first issuance of metal badges. 

Across the entire course of World War I from 1914 to 1918 for the French, including American and British Naval seaplane pilots, there were only 748 seaplane pilots. These badges are very rare, taking decades for me to see one other than the one my mentor had for a time, Cliff Presley, who has collected for most of his 80 years and that is the only one he had ever seen apart from the one I finally found in France. To give you context for what that means, World War I French AIR FORCE true numbered metal badges are difficult to find and they have records of 18,000 pilots,15500 of those pilots obtaining the pilot rating after the metal badges began to be issued as the number of pilots ramped up towards the mid to latter portions of the war in the French Air Force. In the French Navy.....748 seaplane pilots across the entire war, probably 500 obtain the pilot rating after the metal badge "brevets" started to be issued in early 1917. Of those 500 pilots that would have received metal badges starting in early 1917, many were killed for severely injured or left the service or were stripped of their pilot rating for whatever reason and the SAME BADGE then issued to the next pilot. So the actual number of badges as I said above, is even less than the 500 pilots approximately, that came after the badges began to be issued in the most violent parts of World War I which were 1917 and 1918 as the war machines and men became even more monstrous and efficient in their killing capacity on both sides. 

The Royal Naval Air service badge was jeweler made and stamped with a 9 carat gold purity mark and the maker's mark of Birmingham based Levi & Salaman which was very active during World War I, having been bought out by another jeweler and incorporated into their operation in 1921. The wing is made with a front that is dye stamped by the jeweler in the design of the eagle head, body and wings. The rear is a plate cut out in the shape of the front with two gas release holes drilled near the endpoint of each wing for gases escaping when the tremendous heat is used to braise the back plate to the front dice stamped design. The badge is fitted with a massive pin assembly to handle the job of keeping this fine badge attached to a pilot's uniform jacket, unlike the pin assemblies that would have been used on the sweetheart wings often created by the same jewelers. 

There have been discovered other examples of RNAS wings original jeweler made like this example and also with the other materials such as  gilted (Gold plated) silver, brass etc with the original jeweler attached pin assemblies but they are far more rare than the converted eagles that were made by the jeweler sawing off the 3 rear screw posts on one of the standard military issued gilt eagles and attaching a makeshift pin assembly to the back of the converted military issue wings. The Royal Naval Air Service pilot wings are rare overall because there were simply far fewer pilots.

The French badge is similar to the other French naval badges issued after World War I except for they are stamped with the very rare anchor symbol and the number is of course the very low beginning numbers of all metal badges issued to the French naval or "seaplane"  pilots. That anchor found on a French naval pilot badge is one of the most highly sought after Pilot badges in international aviation collecting. The French badge is silver plated brass and is created with a rope frame which is the symbol of a unifying element in heraldry; The anchor which is a symbol of faith, hope, steadfastness; The star which is a symbol of unity, honor and finally the vos or double wings attached in the center which symbolizes swiftness or speed and protection.

 

Enjoy gentleman and as always blessings in your collecting endeavors….. 

[mtnman]

This is the unique attachment apparatus dumbbell clip is what I call it. It is used by inserting the sheath portion through the loops on the rear and then inserting the pin portion into the sheath which is at an angle so that it catches on the edges of the sheath wall and holds fast. The loops are pushed through or sewn into the jacket through two openings on the right chest and the dumbbell pin is pushed through to hold it fast. 

[mtnman]

Here are some pictures of the early seaplane carrier Foudre and one of the earliest sea planes Canard Voison that US pilots would have flown when operating with the French. 

[mtnman]

Pictures of the WWI RNAS bases the US Navy Pilots would have flown Seaplane antisubmarine patrols from....

 

1) Mount Batten Cattewater, Plymouth modern picture with seaplane slipway still in place

2) Same Plymouth base but showing the relation to the south English Channel

[mtnman]

WWI French Bases used by US to launch Naval Seaplane Antisubmarine Warfare/Recon missions...

 

1) Brest France WWI Naval Air Station with visible Seaplane slipway out the front of the hangar. 

2) Fromentine France WWI Naval Air Station on coast with slipway just visible at high tide.

[mtnman]

HMS Furious. British aircraft carrier from which US and British naval pilots would have flown some of the earliest carrier based take off and landings in history....

[mtnman]

Close-ups of the French design

[bschwartz]

Thank you so much for posting these incredibly rare and beautiful badges.  Stunning pieces.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Rare badges and great write up Mel on this very narrow window of US aviation history.

[Sequatchiee]

Very very interesting ! thank you.

 

please note on the Foudre Carrier is a "Canard" (duck) VOISIN ( French name of the manufacturer) not Voison  🙂

[mtnman]

47 minutes ago, Sequatchiee said:

Very very interesting ! thank you.

 

please note on the Foudre Carrier is a "Canard" (duck) VOISIN ( French name of the manufacturer) not Voison  🙂

 

Thank you so much for pointing out this translation error Sequatchiee. I was copying the names from a report so I appreciate the heads up. The translation error ocurred in post #3 gentlemen, FYI. If admins change it, that would be great!

[LEALTON]

Looks similar?

[rathbonemuseum.com]

this pattern wing is not the same as the RNAS wing above. This pattern dates to much later. As these topics are starting to get a bit off the topic of US militaria, this topic is now closed.