silver v gold wings

[historylives]

hello all. i have a question about the silver wings v the gold wings. if they both are the same in style why is it different in qualification? why not all gold being the men who wore them were all aviators. the one i have pictured is silver (Ebay) and listed as observer. trying to understand why the difference. thank you.

[Cabbell2207]

Here is a older thread, that has some great information.

 

 

[pfrost]

You open up a can of worms.... LOL.

 

My own view of these "silver USN" pilot wings wings have changed over the years (and the tagged thread above reviews a lot of this information). I used to think (and I still mostly do) that these are NOT type II NAO wings, but rather sweetheart jewelry from the 40's.  But that being said, I am less convinced that is the absolute truth.

 

But basically the general rule of thumb with USN aviators was that if you were the pilot and FLEW anything in the navy that was powered by itself (be it an airplane or a lighter than air blimp) you would have worn the gold USN aviator wings (two wings and the shield).  If you were on something that was non-powered (like a kite or tethered balloon) you were not, strictly speaking, a PILOT and as such wore the observer half wings  (with only one wing and the O).  One piece of lore is that LTA (lighter than air) airship pilots wore the half wing...this is not true, although I suspect that there may have been some local variation or confusion about who wore what, but that is (IMHO) a pretty good rule of thumb when collecting. Another piece of lore is that enlisted USN aviators used silver wings... also not true.

 

The history of the USN observer wing is a bit confusing.  The Type I Naval Aviation Observer (NAO) designation had its origin in an act of Congress on 12 July 1921, which created the Bureau of Aeronautics. The 1922 Uniform Regulations, approved 20 September, provided that officers designated as Naval Aviation Observer wear the same insignia as that worn by Naval Aviators, except with the right wing and shield removed and an “O” superimposed on the foul anchor."

 

After WWI and into the 1920's, there is some additional confusion.  The Navy was changing as the war ended, and what happened overseas, in the fleet and on the mainland was also in flux. But again, in general, observers (non-pilots) on planes and LTA craft would have wore half wings with an "O". But like in the Air Corps, there did seem to be some confusion about wearing 1/2 wings with the shield (instead of the "O").  As noted above, kite balloon pilots were reported to have worn 1/2 wings with the "shield".  It is also apparently true that crew on flying boats (including mechanics) could also wear 1/2 wings (with the shield). Finally, depending on the regulations you read, aviation cadet 1/2 wings with the shield seemed to have been proscribed as being made in silver. If you go to Bob's site, you will see some nice examples of these. As you can imagine, these 1/2 wings are usually very rare.

 

By the late 1920's the regulations started to change again with the so called type II NOA wings being proscribed.  Likely to reflect the "aging" of the WWI pool of pilots, older officers who were no longer rated to fly planes, seemed to have been targeted for this new NAO rating.  In 1927 "change to the 1922 Uniform Regulations (Change Number 3) modified the Naval Aviation Observer design and changed it to the same insignia worn by Naval Aviators except that it was to be in silver." In correspondence with other advanced (and much smarter collectors than me), such as with Russ Wilson, many older aviators maintained their "flying status" by rating as NAO's.  It is my understanding that you just didnt "become an NAO" but had to attend the appropriate school and training. Because vintage B/W photos really don't allow you to differentiate between gold and silver insignia, it was pointed out that many of these older (and more senior) USN officers may have been wearing the silver NAO badges in photos at this time. I did have a paperwork collection of a senior USN officer who attended NAO school and was rated as an NAO in the late 1920's although it didn't seem like he was everyassigned an aviation related billet.  Likely it was just some training he took to maintain his naval career options. He was the captain of the USS Antares, the cargo ship that spotted an IJN submarine lurking outside Pearl Harbor and alerted the USS Ward on December 7th. He was probably the Naval officer who "started" WWII for the US.  But in the 1920's he had been rated as a NAO.

 

But by 1929, these regulation changed again and gave the more familiar type III NAO wing with the gold wings and an anchor in the "O".

 

The type I and III wings are relatively rare as one would expect.  The TYPE II, is another story.

 

These wings (like the OP) show up frequently.  That has always made me wonder if they actually represent insignia made for only about a year and a half for a relatively small number of officers in a small USN force...  OR if they represent something else. 

 

My feeling is that most of these wings are patriotic jewelry made around the time of WWII. Also, there was a LOT of interest in flying boats and related aviation.  Also, many of these wings were poorly gilded with gold and it is possible that the layer of gold simply came off. I have seen some wings like that.

 

that being said, while not rare, they could have been made in 1928 for NAO's--there is no real way to know for sure.  But if you were to apply "rules of rarity", the number of wings in silver like this seem to FAR outweigh the probable number of NAOs in the Navy.  Its your collection, but you can (at least if you are patient) find these wings with some frequency on eBay and shows without having to pay an arm and a leg for them.

 

Frankly, I love them and they make a neat addition to the collection, but you should decide what you think they are in your own collection.

 

Patrick