Us navy pilot wings

[wk4045]

What is the manufacturer of this us navy pilot badge with a marking 307? What is the period of this patch ? 

[triplecanopy]

307 is a contract number used by Hilborn & Hamburger.

[wk4045]

Thanks do you have an idea of the prior of this badge ? 

[wk4045]

Period 

[triplecanopy]

US Naval Aviator wings are not my area of expertise. I only recognized the H&H contract number since it is the same as they used on US parachute wing badges. Hopefully one of the flight wing collectors will see this and add their comments.

[The Rooster]

53 minutes ago, wk4045 said:

Period 

Its post WW2    50's maybe 60's

 

WW2 wings if marked would have the manufacturers name or logo. Im not 100% sure but I think the numeric marks were adopted in the 1960's.

Someone would have to verify that though. Another way to tell is to look at how the pins are soldered on. If the soldering is neat and precise and there is not a little pool at the base of the pin, then its post ww2 electric soldered.. which is much neater looking.  Also the clutches on the wing are post ww2 type.

These are post WW2 wings.

[pfrost]

Rooster is correct, they were probably made post WWII, maybe even post Korean war. That would be my guess.  Between the end of WWII and the end of the KW (such as it was), the insignia that was used was probably just old stock for the most part.  Its hard to really know with any certainty how exact you can be in "dating" anything in this time period.  I believe sometime in the late 1950's the Government began to try to standardize the manufacture and purchasing of insignia and this eventually resulted in the development of the alpha/numeric system in the late 50's early 60's.  Prior to that, there seemed to have been some "starts and finishes" with other types of Government contracting systems, like the contracting numbers given out to some companies (like H&H and NS Meyers).  Based on what I have read, I believe that these systems were started during the late 1950's.  But that being said, for the most part the dies being used to make insignia were all the same ones used in WWII and KW.  Some purists don't really care WHEN a badge was made if it came from an early die, others are more militant about being worried that a newer wing was made (even if it was on an old die). 

[wk4045]

Thanks !!