Opinions on WWI Pilot's wing please

[Uniforms of the Day]

Not my area of expertise. I bought these from the grandson of the owner. With these wings are a officer's Air Service collar insignia and Victory medal. There was evidence that the man served with the Troop Carrier Command in WWII (WWII wings, collar insignia, and a British made Troop Carrier patch). These wings have a small piece of the feather missing at the extreme top right, but otherwise seem pretty good. If it is possible to identify the maker / type, I would appreciate that too. Thanks for your thoughts!

[pfrost]

They are good but the tip is damaged.  Probably made by Bailey Banks and Biddle.  Well worn, but have all the characteristics of a good wing.  Its not uncommon to have that tip break off, as sometimes the tip would catch on the uniform jacket and snap off. 

 

Nice wing.

 

 

[cwnorma]

 @Uniforms of the Day,

 

What you have is a Bailey Banks and Biddle manufactured version of the so-called "Dallas" wing.  Correct in detail and construction.

 

While no WW1 wing is "common" the BB&B version of the Dallas wing is often seen with similar damage to the wing tip.  A consequence of the cliche' strike and jewelers cuts between the large feathers weakening the element.

 

Nice, honest WW1 Dallas wing.

 

Chris

[Uniforms of the Day]

Thank you so much for the info. I appreciate your time very much.

[pfrost]

Its always nice to have an ID'd WWI Dallas wing.

 

P

[5thwingmarty]

There is uncut metal behind the feathers on this wing.  Is this a version where the feathered parts of the wing were attached to a backing piece after the feather cuts were made, and then attached to the cloth-wrapped backing plate?  On my example there is no such backing piece behind the feathered sections so the cloth is visible behind the cuts.

 

[cwnorma]

6 hours ago, 5thwingmarty said:

There is uncut metal behind the feathers on this wing.  Is this a version where the feathered parts of the wing were attached to a backing piece after the feather cuts were made, and then attached to the cloth-wrapped backing plate? 

 

Marty,

 

I believe what you may be seeing as a back plate between the feathers is actually just old, caked-on Brass-O.  I purchased a wing years ago that had been Brass-O'd to the extent that all the cloth on the front of the badge looked like mottled, tan vinyl.  The pumice in that stuff cakes when the volatile chemicals evaporate and especially when used on cloth.  Fortunately, I was able to remove my badge's ancient caked-on polish (with a hand sprayer and distilled water) and found the Brass-O had actually preserved the underlying material.

 

Warm regards!

 

Chris

 

 

[5thwingmarty]

That would explain it, but in the photo zoomed in on the shield the feathers to the right of the shield look to have hard edges to the material below the cuts.  Hopefully this wing's owner can do some similar cleaning and remove this stuff.

Marty

[Uniforms of the Day]

I am a bit of a freak when it comes to cleaning any militaria. To me, the gunk and patina is part of the piece's story. So, I'll leave it as is. But this is not my area of interest. So, I will pass it along and maybe the new owner will clean it up a bit.