World War One "Mitchell" Wing

[cwnorma]

At some point after returning to the United States from France, likely in 1920 or 1921, Brigadier General William L. “Billy” Mitchell made an appointment at the Harris and Ewing studios at 1313 F Street NW, in Washington DC to have a number of official portraits taken.  Harris and Ewing was a prominent Washington photographic studio that photographed Washington luminaries such as government officials, prominent members of society, and high-ranking military officers.  Many of these photographs are accessible through various museum collections and online through the Library of Congress—bequeathed to the American people by Harris and Ewing.

 

Some of Brigadier General Mitchell's portrait photos from the Harris and Ewing shoot.

 

For his Harris and Ewing photos, General Mitchell chose to wear a recently tailored uniform featuring all his then-earned ribbons permanently sewn to the chest.  Throughout the session, the photographers posed various shots of General Mitchell: Some with, and some without, the general’s formal orders, decorations, and medals.  In all shots, Mitchell can be seen wearing a “Dallas-type” wing with a small-size general officer’s star pinned immediately above—displaying his earned status as a Military Aviator:

 

The "Mitchell" Wing.

 

At first glance, the wing could readily be mistaken for an example of the Bailey Banks and Biddle version of the “Dallas” wing. The badge appears to lack the trident of larger feathers some other manufacturer’s examples present in the shoulders, instead the wing pieces in the photos exhibit small clusters of feathers. However, closer examination of the photos reveals the wing Mitchell is wearing is evidently not the most common BB&B variation…

 

Standard BB&B "Dallas" wing (top) and "Mitchell" wing (below).

 

To begin with, the shield appears noticeably somewhat smaller in relative dimension to that of the standard BB&B “Dallas.” The shield does not plunge nearly so far below the plane of the lowest feathers, nor does it advance materially above the shoulders of each wing. Finally, the shield does not protrude nearly as highly from the cloth-covered backplate of the badge—being somewhat lower in relief.  Additionally, looking closely at the idvidual U and the S in the various photos reveals both letters have bottoms far more rounded than the square-ish bottoms of the standard BB&B wing.  As to the wings, they appear thinner overall while the second feather from the top of each wing is observably shorter than the topmost feather immediately above.  An enigmatic wing!

 

A side by side comparison of this wing and a standard BB&B wing further reveals a number of very interesting things:

 

Standard BB&B "Dallas" wing (top) and "Mitchell" wing (below).

 

1. Size.  When compared directly with the BB&B “Dallas” wing the “Mitchell” wing appears in many ways to be a scaled-down version of the BB&B.  As noted above, most prominently the shield is somewhat smaller measuring only 0.78” tall by 0.65” wide.  By comparison, the larger type BB&B shield is relatively massive at 0.83” tall and 0.79” wide.  The wings themselves are just shy of the same width as the large badge measuring only 1.25” (compared to 1.4”) but are noticeably slimmer measuring only 0.54” instead of 0.69” tall.  Overall in width, the larger BB&B measures 3.6” while the diminutive “Mitchell” only measures in at 3.4 inches.
2. Design.  It is clear that the “Mitchell” wing takes most, if not all of its design cues from the BB&B.  The shapes of individual feathers are identical and the small clusters of feathers in the shoulders of each wing are remarkably quite similar.  The “Mitchell” wing for all intents and purposes appears as though it is intended to be similar in design to the BB&B.  Although it is overall smaller, its hard to escape the obvious design similarities.
3. Construction.  It is in construction where some of the most striking similarities can be found.  Close examination of similarly aged and faded examples shows the background cloth appears to be the same tightly woven black material.  Both badges also have a black, cross-hatched, leather backer—which when examined side by side using a magnifying glass again appears identical.  Further, both badges share the construction method of a thin, die cut gold US applied to a corresponding US-shaped base on the shield; a feature heretofore unique to BB&B “Dallas” wing badges.  While it is impossible to measure the thickness exactly, when both badges are examined visually side-by-side, the gold in both appears to be identical in gauge.

 

When compared directly, the similarities between the two badges are indeed striking.  The inescapable conclusion is that the two badges share a common origin.  Unfortunately, as is typical of “Dallas”-type wings, there are no manufacturers marks to remove questions with respect to exactly what firm made the smaller badge.  Moreover, I know of no BB&B catalogs offering a smaller version of their popular “Dallas” wings (as is the fortunate case with the larger badge).  Perhaps future research will shed additional light on the matter.

 

In late 1918, San Antonio Texas Jeweler Dan Dunham created his “De Luxe” line of badges.  Dunham advertised his De Luxe line as being the only “regulation size” three piece badges.  With his De Luxe line, was Dunham responding to pressure from Air Service “brass” trying to get the wild and oversize RMA badges to hew closer to regulations?  There is a portrait photo of Colonel Henry Conger Pratt, Commander of Kelly Field wearing one of Dunham’s De Luxe badges.  Can we infer that the “Mitchell” badge was BB&B’s attempt to market a similar regulations conforming badge?  Could such a badge have been made by BB&B in late 1918 or early 1919 with the Adams badge killing it before it could ever be catalogued?  There are certainly many questions remaining to be answered.

 

For now, without some sort of direct evidence, it will have to suffice to remain a theory that BB&B manufactured and sold (like their Texas competitor Dunham) a more regulation sized “Dallas”-type wing badge.  Regardless of who made it, aviation pioneer and visionary Brigadier General William “Billy” Mitchell, so liked this handsome and well-proportioned badge that he chose it in particular to proudly wear in his official portraits.  Thus the “Mitchell” wing joins the larger family of “Dallas” wings and is itself a testament to the lasting allure of the entire series of three-piece silver wing badges.

 

The "Mitchell" wing is uncommon--I'd love to see what other examples might be out there!

 

Chris

 

 

[bschwartz]

Just as a little side note to this excellent discussion, I visited General Mitchell's grave last year when I was in Milwaukee. It is incredibly unassuming for a man who liked to live larger than life. He's buried in his family's plot with no great monument to his achievements. The only nod to his past is the WW1 style wing engraved on his tombstone.

 

[B-17Guy]

Thanks for the summary brief Chris.

You always provide superb and informative content.

Also, thanks for the grave site pics Bob.

As an additional note, his time after military service was spent living not far from where we live in Virginia.

The “General William Mitchell House”, located on the southern edge of Middleburg. One of the prettiest little towns in Virginia.

John

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Really great write up Chris and great evidentiary detail. Now we have to give the smaller refined model one of our wing collector nicknames! 

[cwnorma]

John @B-17Guy and Bob @bschwartz,

 

Thank you both for your kind words.  John, I know you also have an example of this very scarce badge.  I'd be honored if you were to post photos.  Bob, it is fascinating how Mitchell, never one to shy from the limelight, would have such an unassuming final resting place.

 

Warm regards!

 

Chris

[cwnorma]

In case you've not seen it, The Disney film "Victory Through Air Power" has a short clip of Billy Mitchell speaking at about 02.12.

 

The film is dedicated to Mitchell and delineates his and Alexander de Severski's theories on Air Power.  Its worth a watch!

 

Chris

[B-17Guy]

Here you go.

[cwnorma]

John's @B-17Guy photographs are superior to mine.  In his, you can really see how the construction of the US is similar to a BB&B wing.

 

Thanks John! 

[pfrost]

That’s some great stuff. 

[cwnorma]

Google Street View of 1313 F St NW Washington, DC reveals the Harris and Ewing building is still standing, although Harris and Ewing itself has been gone for over half a century.