Robbins Observer and Observer-Based Aerial Gunner Wings

[5thwingmarty]

There are Observer and Observer-based Aerial Gunner wings that have been attributed to Meyer, as the front details on the wings match those on the Meyer-hallmarked examples of these wings.  The difference is that the Meyer-hallmarked wings are all hollow-back wings while the other wings are either fully slick-back or slick-back with recessed centers.  In addition, the Meyer wings, if metal or maker-marked have incised marks while the slick-back wings have raised Sterling marks, either on the left side for the full slick-back or in the center on the recessed center wings.

 

As Tod has presented the new Airship maker and pattern based on information form Heath White, I am also presenting information from Heath and his collection of dies and records.  Among Heath's collection are a number of dies from Robbins he has found dies and forcers for Robbins-made Observer wings and a winged-bullet device that could be attached to the Observer wings to make Aerial Gunner wings.  Among the records are when the dies were made, who the client for the wings was, and whether the dies were made from government-supplied hubs (think From Official Die context).

 

Having different manufacturers make wing dies from the same hubs would explain why these Robbins and Meyers Observer wings appear to have identical faces, as Heath has not found any records that indicate that Robbins was making wings for Meyer.  The Robbins Observer dies were all noted as having made made in 1943 in the records Heath has found so far.  It is possible he may find other dies or records that are older.

 

So, enough words, time for some photos.  First are examples of three Observer wings and Heath's Observer die:

 

 

 

[5thwingmarty]

Here are photos of the backs of these three wings and Heath's Robbins forcer:

 

[5thwingmarty]

Now here are examples of Meyer and Robbins Aerial Gunner wings made by attaching the winged-bullet devices to base wings.  I don't have a Meyer Observer-based AG wing, but this one illustrates the style of attached device Meyer used.  The details on the attached winged-bullet match between Heath's die and the non-Meyer wing, and this is different in size and details between the two companies wings.  Note, the green blob in Heath's photo was a bit of fuzz, not a flaw in the die.

 

[Threewood]

Nice write-up! I just happened to buy this wing from a member here and it is good to put a manufacturer name with the wing. Thank you.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Adding some more details to this thread. Looking at the Robbins Observer obverse die, you can see there is a flaw on one feather on the bottom. It seems the hub or the die was damaged or not struck quite right resulting in a flattening of the edge of the feather. I have flipped the die image (as they are negatives of the final product) and highlighted the area I am referring to. When we look at Marty's first observers we can see the flaw in the front. When we look at @Threewood example, we see that a later die has been re-worked to produce some extra detail on the flat spot, though you can see the flat spot still underneath.