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1919-1941 Interwar Period vintage pilot wings: examples and patterns


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John Cooper

I was lucky to get this wing and hope I can obtain some more information from my fellow collectors. IIRC Duncan Campbell thought this wing die was from the 20s although in my exchanges with other collectors the 30's is the time frame. I did come across some info that this was made by American Metal Crafts Co but I am not 100% sure on this...

 

First is a comparison photo of my wing with the picture of the die Cliff posted some time back.

 

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The next shot is the high res along with the other new addition. I think are the collar insignia from the same general time period (if Campbell was correct about the wing) and were used form 1921 to 1925 IIRC but I am open to correction and or verification.

 

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Here is the reverse shot.

 

John

 

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I was lucky to get this wing and hope I can obtain some more information from my fellow collectors. IIRC Duncan Campbell thought this wing die was from the 20s although in my exchanges with other collectors the 30's is the time frame. I did come across some info that this was made by American Metal Crafts Co but I am not 100% sure on this...

 

John,

 

Your badge does correctly date back to the mid-1920s. Here is a copy of a page taken from an American Metal Crafts catalog issued in 1925.

 

Cliff :)

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John Cooper

Great information and confirmation - thank you very much Cliff you’re a scholar and a gentleman!

 

John

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Great information and confirmation - thank you very much Cliff you’re a scholar and a gentleman!

 

John

 

I call these "the hairy wing wings" for obvious reasons. What is interesting is that at least two different dies were used on this pattern, and it can be differentiated by the shape of the shield. These are very clear once you actually see the two variations side by side.

 

Second, I have seen these wings with a variety of different styles of hardware on the back. Sometimes with the "C" style catch, sometimes with the more traditional style catch. I have also seen this variety of wing with a gilt finish that may have been used by either commercial airline pilots or flight instructors.

 

Third, I believe that this "hairy wing" pattern has been used on a number of fakes. In the real wings, the depth of the wing is very obvious, but in the fakes, the wings are markedly more flat (at least the ones I have handled).

 

A really nice wing--one of my favorite patterns.

 

Patrick

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  • 1 month later...

A nice look at some early Air Corps Pilot wing variations. Shows a nice progression from the 20's up to WW2. There are certainly some other nice pre-WW2 variations not included here ~ share yours if you have 'em! Dave

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John Cooper

Dave thanks for posting this photo. I am interested in hearing what you know about each one of these wings are a few of them have come up for disussion.

 

Cheers

John

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Thought I would share this pair of mid to late 1930's AE Pilot wings.

 

They are of absolutely massive construction, one of the heaviest wings in my collection.

 

Cheers,

 

John

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  • 4 weeks later...

Ebay was good to me the other day. I figure this to be a 20's or 30's vintage bullion wing. Interesting pattern and slightly oversize (about 3.25 inches).

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  • 3 weeks later...
...maybe someone can offer their thoughts or better yet a photo of a pilot wearing the same style.

 

John

 

John-

 

I believe you were looking for a photo of this wing in wear. Will this do?

 

Note the 79th Division patch, yet he's clearly wearing aviation collar insignia. Hmmmm...

 

-Chuck

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Here is another photo of a nice transition period uniform and wing. I suspect that this is a 1919 vintage picture.

 

---oops, this is the photo that started the thread. Oh well, sorry---

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Another fantastic photo! Is there any date on the reverse?

 

John

 

 

John-

 

Sorry to say there's no date on the back of the image. If we could figure out who was the commander of the aviation wing attached to the 79th Division, it may give us his name. Being the 79th Division returned to the States in May 1919 & demobilized a month later in June 1919, I would venture to say this portrait was taken sometime during that period.

 

Patrick-

Neat photo!

 

-Chuck

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  • 4 weeks later...

A recent eBay buy. 1927 dated studio photo of a pilot wearing very nice bullion wings. Sadly, not an ID'd pilot.

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close up of the wings. I have seen a number of these pattern bullion wings, and I suspect that they were rather popular with the pilots. One thing that seems to have eluded me are the 1920's pattern USAAC insignia like he is wearing.

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Patrick, that's a terrific portrait. The wing looks very similar to the wing worn by a number of senior staff officers in my father's bomb group. Most of those officers started flying in the thirties.

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  • 3 months later...

Relatively new to this forum and have never posted any wing, but believe the info to be helpful/informative. This is one wing that has intrigued me for some time and am interested in thoughts/opinions. Difficult to tell from the pic, but right upper shoulder does show faint brass under silver coat. Thanks for any info. Pete

 

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post-12287-1297042071.jpg A better pic of the back.

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John, attached pic shows the fittings as attached to the back of wing. Pete

 

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John, attached is another pic that shows the fittings as attached to the back of wing. Pete

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