CAA/WTS/CPT/Flight Schools - Reference Thread

[rustywings]

Now here's the same style wing as listed above, minus the red meatball and the initials A-C-P. Could this be a later version of the same wing badge?

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An image comparing both wings. They measure 2 5/8 inches wide.

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Comparing the backs of both wings.

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Small wing from Sheppard Field, Texas. (Note the AAF Training DI design incorporated into the center of the wing).

 

The other "CPT" wing is from Pioneer Flying Service.

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Contract Flight Instructor wings from the 313th Army Air Force Flight Training Detachment, Hunter Flying Service - Victory Field, Texas.

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Back of the Hunter Flying Service Instructor's wings. Hallmarked "Hickok - USA."

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Flight School Commander's wing from Darr Aero Tech (DAT) Contract Flight School, Albany, Georgia. (The matching Flight Instructor wing is illustrated in post #32 of this thread).

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Back of the Darr Aero Tech Commander's wing. Sterling marked, but no hallmark.

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Here's a full-size variation of the Darr Aero Tech Flight Instructor's wing. (DAT was located in Albany, Georgia).

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Back of the DAT Contract Flight Instructor's wing. Pin-back and unmarked.

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WWII era lapel pin for Darr Aero Tech.

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WWII era lapel pin for Souther Field, near Americus, Georgia. They trained both AAF and RAF flying cadets at this school.

[pconrad02]

How the heck did I miss this tread! It made me all "drooley" :jeal0001:

 

I love the training stuff, being a former high school teacher.

 

Here is my contribution, possibly one of a kind custom made Instructor wings a cap badge:

 

 

 

Both of these came from the estate of an instructor, I also have his standard CAA wings and cap badge:

 

 

Paul

[pfrost]

The Hunter Flying Service wing is an interesting fellow. I have both the pin back and a tie clasp version (shown here). It is not an especially rare wing, all things considered. According to what I heard a number of years ago at one of the Great Western Gun shows, a large number of these wings in the tie clasp version became available as NOS. At the time, no one really knew what they were, and the general consensus amongst the dealers (as I was told) was that these were sweetheart or patriotic jewelry and were sold relatively cheaply. For some time, these wings were supposedly readily available (I know I got a couple off of eBay for about 35$ around that time). Then, when the Pinks and Green's book was published and these were ID'd as being instructor wings for Hunter Flying Service, they rapidly disappeared from the scene (and the prices kicked way up).

 

The pin back and tie clasp versions are identical, except for the attachment method. Recently, I picked up another wing that has the Hunter Flying Service wing as a base but with a Liberty Bell. Not sure what this is, but I suspect it is either another flying school or some sort of patriotic jewelry. Until I learn different, I am going to assume it is a flight instructor related item (maybe for Liberty Field or related?).

[rustywings]

How the heck did I miss this tread! It made me all "drooley" :jeal0001:

 

I love the training stuff, being a former high school teacher.

 

Here is my contribution, possibly one of a kind custom made Instructor wings a cap badge:

 

Both of these came from the estate of an instructor, I also have his standard CAA wings and cap badge:

 

 

Paul

 

Paul,

That's a terrific set War Training Service badges! Do you by chance know at which flight school he instructed?

 

Russ

[Collector Greg]

Here is my S wing. This was for an Instructor pilot that flew for Shaw Aircraft Company out of Iowa City during WWII. I got this one from his Grandson.

[pfrost]

Here are some cloth wings that likely have a relationship to the flight schools in some way or the other.

 

The first one is likely a wing worn by a staff member at this school. I assume it was a technical school for mechanics and the like. I had a small group to a WWII aircrewman and he seemed to have been attending this (or a similar) school after he graduated from high school, but then went into he USAAF when the war started.

[pfrost]

The next series of wings are unknown. I have seen a variety of vintage photos in which civilian staff are seen wearing wings like these.

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another.

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This is likely a WTS or CPT instructor wing. It shows up in a variety of color schemes.

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I can't recall if I showed this one, but it is for Casey Jones School of Aeronautics.

[pfrost]

This is another favorite of mine.

 

It is likely a patch that was worn by civilian staff at the NAS Corpus Christi base. On one of the other threads somewhere on this forum are some excellent photos of women war workers wearing this patch while working on airplanes. They seem to have been involved in training and perhaps maintenance.

 

Patrick

[pfrost]

These are a couple of photos borrowed from another thread showing the above patch being worn by women personnel.

[rustywings]

Here is my S wing. This was for an Instructor pilot that flew for Shaw Aircraft Company out of Iowa City during WWII. I got this one from his Grandson.

 

 

 

Greg, those are nice flight instructor wings! I looked up Shaw Aircraft Company on the internet and found a site describing their efforts to train pilots during the war through a CAA/CPT government contract. According to "Iowa City Airport History - by Jay and Mary Honeck", Shaw's School had 41 aircraft, 22 flight instructors and 4 flight supervisors who trained over 2,500 pilots for the U.S. Army Air Corps between 1939 and 1944. Shaw's school provided the hands-on flight training and the University of Iowa's College of Engineering provided the ground school for those cadets. Interesting stuff...

 

Russ

[rustywings]

Large WWII era patch for Lemoore Army Flying School, Lemoore, California. This Army Air Corps field shut down at the end of WWII. In 1961, the field and adjacent property was commissioned to the U.S. Navy and became Naval Air Station Lemoore.