LGB balfour wing patterns

[Jack's Son]

A set of Balfour Senior Pilot's Wings in the original box........

 

[John Cooper]

Thanks for posting your Senior Pilot which fits in well with the transitional point for Balfour IMHO. You may have the perfect example of the transition from the older brown boxes with the four place alpha numeric codes (###X) that are typical.

 

Does anyone know when they started to use the blue boxes and the longer codes (X####)?

 

Here is one that sold tonight that maybe the type just before the frosted, curved, fat font versions. It appears to be flat vs. curved but still have the same "new" characteristics. A side not is that it appears that the pin has been replaced.

 

Cheers?

 

BTW - is this to much like inside baseball but on Balfour wings :think:

 

[John Cooper]

Ok time for another update as I have located what I think is a rebranded LGB wing (I am open to other opinions...) that I feel is a transition between the type most agree would be considered WW2 made wing vs. the late war early post war (pre IOH code system)

 

The reason I think this wing fits in just before the curved wing is simple... it's flat. So here is the wing...

 

Cheers

John

 

[John Cooper]

Ok time to bring this back to the top

 

Here is another example of the LGB aka Balfour navigator but made for Vanguard. You will note there is a difference in the construction in that the center device is part of the die. At some point I hope to have sufficent examples to show what I think is the trasition from the WW2 period up to the early/mid 1950's.

 

As for a date range I am currently thinking post WW2 but early i.e. pre IOH.

 

I hope you enjoy the photo... btw please excuse the typo's

 

 

[Sjef]

Maybe this thread is starting to become interesting enough to add it to the pinned thread Important Research & Reference threads

 

It sure has given me some very useful guidance on how to date LGB wings!

[armillary_journey]

Hey All,

Been a busy week, so I thought I would finally add my thoughts and post my LGB set.

Basically holds the line with John and Patrick.

As far as I know-

 

Top wing, Pre-war to early WWII

Middle, Mid to late WWII

Bottom, End of WWII and post. No real way of knowing if this is a 1945 wing or not, but it's possible.

All are pin back.

 

My wing collecting stops at 1945, so that's it for my Balfour's.

 

Cheers, John

 

 

Thanks for that awesome information John. I want post this command pilot now, it has the

to late war shield as described by your post. However this late winged R hallmark I was told is

post war for sure, or 50's? So, can this wing be further dated if someone knows when this hallmark

went into effect? Thanks for any thought on this friends. BTW- this is a 3 inch 32 gram slab of sterling.

[armillary_journey]

What time frame did the winged R Robbins hallmark come into use?

[B-17Guy]

As far as I know, the Robbins "Flying R" was post WWII-1950's.

For more specific information, I think Cliff would be the go-to-guy!

 

Best, John

[John Cooper]

AJ

 

Please review this information for soe information you will find of interest.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...bbins+navigator

 

Cheers

John

[TCSchultz]

I was searching for a thread on LGB Balfour Pilot Wings and found this old one so figured it would do to post this pair of LGB and Balfour Sterling Pilot Wings that came together. The 3" pinback set are marked "LGB" over "STERLING" while the 2" shirt pinback wings are marked "BALFOUR" over "STERLING" and appear to be WW2 Vintage. I suspect it was from the same pilot as they were found together but sadly no ID was found for him. Still a nice set and happy to add them to my collection.

 

 

 

[TCSchultz]

Here's a pair of close up shots as well.

 

 

[Steve L]

Thomas thanks for posting your set of mid-war Balfour pilots. I've always been a fan of wartime and earlier Balfour wings. In hand, their heft, die workmanship / attention to detail and finish convey a high standard of quality. This exhibition of the die maker's skill extends across all the qualification ratings in the pattern you have shared, including those with the riveted devices. The acquisition of the entire set is a very worthwhile goal for any 'wingnut'. Not being uncommon in numbers, its a doable project that yields uncommon quality. If I were relegated to collecting a rating set of only one maker's pattern within the mid-war period these could be it. One more thing I've never heard addressed, but have consistently experienced is that these seem to turn dark (patina, tarnish, etc.) faster, more evenly than most other maker's Sterling wings; they are capable of going jet black. Could this indicate a higher level of Silver content? Have any of you Balfour caretakers experienced this with your examples? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

Steve

[Steve L]

Here is one link I found with acknowledgement from member mghcal as to Balfour's ability to turn to deep black:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/249333-balfour-glider-pilot-wings/?hl=balfour

 

Steve