These 3" bullion pilot wings belonged to Charles J. Crysler, a P-40 combat pilot who flew with both the American Volunteer Group (15 missions) and the 23rd Fighter Group (68 missions) in the CBI theater between June 1942 and July 1943.

 

Was it unusual for such a prominent British outfitter and tailor like Ranken & Co. to create and sell U.S. bullion pilot wings during WWII? And are these wings still considered "theater-made"?

Americans were everywhere in the world during WWII and easily had the most disposable cash of any nation combatant, so yeah, no one was too proud to make things for Americans. Also when we speak of theater made, it is a broad term, meaning anything made not domestically in the US. ETO, PTO, urban centers, in the field. As long as it is not US-made. I also assume these are silver thread, and that the photo was with soft white light that has a golden cast.

Thank you for the informative response. Crysler's son told me that his father knew how to pinch his Army paycheck, but he clearly splurged on these wings. For the photo, I used natural morning light through a white shade, so the thread's golden color is accurate. Why do you ask?

By regulation, Army pilot wings are silver color. Gold is commonly an indication of being a flight instructor. This comes from the original instructor badge which was a shield-less pair of small wings worn on one cuff and was gold colored. As flight schools expanded and civilian pilots taught at contract schools, often they chose to make their wings gold as a contrast to the official military wings.

Interesting, and it makes perfect sense! After finishing his combat tour in the CBI theater in July 1943 (3 kills, 1 probable, DFC), Crysler transitioned to a role as a combat flight instructor. From August 1943 to January 1944, he served with the Chinese-American Operational Training Unit in Karachi, India, where he wore those distinctive Ranken gold bullion wings while training pilots for the Chinese-American Composite Wing.

 

Many thanks to the Rathbone Museum!

These are very cool wings.  Thanks for sharing!

On 2/2/2026 at 7:48 AM, rathbonemuseum.com said:

By regulation, Army pilot wings are silver color. Gold is commonly an indication of being a flight instructor. This comes from the original instructor badge which was a shield-less pair of small wings worn on one cuff and was gold colored. As flight schools expanded and civilian pilots taught at contract schools, often they chose to make their wings gold as a contrast to the official military wings.

 

Not to quibble (sorry Tod!... LOL), but like Tod says instructors for the USAAF used sleeve insignia. But....

 

Tod is also absolutely correct that SOME civilian pilot instructors at SOME of the WTS schools wore gold or gilded pilot wings, but by no means all followed this convention (one of the best studied example of these would be the Cal Aero instructor wings covered on a number of other threads).  By about 1943 and early 1944 (the exact dates escape me), there was a general attempt to standardize civilian instructor insignia with the CAA-WTS indian head wings and the eagle head wings.  In my humble opinion the idea that gilded wings = instructor wings, has morphed into dogma.  Such that any gilded or golden hued wing (pilot, airship, gunner, navigator, etc) of any size (1.5, 2, 3 inches) that shows up is called an "instructor wing". 

 

You do see gilded wings showing up in catalogs and salesman samples, but I suspect that vast majority of those were intended for sweetheart and/or patriotic jewelry or for private or civilian airline use.

 

On the other hand, If his role as a combat pilot instructor with the Chinese-American Operational Training Unit in Karachi, they have had some sort of variation of a gold bullion pilot wing that they wore,, that would be worth some additional research. 

Remember that military wing badges were awarded to indicate proficiency and experience of a specific skill/rating and the requirements for these were well described and adhered to within the military (this was true for aircrew wings, gunner wings, navigator wings, up to command pilot wings).  There are (to my knowledge) no records that someone could earn or wear a gilded wing because they were an instructor of any sort.  I may be wrong and someone may find a specific directive stating that gilded wings could be worn, but generally speaking the USAAF was not keen on gold wings....   The whole reason why gilded FS and FN wings were changed to silver is (according to myth) that Hap Arnold was unhappy about them.   

Great wings, none the less. Thank you for sharing.

You make a good point regarding the rarity of gold military instructor pilot wings, but Chrysler also owned a second, unmarked pair of theater-made bullion wings (below). My theory is that he wore these silver wings during his time as a combat pilot in the CBI Theater (June 1942 - July 1943). He then upgraded to the gold wings to mark his transition to combat instructor at the Chinese-American OTU in Karachi between July 1943 - January 1944.