US ARMY AIR FORCE PILOT WINGS- are these sterling?

[Australia]

its all starting to sound spooky phil!

[AZPhil]

I Agree!
STEVE!!!!!!!!!!!! Where O Where can he Be!!!!! I'm flashing the Walkwolf sign in the sky but he is WAY UP NORTH of me.
But hey, maybe we could swap the mismatched clutches and have the same type.
Flip a coin!!!!! I call Heads on the sterling!!!
Semper Fi
Phil

[Walkwolf]

Boo.........!

Lol - While certainly not an 'expert' I have collected and studied
USAAF wings for a while. I believe these are WWII and sterling
even though they are not marked. This type is known as the
'slick' or 'graduation' pattern. If the reverse was solid and
painted grey they would likely be repro or modern.
Good to see the earlier style clutches.

Silver plate on bronze base-metal types began in the late
1950's or early 1960's. ( The design of the Pilot wing
changed slightly at this time or shortly after, though
there are modern ones that resemble the
WWII pattern. )

[AZPhil]

Hold On I have to shut of my searchlight.
I'm glad to hear that Steve. I pulled this off of a Captains AAF jacket that has the AAF patch on the right shoulder and the 8th AF on the left side. I checked the Captains bars and the are marked Meyers and Sterling, But when I checked the wings they were not marked at all. It made me doubt the whole thing. That is Great to Hear!!!!!!!!
So Steve any thoughts on the clutch mismatch?

Semper Fi
Phil

[Walkwolf]

It can easily happen when you have several different types of
insignias and you remove them all for cleaning, or simply
loose one clutch and need a replacement. I don't think
the soldiers were really that fussy ! 'Ballou' marked
clutches are post-war modern.

I pair up all my clutch-back devices and keep them in
separate little zip-lock bags, labeled so I know which
wings they are for. The 'sterling' marked clutches
are for 'the best of the best'.........

[Wagriff]

See? I Told ya he'd know....lol

[Australia]

Thanks guys lots of knowledge .

[AZPhil]

Thanks AGAIN Steve. You have been a great source of info for me and others on this site. YOU DA MAN!!!!!

Hey Australia. Was it Heads or Tails?????????

Semper Fi
Phil

[Australia]

Heads Phil !

This is my first set of wings . There is something nice about them I can't explain !

[AZPhil]

This last set makes #3 for me. My 1st was a set of Aerial Gunner wings to honor my Uncle Joe who was a tailgunner on a B17, # 2 was a "AMCRAFT" set of Pilot wings I got off of Ebay to put together a Officer uniform in Honor of a friend Ben Bennett who past away and was with my Uncle Joe on his last mission when He was shot down. But ran across a beautiful jacket that had this last set of wing's.
They are awesome . I love to fondle them and think of where they might have been and what did the man who wore them see.

PM me know if you would want to trade clutch's Austraiia?

Semper Fi
Phil