What's the story behind 2" wings?

[AZPhil]

Hello To All
I was wondering what is the story behind 2" wings. I hear that they are refered to as Sweet Heart wings.
Were these wings worn by the AAF crew as part of a regulation uniform or were they just something they sent home to their Sweet Hearts?

[GIZMO8Z]

Hello To All
I was wondering what is the story behind 2" wings. I hear that they are refered to as Sweet Heart wings.
Were these wings worn by the AAF crew as part of a regulation uniform or were they just something they sent home to their Sweet Hearts?

To the best of my knowledge, both.

[AZPhil]

So were the 2" wings worn on the shirt or the Jacket?

[GIZMO8Z]

So were the 2" wings worn on the shirt or the Jacket?

Here is part of the conversation that I had with Moderator Walkwolf (Steve). I hope he does not mind me posting it here!

I sent him a link to a pair of Balfour made 2" wings I was interested in purchasing on ebay.

As far as I know these are original LGB 'Sweetheart wings' of the WWII era. It is this size that
was likely worn in combat more often than the 3" type - which were used on 'Class A'
dress uniform. The 2 inch and smaller wings are known as 'Sweetheart wings'
because this type was often sent home to wives and girlfriends.

I will also add that the ebay seller overpriced the wings. Steve pointed that out to me and suggested I look elsewhere for a pair of wings. I was able to negotiate with the seller for a lower price that I was more comfortable with. I went ahead and purchased them and I am eagerly awaiting their arrival!

[Pablo]

Is this the so-called sweetheart wings? It is 2" across and smooth on the back with "Sterling" written on it. I got it in a box lot from an estate and presume it is WW2 vintage.

[Walkwolf]

Pablo, these are indeed 'sweetheart' or 'shirt size' wings. 3" wings are for the
Class 'A' uniform, but it is likely that some 2" types were worn in aerial
combat. ( The Pilot wings you posted above are of a pattern that was
indeed worn by P-51 Fighter Pilot Don Gentile, according to author
and wing collector Russ Huff. )

But this does not mean that every man did. Some may have worn 3" type
or cloth versions too. As for the question of whether they were worn on
the jacket - did you mean tunic ? - as no wings were worn on leather
jackets in the USAAF ( possibly a few may have though ) usually
leather name tapes, although I've seen 're-enactors' wearing
wings on their repro Type A2's.........

[Walkwolf]

Joe, Ebay can still be a good source for WWII wings, but lots of
repros and fakes are on there as well.........