And here are some pictures of the second Jump Wing. Thanks again!
Jump Wing 2 opinions
And here are some pictures of the second Jump Wing. Thanks again!
Again, I suspect this is a sweetheart pin. Not directly related to the airborne. More likely worn by a family member or girlfriend at home. The production quality is consistent with such badges.
Regards, B.B.
Well, I am outside looking at a mobile phone so not getting the best view and there is no indication of scale but from what I can see at the moment both of these look like correct jump wings. As I said I don't have the best view so will look again when I get home. Can you see any maker marks. The 2nd appears to be marked sterling and I think they are both typical US made pieces.by BrodieBartfast
Regards
Mark
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
The other was marked 'J.R. Gaunt London', the same maker that made one of my great grandmother's ATS pins, which is what led me to believe these were British Home Front badges. The style of hook and pin is also of a type I see frequently on such badges. Happy to be proven wrong, though. Always interested in correcting mistakes in my own personal knowledge.
B.B.
they are both about 3,8 cm from left to right. And about 2,2 cm from the top to the tip of the parachute
Looks to be a standard issue WW2 era US jump wing. Nothing out of the ordinary from what I can see..
Smitty
As per Smitty
Gent's I agree - I believe them to be pretty standard size wings to be worn on uniform etc. I recently sold a really nice badge very similar to the other badge posted and also marked JR Gaunt. Regards Mark
Yep, as I said I couldn't see it very well outdoors and on my mobile but obviously JR Gaunt is a British maker and was known for these during the war. The pin type is quite indicative. As soon as I got inside and could see it on my desktop I clarified it in the other thread. I didn't edit this one lest it looked like I was covering my tracks
I think the similarity to the type of home front badges is due to the fact that they were commercial production for US troops in UK rather than to satisfy a War Dept contract and that they did not have to conform to a British military spec. The pins were likely the closest to the US style that the maker could immediately produce without especially re-tooling the factory.
Both the US and British style of pin is common (British much less so obviously) for wartime production. The Gaunt type are quite often found unmarked as is my example. I think that clutch backs did creep in by the end of the war but the clutch back is much more likely to appear on the post war pieces.
As an aside the wartime oval backing which is a different shape to the post war type seems far more difficult to find than the jump wing itself and you will see some very dubious "original Easy Company 506th PIR" jump wing ovals being offered for sale
I have somewhere a signet ring apparently made from a full size silver jump wing. I'll dig it out and post it.
Regards
Mark
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
I think the similarity to the type of home front badges is due to the fact that they were commercial production for US troops in UK rather than to satisfy a War Dept contract and that they did not have to conform to a British military spec. The pins were likely the closest to the US style that the maker could immediately produce without especially re-tooling the factory.
Hi Mark
US Forces used what ever was available in the UK at that time, as you know these are termed theatre made and have a high desirability amongst US collectors.
When the US build up occurred local commands (USAAF,USN,Army Group down to companies/individuals)submitted requests to local tailors or well established British makers for insignia , whilst the designs were US "spec'ed", they were under control of British wartime condition and control-meaning they got what the British had in their inventory and hence you get the British style pin back and different colour interpretation for SSI.
Specs were used as a guide line for British manufacturers to follow.
This was and is still common for US Forces that are stationed all over the world-using local theatre made insignia.
Phill
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