SMGL-2072 WW1 US pilot wings (post war) *SOLD

During the First World War no real standard wings existed for the US Army Signal Corp Air Service. Many wings were cloth but many jewelers made metal wings during the war at the request of pilots. The real wings were based on Special Regulation #41 issued on 15 August 1917 and were to be made on cloth with embroidery. But right from the beginning Pilots had jewelers make the metal wings because the cloth ones did not hold up to washing uniforms. After the war this design was widely sold as a novelty item without the US letters in the center, which is what we see here. The construction is a ferrous base metal with a heavy silver plating.