RCAF Prototype wings 1
 

I plan to write a series of short articles for a journal so though I would test the waters here. Over the years, I've picked up a variety of RCAF aircrew prototype wings. Like all unusual items, debate often swirls around their design, reason for manufacture and age. And, because most are "unofficial", some argue the aren't worthy of collecting at all.
At the end of WWII, it was felt that a new distinct design of Aircrew wings for Canadians was needed. It is believed that 4 patterns were proposed in 1948, three variations of these being for the “Captain” of the aircraft and the fourth for the Radio Navigator. The prototype patterns illustrated were ultimately rejected in favour of the more traditional style of the RAF and RCAF double wings of the era. Warren Carroll discusses this particular pattern in his book, Eagles Recalled (p.128).
The attached images illustrate two of these designs. The pilot or captain’s wing is stylized after the pilot’s metal insignia from the 1920’s era of the Canadian Air Force (CAF). The base is of fine black wool incorporating white stitching for the wings and RCAF monogram, a tan maple leaf and a gold crown with red highlights.
In the illustrated patterns, the Captains wing has no backing while the Observer wing is lightly padded and backed. Also of interest is the Official Pattern wax seal of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It is fastened to a sample of the blue-grey tunic material of the time. The pink ribbon integrates the seal to the wings themselves. A previous repair of what appears to be epoxy is noted in two spots of the Seal at about the 11 and 1 o’clock positions. Without removing the wings from the card on which it is mounted, one can’t tell how the ribbon has been fastened to the back of the wing.
If anyone has other examples of this particular design, it would be great to see them. Thanks for looking.

This is a great project. The sealed patterns were one step from production and were loaned out to contractors who used them to prepare their samples. The samples were submitted in turn and also sealed if acceptable. Then the contract run was completed, and for quality control measures random examples of the production run were compared with the sealed samples to make sure they met the standard. In most cases several sealed patterns were held by the respective authority for the branch of service. Sometimes these patterns were not returned to NDHQ.

Recently DND has been surplusing sealed patterns from the 80s. I have 2 in my collection. Many more were offered on ebay at one point.

These are great wings. I recently picked up a Captain of Aircraft in a different variant than the one you show. The wing is flat on the bottom, and the Crown partially hidden behind the leaf.