RCAF Metal wings

[seaeagle25]

Hi there guys

I have seen some metal RCAF wings advertised recently as mess dress wings. Are these legit, and if so, when did they start to be worn? I thought the RCAF used to have mini wire wings for mess dress but I guess a lot changed after the 1968 Unification.

Regards

Doug

[Bill A]

Clarification Doug. Do you mean the CAF metal wings? I am not aware of any metal wings being made for mess dress. Like you, I thought they were bullion wire.

[seaeagle25]

Hi there Bill

I guess maybe CAF but I thought it had reverted back to the RCAF in 2013. I have seen these metal wings on ebay and they are sometimes described as mess dress wings. Are there full size metal wings worn by the CAF/RCAF like the RAAF and RNZAF?

Regards

Doug

[edstorey]

Always best to state if you are talking about pre-1968 or post-2013 RCAF,

There are several types of metal Flying and Specialist Skill badges. Here is what is written in the 2001 CF Dress Regulations which is the most recent edition I have in my database.

Section 3 Flying and Specialist Skill Policy

1. CF badges shall be worn by qualified personnel only.

2. Badges, embroidered in rayon on an appropriately coloured base cloth, shall be worn on the service dress jacket, naval combat dress jacket, and flying clothing.

3. Metal badges shall be worn on short sleeved shirts, and on the optional navy high collared white jacket. In accordance with environmental, branch or regimental custom, metal badges may also be authorized for wear on white
mess dress jackets, in lieu of miniaturized cloth metallic embroidered badges.

4. Badges, embroidered in gold/silver wire or an approved substitute on an appropriately coloured base cloth, may be worn on the service dress jacket on an optional basis, and shall be worn on full dress and patrol dress
tunics/jackets/doublets. Similarly embroidered miniaturized badges shall be worn by authorized members on standard mess dress jackets.

[seaeagle25]

Thanks Ed

These are definitely post 1968 and are aircrew wings, 4.3 cms wide. I would say they are a fairly recent design.

Regards

Doug

[Bill A]

Thanks for the reg Ed.
Thanks for the clarification Doug. I believe the wings of which you speak are CAF wings. The new issue of RCAF wings are, if I have the information correct, just becoming available and at this point in time are only cloth.

[seaeagle25]

Thanks Bill

Yes, it would seem that they are CAF wings but it still does raise some questions. Going by the Regs that Ed very kindly posted, "metal badges shall be worn on short sleeved shirts". If this means metal wings for aircrew, the ones I saw on ebay were just over 4cms, too small I would have thought for wear on a shirt. A size like that seems more for mess dress wear but point 4 of the Regs state that mess dress badges are in "gold/silver wire".

Would wings 4 cms long be worn on short sleeve shirts - very small when compared to RAAF and RNZAF wear on shirts?

Sorry for the confusion on my behalf.

Regards

Doug

[edstorey]

This is where photo would help.

[Bill A]

4 cm is not that small. Especially for wear on the shirt. There isn't a lot of fabric to keep the badge displayed properly on the shirts.

[ddaydodger]

Metal wings are almost the same size as the full size wings, less backing material. Metal wings on shirts are held in place by a plastic backing piece to ensure they sit flush against the material.

[seaeagle25]

Hi there guys

Thanks for your replies - it looks as though the metal wings are not for mess dress. Here are a couple of photos of the ones on ebay.

[seaeagle25]

Hi there guys

Still a bit mystified by the dimensions of the CAF metal wings so I have done some measurements when I got home:

- RCAF KC cloth pilot wings 11 cms wide
- Australian Army metal pilot wings 8.9 cms wide
- RAN metal pilot wings 7.5 cms wide

So you can see my surprise with a 4 cm wing - very much mess dress size but I can understand the logic of fitting too big a metal badge onto a cloth shirt.

Regards

Doug

[edstorey]

Both are CF era metal wings that are worn on the shirt, the outstretched wings are pilot and the other is flight crew.

[ddaydodger]

A good view of metal wings on the short sleeve shirt. This picture would be a couple of years old and show the now obsolete gold rank, and not the new pearl grey rank for the RCAF.

[edstorey]

The Army ranks have changed as well, Officers now wear stars (pips) and crowns.

It would be nice someone will show the Airforce General how to wear his belt properly.