The Special Force Wing

[tormar9496]

Next, is from Major Fred Agee's od wool shirt.

[tormar9496]

Next, Major Fred Agee's experimental Ike jacket.

[tormar9496]

Next, from Major Fred Agee's four pocket service blouse.

[tormar9496]

These two are from Capt. Edward Halbert. The top one is tunic removed and the bottom is a version which is slightly larger, unissued.

[tormar9496]

Last one.

[seebee1]

An unusual pattern of the SF Wing Mike, but certainly looks good. A very fine collection of attributed SF Wings tormar9496. The last one you posted is very similar to the one currently for sale on eBay, does it have any provenance or history?

I will post 3 SF Wings, two that belonged to an officer in the OSS NORSO Operational Group, one is unattributed. I know of at least 4 patterns of the Wing that were worn by OSS OG's, examples will be posted in the future. I believe there are 6 patterns that can be readily identified and easy to authenticate, but more that are Theater/locally manufactured, they are always more of a challenge. As with all such things, history and provenance can be vital. Regards, Clive.

[saarf]

I offer here some bits and pieces that may be of interest. I began collecting OSS-related insignia in the mid-1980s and was fortunate to have been in touch with many veterans of that organization. As a result, the SF wings with which I came in contact, illustrated in the following image, were those typically in the hands of American personnel.

The SF wing was worn by elements of two OSS Branches: Special Operations (SO), which included the Jedburghs, and Operational Groups (OGs). Furthermore, I have found the wing only among personnel who operated in the European Theater of Operations, not among those who operated in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. (Use of the wing by the British migrated to Force 136 in Southeast Asia, in part, at least, due to Jedburgh personnel being sent there. Some Force 136 personnel, I suspect, acquired the wing upon their return to England, after their assignment to Force 136 had run its course.) I have found no specific criteria that one had to satisfy to qualify to wear the wing, and I have found it, though not often, on the uniforms of OSS veterans of SO who were not parachute qualified. That the wing was recognized within SO Branch is evidenced by an order dated 28 October 1944 issued by its London Headquarters directing SO personnel to remove the wing upon release from SO. I believe that many did not comply.

SF-wing-comp-s.jpg

The wing at the top, the one I most often encountered, is probably considered to be the gold standard by many collectors. The one at the bottom I encountered among veterans of the OGs, while the one in the middle I encountered only twice. (The backs of these three wings, which I prefer not to illustrate, are distinctly different.) Bullion variants of the SF wing exist but, in my experience, genuine ones are few. (One OSS veteran whose bullion wing I acquired reported having had it made in India on his way to an assignment in China following his service in France.)

The next image, which came to me courtesy of a friend in Canada, is of a tunic in the Canadian War Museum that is named to a Chinese-Canadian who served in Force 136. I have encountered, in collections, several SF wings attributed to veterans of Force 136, and most, like this example, differed from those available to personnel in the ETO.

SF-wing-Canada.jpg

SF-wings-Hobson.jpg
SF-wing-1.jpg

The black & white image is from an article on the SF wing that I wrote in 1988. The image was provided to me by a former OSS officer who served as liaison to the USAAF squadrons supporting the OSS from RAF Harrington. The two wings, with which he did not wish to part, though he generously provided these images, were ones he had purchased late in the war from Hobson & Sons, London; indeed, he still had the receipt. (I queried Hobson & Sons in 2017 about their manufacture of such badges, but their records from that period had been destroyed.) In 2017, I encountered a wing identical to the bottom one of the b&w image in a private collection, which the owner kindly imaged for me, and I include it here. I offer these to illustrate the unusual variants that appear to have been available for private purchase. The one illustrated in color, whose shape is reminiscent of an RAF pilot’s wing, also serves as a lead-in to the subject of the use of the SF wing among RAF aircrew. (You will note it is nearly identical to the one on eBay to which Rob Miller has posted a link above.)

Among my contacts in the Jedburgh veterans community was the lady who, as a FANY, had served as the secretary to the Commanding Officer of the Jedburgh training center at Milton Hall, Peterborough, a lady with whom I maintained contact for over ten years. It was she who informed me that the design of the SF wing had emerged from a contest at Peterborough for an insignia design, and she identified British Jed Victor Gough as having submitted the winning design. I reported this in my 1988 article on the SF wing (published in the quarterly journal of ASMIC). One year after my article appeared, another, in the same publication, took issue with my version of the origin of the SF wing. The author of this article claimed that the SF wing had arisen before its appearance among the Jedburghs and the OSS in the RAF squadrons supporting SOE. The author’s evidence was a letter from a former flying officer of No. 138 Special Duties Squadron that, along with its sister squadron, No. 161, had supported SOE from RAF Tempsford. In the letter, reproduced over a full page, the RAF veteran told of how the wing was just a modification of the RAF pilot’s wing and how it had been in use before the OSS appeared on the scene. The veteran’s name and postal address had been redacted, though not the name of the village in Somerset in which he lived.

I admit to having been irritated by this article: it wasn’t just a matter of being told that I had gotten it wrong, it was the condescension with which the author conveyed this. I set out to explore the claims of the letter. My contacts in the Jed veterans community put me in touch with people in the Special Forces Club, London, and through them I was put in touch with Hugh Verity and Ken Batchelor, who had held positions of command at RAF Tempsford; with Ray Wooler and Charles Tice, who had, successively, served as SOE Liaison Officers to the Special Duties squadrons at RAF Tempsford; and to Ken Merrick, who had written a history of the two squadrons’ wartime activities, Flights of the Forgotten: Special Duties Operations in World War Two (Weidenfield Military, 1989). Ken gave me the names and addresses of the RAF veterans of Nos. 138 and 161 Squadrons whom he had interviewed for his book, and I wrote to them all. I included a copy of the mystery RAF vet’s letter, and I asked their opinion. I fully expected to hear something along the line of “yes, we wore the insignia in question, but not until later than stated in the letter.” To my amazement, their unanimous response, in essence, was “the letter is utter nonsense!” The SF wing had not been worn by RAF personnel, they said, and they pointed out reasons why that was so. First, the RAF had stringent uniform regulations, rigorously enforced, that would not have allowed the wearing of unauthorized insignia. Second, they would never have worn insignia that would have drawn attention to the squadrons’ activities, which were cloaked in strict secrecy. Personnel, they told me, were given cover stories to explain their activities to the Germans if captured, or even to curious friends, family members, or strangers in pubs who might inquire. (More than one pointed out that wearing an unusual insignia would have invited special interrogation if captured.) As to the letter itself, several respondents noted terms and phrases of the mystery RAF vet that, in their opinion, no one who actually had served in the squadron would have used. Eventually, I was able to make enquiries in the Somerset village the RAF veteran was to have resided in, and what I learned served to strengthen my suspicions. I put what I had learned in an article, published in 1992, titled “RAF Special Duties Operations and the RAF/SF Wing Hoax,” that I suspect was not read by as many as will read this.

Les Hughes

[Mike B]

I for one am extremely appreciative for the combined expertise shared in this thread. There are some wonderful examples illustrated - a great number of them attributed. The sort of research we find in this thread is a model for us all to follow in our own specialist areas. Yes, some opinions may vary - but great that it is laid open for discussion here.
Sincere thanks to all contributors
Mike

[seebee1]

Many thanks Les, you have provided some excellent and informative detail. The Jedburghs, whilst at Milton Hall, often ventured into nearby Peterborough. Occasionally a question was asked about the SF Wing that they were sporting, what did it represent? The answer given by some was "Sans Femmes" or "Sexually Frustrated"! Another amusing incident occurred in a local drinking establishment. A Jedburgh became involved in an altercation with a local, who knocked him flat out. On return to Milton Hall he was promptly dismissed, if he could not take care of himself in a pub in England, what chance would he have on operations! All the best, Clive.

[manchesters]

Thanks Les, not my area of collecting (due to price and fakes) but I really appreciate your depth of research and knowledge.

Would it be possible to show on here your 2 articles? I would love to read them.

regards

[Postwarden]

Fascinating stuff with real evidence. Just what we should be all about.

Jon

[seebee1]

Two examples of the Special Force Wing that I believe originated from French-American enlisted men serving with the OSS Operational Group based here in the UK. I mixed-up some captions a while back, hence the uncertainty of origin, but definitely authentic and I am fairly sure I have the source right. All the best, Clive.

[saarf]

I will send copies of my articles via email to anyone who wishes to contact me and request them. The pdf files of two are around 3 MB in size, which most email can accommodate, but the file for my survey article of OSS insignia is around 18 MB, which may or may not fly, depending on one’s provider.

In addition to the letter from the mystery RAF veteran of No. 138 Special Duties Squadron, the article in question contained other delights, each of which raised doubts in my mind. Two of them I will throw out here in the hope that they will generate discussion.

First, the author illustrated an untrimmed, printed SF wing that he said was given to him by Ian Fleming (yes, that Ian Fleming), who, the author claimed, knew his uncle. The wing was shown lying upon Fleming’s letter to him, in which Fleming wrote: “The special force badge you wanted is enclosed; I had it from a good friend who was the only Englishman in the OSS and who assures me it is the one originally awarded to him.” Some 20 years later, after the Internet opened the world to armchair researchers, I went in search of examples of Ian Fleming’s correspondence to compare with the letter in the article, and I came away from the effort willing to wager the letter had not been written by Fleming. So, I offer for discussion this question: Has anyone encountered a printed SF wing?

Second, reproduced in the article was a photograph the caption of which described it as “a very rare photograph of an OSS officer wearing the SFHQ shoulder patch.” Also illustrated in the article was a SFHQ sleeve insignia that the author said had been given to him by a former army officer who had served at SFHQ, whom he identified. For reasons whose details would require a lengthy digression, I believe that the photo was taken long after the war and that the source of the author’s SFHQ insignia never served at SFHQ. Indeed, while I have encountered several SFHQ insignia in the hands of dealer and collectors, I have yet to see one that possessed solid provenance. And given the nature of SFHQ, I am skeptical of it having had an insignia. But as there is a degree of speculation on my part involved here, I invite others to share their knowledge of the SFHQ sleeve insignia.

[seebee1]

Les has raised several interesting questions. I have never seen a printed example of the Special Force Wing and would be amazed if they ever existed. I also do not have any evidence proving the wearing of the SFHQ patch either. Hopefully other forum members will have further information or comments to make about both of these topics.

I am posting an SF Wing that is part of a small grouping that belonged to Harry Apgar. He was an Officer serving with the Norwegian-American (NORSO) Group. He took part in the OSS CHRISTOPHER Mission and later served in China taking part in the training of twenty Chinese Commando Groups. Regards, Clive.

[tormar9496]

Clive, outstanding grouping!