ww2 Para wing for ID

[NEMO]

I Do not disagree that 156th para wore a wing with a black background ,

there are a good few examples with undisputed paperwork obtained from veterans plus a few examples on original battledress I am not arguing against this point , the details I have stated are that THIS exact style , manufacture of parachute wing shown at the start of the thread was worn on service dress by ` some` SOE members and some European members of the free forces who were employed by specialist units

( there is a great photo in Ian DEARS book ` TEN COMMANDO ` and some where i have a copy photo of a Stan Buckmaster / no.2 commando wearing a wing with a black background )


How ever , just as a seperate note there are some further examples of parachute wings with a black / or dark blue background that are just early issue standard qualification wings , not RAF , not NAVY but Army early war period issue that just happen to be on non khaki cloth , regards ,Michael.

[HamandJam]

Michael is right, I have found a pic of an SOE officer wearing an identical pair of wings as I have http://www.specialforcesroh.com/gall..._image&id=4444 mystery solved! JB

[NEMO]

HI , I have believed for some time that these wings are a private purchase Item produced in the UK for service dress and have spent the last couple of years researching them and have infact located a few photos that back up my theory but did not want to make this a statement of fact until I was certain , The photo that ` ham an jam ` has located helps a great deal ( thank you ).

My interest in this type of wing came by default as one of my projects is trying to establish if there is such a thing as a Royal Navy issue / example of a parachute qualification wing .

So, ` presuming ` this naval wing would be on a blue / dark blue black backing I have looked out for such items ,thus i became interested in the example of wing that started this thread.

The construction and style is wrong for an Indian Airborne wing but I will not dismiss that 156 para may have obtained examples whilst back in the UK

(again Im thinking officers who purchased say a new service dress )

I think there is a fair chance some specialist UK based commando units may have worn these in limited numbers .

I welcome your opinions and any examples you can show of parachute wings on dark blue / black backgrounds , many thanks ,Michael.

[Danny]

Hello,
A couple of scans from two photos taken of RAF personnel taken in the Far East.

Will try and dig the photos out and do a better quality scan if anyone is interested in seeing them.

Also a scan of another variation on dark blue background.

Michael, have you found any information on the Red on Blue Royal Navy para wing ?

Regards

Danny

RAF 1.JPG

RAF 2.JPG

Blue Wings.jpg

6 (18) (Medium).jpg

[NEMO]

photo of Svend Truelsen a Danish resistance leader and S.O.E operative.

[NEMO]

Hi DANNY ,many thanks for the photos .

The two sets of wings appear to be the ` standard` Indian Airborne wing like the example shown by " blackpowder " early on in this thread.

I call these the standard or more common type as these are the ones more often seen they can differ slightly in size of parachute and the droopyness of the wing but this type is of a generaly set pattern , out side of this type there are hundreds of strange and wonderful local `in theatre ` made Indian Airborne wings and a whole load more that get lumped in as Indian Airborne but are infact worn by other units such as commando Inteligence corps , special service units etc.

Over the years I have seen many theatre / hand made wings and often people are too quick to brand them as Indian Airborne / far east made etc when they have almost certainly been manufactured in North Africa Italy yugoslavia .

( there is a hand made para wing classed as far east made but im certain it was manufactured and worn in middle east , it is seen worn on battledress by S.O.E in Albania , Yugoslavia an has a very distinct bend half way along the wing ,I will dig out a photo )
Also there is a written statement
by a former commando about wearing handmade para wings manufactured in the town of Split / Yugoslavia ,these were made in quantities and were worn by commando units in 1944 whilst they thought along side Titos partisans.

[NEMO]

Hi ,the Large parachute wing on the dark blue oblong backing described elsewhere as Indian Airborne but again I disagree here .
This wing ` may` be an RAF example but my opinion is it is a british manufactured example that just happens to be on a blue backing .

The parachute and wings design are quite crude and the rear has no backing cloth just the glue / dope wash across it to seal it .

...and just to confuse things more I owned an example of these wings worn by Les Westerby who served in the Middle east / yugoslavia as a radio operator with the S.O.E force 133 ( will dig out photos of that )

Regarding the R.M COMMANDO / R N , PARACHUTE WINGS red on dark blue black I have not encounted a photo of them been worn and think they are believed to be RM but as a side note
and this is just an opinion of mine backed up by no facts at all Im tempted to suggest due to the colours they look like naval rank and trade badges these may infact be Royal navy parachute wings , no evidence at all but nice thought , regards ,Michael.

[HamandJam]

Hi I had not thought this would have become such a great extensive thread! What's great forum!Merits a forum project? My conclusion is as follows: My wing is confirmed SOE private purchase worn on service dress,army commandos generally wore the normal khaki wing but some like No2 wore black backed although a different pattern than my wing.Belgian and French SAS also wore blue backed wings although I am not sure that are not black backed as you see black & White ww2 pics.Belgian ones are described as blue however on the Belgian SAS site. All the best JB

[NEMO]

Good afternoon Danny ,thanks for your help with the photos .

REF : The large parachute qualification wing on a dark blue / black backing ,
as I posted before i do not think it is A ww2 far east manufactured item but a ` normal ` UK WW2 produced wing.

In this case I dont think to much should be placed on the reasons why the backing is blue I dont think it is RAF JUMP INSTRUCTORS as is a common belief , I have an opinion ( and Its only an opinion ) That standard para wings were produced on a very dark backing early in the war when the para wing first appeared , may be because the training was done by the RAF and at RAF establishments ? PERHAPS the first few batches were obtained through the RAF purchasing department and the colour dark blue was chosen but later batches were manufactured on khaki backings to fit in with normal army trade badges ?

Below are a couple of photos showing this wing in wear ( as late as 1945 )
the photo shows MAX MANUS
Acting as body guard to Crown Price Olaff arriving back in Norway at the wars end .
Max Manus had escaped to the UK worked with company ` Linge` then Joined the S.O.E .

So far this is the 5 photo I have seen of this type dark blue / black on full backing been worn by S.O.E personel and again , no I dont think this is an S.O.E issue wing only that it was worn by them , regards ,Michael.

[Danny]

Hello Michael,
Thanks very much for putting the photos up. I had not seen them before.

Yes I would have said that the wings that I put up were made in the UK and some were available as private purchase items. Another one below. I have also seen a few other variations on the dark blue background.

As has been said a whole range of people/units wore these wings on a blue/black background.

I have seen paperwork that mentions wings on a blue background being in the army supply chain after the war. These were going to be used instead of bullion wings in 1945/46.

I have seen some photos of the wings worn out in the Adriatic in a couple of books. As you say definitely a local variation of the para wing. Unfortunately I don’t have access to my books at the moment so cannot scan the photos.

Yes the RN/RM would have used the same red on blue para wing. Just wondered if you had seen any photos or paperwork on them.

Believe the Royal marines did not start using their own variation of the para wing, with the store number and larger surround to the wing, until late 1940s early 1950s from what I have seen. Prior to that they used the Army/Navy wings.

Regards

Danny

Blue 2.jpg

[NEMO]

Hiya DANNY , I have found the photo regarding the theatre made ` middle east` wing but think it might be best to do a seperate thread ?

As yet I have not seen paperwork or a good clear example of the red on black R.M / RN parachute wing but still hoping .....

JUST to keep things rolling and more and more confussing heres a couple more parachute wings on dark backing cloth .

The first is stitched to a naval uniform , the dark blue serge pull over as worn by junior naval ratings ,this example was worn by a member of the Royal navy combined ops bombardment teams that parachuted In with the para battalions .
The second is quite crude example that came to me with a theatre made combined ops sign but no way of saying that he was navy , regards ,Michael.

[blackpowder44]

On another forum a member has posted some pictures of a Greek Sacred Squadron battle dress top. The wings on the right sleeve have a dark blue background, I asked him to conferm the colour and his reply was that it was dark blue. I will ask him if I can post his pictures on this site. John.

[HamandJam]

I just read in the summer journal of Chute & Dagger that was in the post today ,that as was suggested before that 151/156 para bat continued the tradition to wear wings with a black backing when they returned to the UK and became part of the 4th parachute brigade. The pattern at that time was the same as the standard army para wing. Cheers,JB

[HamandJam]

Forgot to mention that Chute and Dagger also refers to a BD blouse in the airborne museum in Oosterbeek with a standard khaki wing but put on a black backing to continue tradition of 156 oara battalion. Cheers,JB

[SAS1]

There are a few photos of RAF Regiment units wearing locally made (and quite wide) wings in the far east. One wore them on the right sleeve, the other on the right breast. One question I've never found an answer to is what wings did they wear on the blue service dress once they returned to the UK?

Were they issued with 'standard' british made wings, and if so, were they on dark blue (in keeping with normal RAF practise), RAF blue/grey, or khaki (which has been suggested but seems unlikely to me).

Also, although one of the units had worn them on the right breast, were they standardised on the right sleeve?