Cpl Wearing Pilot Wings
 

Can anybody shed any light on the Cpl pictured here, taken at RCAF Station Goose Bay? We're assuming he is ex wartime aircrew and has re-enlisted.

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I remember an older looking SAC at Hereford when I was in training in 1963 and he had pilot wings and oodles of medals.

knarfw

The two holding rank look older than the rest.

Don't the medals give you an idea ?

Yeah, as I said, we're assuming that they both re-enlisted.

knarf

Do you reckon this is some of the same group at a later date ?

http://www.winnipegacc.org/pages/ind..._6318staff.jpg

There were also SACs with pilot wings and medals at RAF Hornchurch in 1956 when I was going through the Aircrew Selection process.

Bob C

There was a Cpl. supplier worked in ESG at Akers in the late 60's. He had wings and a chest full of medals, rumour had it he was also on first name terms with the Staish.

My instructor in the late 50's was a Sergeant pilot and very good he was. I gave a party to celebrate getting my wings. Had to have it off base as I couldn't use the Officers mess.

I'm not sure if it's relevant but my Dad knew an SAC with a pilots brevet. The former Sgt pilot had been demoted for being a bad lad and rejoiced in the fact that "they" could take away his chevrons but couldn't take away his "qualification".

Cpl Steward at Silloth about 1957-58. Remember there were over a million airmen just 10 years or so previously followed by the demob. Then, come Korea and the Cold War there was a post-war expansion in many air forces but in contrast there were probably less civilian jobs, certainly not jobs offering the same excitement as the Services. Re-enlisting was quite common. I think even previously commissioned officers rejoined as rankers.

I was at the Pakistani AF base at Rawalpindi in 1978, and went into Base Ops to file a flight plan. There was a WOFF behind the counter wearing a DFC ribbon. "Gosh", I thought. The next day I went back in and there were two SGTS, and they too had DFCs. "Hang on" I thought, "not all Paks could be this sharp?" Then it occurred to me that SGTs can't have DFCs, and I finally NB'd that they didn't have wings!

It turned out the ribbon was the Pakistani National Medal, for 10 or 15 years service. Looking carefully you could see the colour was in fact a very dark green, with white diagonal stripes (the Pakistani national colours).

The story was that the design of the ribbon had been a parting shot at the Brits, so that all the locals could wear DFCs !!

The posts about re-enlistment are likely to be correct. However, there were also cases where some aircrew remained in the service but did not stay as aircrew in 1946, when the war substantive system ended. These people went into ground trades, retained their flying badges but not necessarily - unlikely in fact - their former (war substantive) rank.

The RAF introduced the new trade structure which graded aircrew NCOs differently. This used the names 'X' cadet, IV, III, II, I and Master 'X', where 'X' equals an aircrew skill eg pilot, navigator. The badges of rank were a laurel wreath with various stars and an eagle. The whole thing was massively unpopular and in 1951, the RAF went back to traditional ranks with just the Master Aircrew title and badge surviving.

The 1951 trade structure also split ground NCOs into technical and command streams, brought in the ranks of senior aircraftman, junior, corporal, senior, chief and master technician and brought in List One and Two Trades. Aircrew got their stripes back and technicians wore theirs with the point of the chevrons uppermost.

That structure ended on 1 April 1964 when, inter alia, Aircraftman/woman 2nd Class was abolished as well.

Old Duffer (formerly AC2 Young Duffer)

ISTR stories of aircrew grounded for LMF having rank badges and brevets removed, but the guys made to wear the jacket still showing where they had been removed, pour encourager les autres.

The rank badges Old duffer described in his post on the post-war aircrew rank structure are amazingly scarce. In thirty years of dealing in militaria I was always on the lookout for these but I dont think I ever managed to get hold of one. I did see a full set being offered at a militaria fair once for an astonishing price. I did however once have a GSM named to an "S 2 Bloggs, R.A.F." (Flight Sergeant Signaller).

When I was a rockape we had a squadron leader with pilot's wings - I think he was WW2 vintage, had gone out and come back in later but wasn't accepted as aircrew second time around, but of course was still entitled to wear his wings.

SAC on 64 Sqdn Binbrook early 60s had wings, having qualified as a glider pilot early 1945, later re-enlisting as a rigger.

I was at someone's house a few years ago who had been a Sgt aircrew, IIRC he was a Nav. When they decided all aircrew should be commissioned, he went to bed one day as a Sgt, and woke up the next day with a commission. He had all his old log books which he showed me, they made interesting reading.

There used to be scheme in the '60s and '70s under which a handful of engineering officers were selected for pilot training, if successful they went on to do one full flying tour and then returned to engineering duties, complete with their wings. Although they remained in the engineering branch for the rest of their careers they tended to do rather well on the promotion ladder.

Rgds SOS

SOSL - Was the unfortunate chap who went for an unplanned flight in a Lightning at RAF Lyneham one of those pilot-trained engineering officers?

We wore wings on woolly-pullies in barracks until a new CO arrived. He demanded they were removed.

We all left on the press-studs used to attach them. He saw the funny side ;)

My old associate LAC Eddy Eyers, RAAF. Halifax and Wellington pilot....