An aviator badge is an insignia used in most of the world's militaries to designate those who have received training and qualification in

military aviation Military aviation is the design, development and use of military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift (air cargo) capacity to provide military logistics, logist ...

. Also known as a pilot's badge, or pilot wings, the aviator badge was first conceived to recognize the training that military aviators receive, as well as provide a means to outwardly differentiate between military pilots and the “foot soldiers” of the regular ground forces.

Austria-Hungary

Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops started wearing gilded silver and enameled badges in 1913. The badges style changed after the death of

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

. In 1917 a new badge was created. File:Voorschrift voor het Feldpilotenabzeichen Oostenrijk-Hongarije 1913.gif, Official publication of the Austrian Government in the K. und K. Normalverordnungsblatt Number 2/1913 File:Veldpilotenonderscheiding van 1913 en van 1917 Oostenrijk-Hongarije in het Verordnungsblatt für das k. und k. Heer.gif, Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops Badge, 1913 and 1917 File:AU zrakoplovstvo.jpg, Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops Observers Badge, 1917

Belgium

The current aviator badge of the Belgian Air Force depicting the Leo Belgicus and surmounted the Royal Crown of Belgium.

Bangladesh

Aviator badge of the

Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) () is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The air force is primarily responsible for air defence of Bangladesh's sovereign territory as well as providing air support to the Bangladesh Army a ...

The Aviator Badge of Bangladesh Air Force closely resembles the pilots flying badge of The Royal Air Force. Though the badge has a touch of its own characteristics.

Canada

The Pilot Flying Badge of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

is:

China

The emblem of the

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

is:

Denmark

The aviator badge of the

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force () (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of the Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Armed Forces. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was made a separate service in 1950. I ...

is based on the national

coat of arms of Denmark The coat of arms of Denmark () has a lesser and a greater version. The state coat of arms () consists of three pale blue lion (heraldry), lions attitude (heraldry)#Passant, passant wearing crown (heraldic charge), crowns, accompanied by nine re ...

Iran

The Pilot Flying Badge of the

Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF; ) is the air force, aviation branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army. The present air force was created when the Imperial Iranian Air Force was renamed in 1979 following the Iranian Revoluti ...

is:

France

The aviator badges of the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

/ Armée de l'air française and

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

/ Force maritime de l'aéronautique navale are: File:Badge pilote 12279.JPG, Pilot's Badge File:Badge observateur 12282.JPG , Observer's Badge File:Navigateur-Air-qualif.jpg , Navigator's Badge File:Méanicien-air-qualif.jpg , Flight Doctor's Badge File:Brevet ICVAA.png , Air Force Flight Nurse File:Brevet-de-convoyeuse.jpg, Air Force Patient Pilot File:Para-armée-air-qualif.jpg , Parachutist Badge File:Commando-air-béret.jpg, Air Force Commando's Badge File:Pilote-aéronavale-qualif.jpg , Naval Pilot's Badge

Germany

1913-1920

Several badges were donated to German aircrew prior, during or after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The most notable were: File:Marineflugzeugführerabzeichen von Seeflugzeugen II.jpg, badge for navy pilots from seaplanes 1913 File:Militär Beobachterabzeichen 1914.jpg, badge for observation officers from airplanes 1914 The Military Pilot Badge was donated on January 27, 1913 by Emperor Wilhelm II. It could be awarded to officers, NCOs and crews who, after completing the two required tests for pilots and after completing their training at a military air base, acquired the certificate as a military pilot issued by the military air and land transportation inspection (Inspektion des Militär-Luft- und Kraft-Fahrtwesens). A similar badge for military pilots was donated on 4 February 1913 by Prince Ludwig from Bavaria. The badge for navy pilots on seaplanes
Abzeichen für Marine Flugzeugführer auf Seeflugzeugen
was donated on 31 May 1913 by King and Emperor Wilhelm II, for all officers and soldiers, who successfully completed the training on a naval aircraft station and thus received a certificate of qualification as a naval pilot. The badge for navy pilots on land planes

was donated on 23 February 1915 by emperor Wilhelm II for pilots of the Navy, who completed their service in the war on land planes. The badge for observation officers from airplanes

was donated on January 27, 1914 by emperor Wilhelm II. Prerequisites for the award were: 1. a distance traveled of at least 1000 km in an aircraft, 2. a successfully completed technical assistance examination on an aircraft, 3. pass of at least one retake, 4. accomplished exploration missions, and 5. a certification as an observation officer. A similar badge was donated by King Ludwig III. on 3 March 1914 for the Bavarian army. The airgunner badge

was founded on January 27, 1918 by emperor Wilhelm II. The soldiers had to demonstrate in-depth knowledge in engine construction and operation, in flight training, in map reading, in the tactics of aerial combat, in theory of bombing, and skills in the operation of machine guns on the ground and in aerial combat. The commemorative badge for airship crews

was donated in 1920 by Reichswehr Minister Otto Gessler. There were two versions for Army and Navy airships. Upon request, it was awarded to officers, deck officers, NCOs and crews of former airship crews, who during the war had at least one year of activity on front aircraft.

1935-1945

The ''Pilotenabzeichen'' (Pilot's Badge) of the former

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

had been instituted by

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

on 12 August 1935. It came in distinct types;

nickel silver Nickel silver, maillechort, German silver, argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, or alpacca is a cupronickel (copper with nickel) alloy with the addition of zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver ...

(changed to zinc during the war) and a variant made of gold. It depicts a silver eagle perched atop a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

, wings open in a landing pose, and surrounded by a wreath with laurel on the right side and oak branches on the left side, respectively. It was worn in the center of the left breast pocket of the service tunic, underneath the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

1st Class if awarded. The badge was awarded after one completed flight training and the flying licence and citation were received.

After 1955

In the ''

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

'' the aviation badge (''Tätigkeitsabzeichen Militärluftfahrzeugführer'') comes in three grades: bronze (Standard Pilot), silver (Senior Pilot) after 1200 flight hours and gold (Command Pilot) after 1800 flight hours. It depicts the '' Bundesadler'' surrounded by an oak leaf wreath between two wings. It is worn above the right breast pocket. A total of two ''Tätigkeitsabzeichen'' may be worn, one of which can be foreign in which case the foreign one would be worn below the German one.

Hungary

1938-1945

Pilots and navigators of the

Royal Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force (, ), is the air force branch of the Military of Hungary, Hungarian Defence Forces. The primary focus of the present Hungarian Air Force lies in defensive operations. The flying units operate are organised into a single ...

wore their aviator rating badge sewn on their uniforms right breast above the pocketflap. The Observers Badge was the same, except without the

Holy Crown of Hungary The Holy Crown of Hungary ( , ), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the coronation crown used by the Kingdom of Hungary for most of its existence; kings were crowned with it since the tw ...

. A smaller version of the pilot's badge which was worn on the lower left sleeve of the overcoat - observers also worn a small insignia without the crown on their sleeve. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

a gilded bronze pilot and observer badge was also introduced.

After 1990

After the withdrawal of Soviet forces from

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

a new Hungarian Air Force was created. It took on the traditions of the

. There are 4 classes of pilots badges. Gold laurel 1st class aviator; 1st class aviator, 2nd class aviator, and 3rd class aviator.

Israel

The current aviator badges ("wings") in the

Israel Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

is: File:IAF Silver pilot wings - silver shield.png, Current badge "wings" of an Israeli Air Force pilot, weapon systems officer, navigator and

flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is a member of an aircraft's flight crew who is responsible for monitoring and operating its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referr ...

File:Aircrew-mechanic metal wings 7cmBigCenter IAF.png, Air Crew chief's Badge File:Loadmaster7cmBigCenter IAF.png, Loadmaster's Badge File:Wings 7cm flight-medic IAF.png, Flight Doctor's and Flight Combat medic's Badge (two versions) File:Early-Warning-Control Operator from 2005.png, AEW&C Operator's Badge File:Twin wings metal IAF Flight test engineer.png, Flight test engineer's Badge File:Elect-warfare operator 7cmBigCenter IAF.png, EW operator's Badge File:Twin wings metal IAF Air Signaller.png, Air Signaller's Badge File:Air observer Common IntelligenceCorps IAF.png, Air observer's Badge

Namibia

The aviator badge of the Namibian Air Force is ...

The Netherlands

The aviator badge of the

Royal Netherlands Air Force The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; , "Royal Air Force") is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the ''Luchtvaartafdeling'' () of the Dutch Army, which was founded ...

and the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

Pakistan

The Aviator Badge of the

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

is:

Poland

Romania

1912–1931

The first military aviator badge of Romania was approved by the Ministry of War in 1912, following the establishment of the first pilot school in

Cotroceni Cotroceni is a neighbourhood in western Bucharest, Romania, located around the Cotroceni hill, in Bucharest's Sector 5. The nearest Metro stations are Eroilor, Academia Militară, and Politehnica. History The Hill of Cotroceni was once cove ...

. It featured a silver miniature of a

Blériot XI The Blériot XI is a French aircraft from the Aviation in the pioneer era, pioneer era of aviation. The first example was used by Louis Blériot to make the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft, on 25 July 1909. ...

worn by pilots and observers on the collar of their tunics. In 1915, after the formation of the

Romanian Air Corps The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) () was the air arm of the Romanian army until the formation of the Romanian Air Force. It was established on 1 April 1913 as the Military Aeronautics Service () and subordinated to the Engineer Insp ...

, new pilot and observer badges were introduced. The pilot badges featured a silver plated royal eagle holding a bomb in its claws and the

royal cypher In modern heraldry, a royal cypher is a monogram or monogram-like device of a country's reigning Monarch, sovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by a Crown (heral ...

of King Ferdinand I on its chest. Officers wore the metal badges on the left side of the chest while

non-commissioned officers A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

wore a silk badge sewn on the left sleeve. From 1919, NCOs were allowed to wear the same badges as the officers. After the death of King Ferdinand, the badge used the cypher of King Michael I until 1931, when King Carol II introduced new badges. File:Romanian military aviator badge 1912.png, Model 1912 aviator badge File:Romanian WW1 Pilot badge.png, Model 1915 Romanian pilot badge

1941–present

At the initiative of General Iosif Iacobici and Air squadron general Gheorghe Jienescu, the military pilot badges, named "war pilot badges", returned to the World War I aspect in 1941 with the difference being the replacement of the royal cypher with the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. After the abdication of King Michael in 1947, the aviator badges were replaced following the Soviet model. During the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

, training levels achieved by the pilots were introduced. These levels, classes 1–3, were displayed on the badges in

Arabic numerals The ten Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) are the most commonly used symbols for writing numbers. The term often also implies a positional notation number with a decimal base, in particular when contrasted with Roman numera ...

. In 1977, an initiative launched by some aviators, with support received from

Nicu Ceaușescu Nicu Ceaușescu (; 1 September 1951 – 26 September 1996) was a Romanian physicist and communist politician who was the youngest child of Romanian leaders Nicolae Ceaușescu, Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu. He was a close associate of his father' ...

, youngest child of

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...

, brought back the old-style pilot badges. The new badges copied the model 1941 ones, with the coat of arms of the Socialist Republic of Romania shown instead. After 1989, the decision was taken to issue new badges with the center coat of arms replaced by the Romanian

cockade A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat or cap. The word cockade derives from the French ''cocarde'', from Old French ''coquarde'', feminine of ''coquard'' (va ...

due to the lack of a new heraldic emblem. The present

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) () is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five air bases, a logistics base, an air defense brigade, an air defense regiment and an ISR (Intel ...

pilot badges were adopted in 1996. File:Air Force Marshal Badge - King Michael I of Romania.jpg, Model 1941 pilot badge File:Romanian Air Force pilot badge.svg, Current pilot badge, 1st class

South Africa

The current aviator badge of the

South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

has been in use since 2002, when South Africa adopted a new coat of arms. Like the RAF, the SAAF also has a half-wing version of the badge, in this case for navigators. The aviator and navigator badges comes in three grades: bronze, silver and gold. Reserve force aviator badges have a light blue inlay around the coat of arms as appose to the dark blue of permanent air force aviators.

Spain

Turkey

United Kingdom

The current aviator badge of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

has been in use since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The badge consists of a winged crown and wreath, beneath which are the letters "RAF". The Royal Air Force also uses a "half wing" version to denote Weapon System Officers (WSOs) and Weapon System Operators (WSOps) as well as various airborne roles such as Airborne Technician.

United States

A Military Aviator badge existed from 1912-17 before being replaced by the predecessor of the "wings" badge.

Notes

References

* * *{{cite book, last1=Lazar , first1=Adrian , last2=Stambuliu , first2=Bogdan , title=Military and sociopolitical badges of Romania 1859-1947 , place=

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, publisher=Galeria Numismatica , date=2016 Military awards and decorations of Nazi Germany Military aviation Military specialty insignia Aviation wear

Austria-Hungary

Belgium

Bangladesh

Canada

China

Denmark

Iran

France

Germany

1913-1920

1935-1945

After 1955

Hungary

1938-1945

After 1990

Israel

Namibia

The Netherlands

Pakistan

Poland

Romania

1912–1931

1941–present

South Africa

Spain

Turkey

United Kingdom

United States

See also

Notes

References