Bullion FJ wings

[Willi Z.]

I just found my USAF "mess dress" uniform with my BW FJ bullion wings still on them. I must have purchased the wings in Koblenz in 1987 as this style were not US issue (only the black on OD ones were US issue). I don't recall if I glued the ribbon bar on the back.

[Ian Jewison]

I still have mine somewhere....Bullion on khaki/green....I actually had the tailoress sow them on to my best uniform. Got them from a friend in the BW in Münster in 1986 as the only ones I could get were black on OD and typical BW Luftwaffe ones which didn't go too well on an OD shirt!!

/Ian

[Guardian 5]

Willi - Most U.S. recipients of the Bundeswehr parachute badge that I knew were issued with metal wings as seen below.

Modifying a bullion set as you did would defintely "raise the bar" in standards and appearence. Did you wear bullion versions of your U.S. insignia too?

All the best - TJ

[Willi Z.]

TJ, yes on the USAF mess dress uniform we wore bullion. I was awarded the bronze one in your photo.

[RamJet]

I like the German wings of all kinds much more in bullion and the US wings much more in metal ...

I think I am not alone with this opinion as most US trained flight crew of the Luftwaffe wear their German and US wings exactly this way.

No problem to get You another German bullion para wing on blue backing if You need one, Willi! Just ask.

[Scott C.]

Sadly, the USAF no longer wears bullion insignia on the mess dress

[MeinhardcFJR2]

Hello,

Unfortunately we in the British Army only get to wear our froreign wings on our Para Smocks/Hat wrappers (Combat Jackets), over the Right hand pocket

However saying that you do see blokes wearing them on number 1 & 2 dress at the odd wedding, look's Ally, as that's what it's all about

I received my Bronze Class BW wings in 1995 at Oldenburg jumping T10's, 4 decents from the C160 Transall and 2 from the CH56 Jolly Green Giant

All the best,

Mark.

[Guardian 5]

Mark - If I'm not mistaken, this is your first post on the BRD Forum.

If this indeed is the case, on behalf of Gordon, Ralph and myself, I'd like to officially welcome you to the BRD Forum.

The British uniform regulations are daunting. I've known of British soldiers who were decorated with U.S. medals awarded for valor, but were unable to wear them once the award ceremony was over. Your insights into current guidance for wearing foreign wings are valuable indeed.

How did the C160 jumps go? In U.S. parlance, I'm a "five jump chump", that is to say, I graduated from the U.S. Army Airborne School and was awarded my wings but was never assigned to an airborne unit. All my jumps were from a C-141. Unlike a C-130, there was no "jumping" involved. I simply stuck my toe into the slip stream, was unceremoniously sucked out of the aircraft, bounced along the fuselage a few times and then found my self furiously "bicycling" to untangle my risers until I landed like a sack of wet cement on Sicily drop zone.

In any event, after reading The Paras by Frank Hilton, I'm glad I didn't have to go to British jump school....

Once again, welcome to the BRD sub-forum. We look forward to hearing from you again soon.

All the best - TJ

[MeinhardcFJR2]

Hello,

Thank you for the welcome

This is indeed my first visit to this forum, my main interest lays with the TR however I find the early years of the BW facinating, more so now I have trawled through the posts in this section, congratulations fella's

The C160 decents were a huge difference to C130 clearly the first difference being the size of the air frame. It took a little to get used to the "claxon" and then the mass exit, as British drills are all down to timings when you leave the door

Not wanting to drift off topic too much I was lucky to also qualify for my "Blood" wings at Fort Benning in 1993, we only jumped C130, 6 decents in total.

The year before I had been on Exercise support at Fort Lewis and managed to complete 3 jumps with the 1st Special Forces lad's where we jumped C141, C130 and Chinook however as we hadn't completed 5 decents before we left for the UK we missed out on being badged that year

That brings me nicely onto more on British Army dress regulations, no matter how many exchange courses a soldier has done with different nations we are only entitled to wear one set of foreign wings at any one time

The British Armed Forces have alsways been a little reserved when it comes to wearing Medals and insignia I suppose when we do get to wear particular awards etc it makes them that little more specialThough if a soldier receives an award for valour from a foreign state you expect the rules to be stretched, you will probably find that the individuals that make these rules lack in Operational experience themselves.....

I look forward to visiting the BRD forum more often.

Cheers,

Mark.

[Gordon Craig]

Mark,

TJ has already welcomed you to the forum on behalf of all of the Moderators but I'd like to say "welcome aboard" myself. A lot of the members of this forum, myself included, started as TR collectors. Years of battling fakes has left me reluctant to continue buying TR artifacts and since the research is most of the fun for me I spend allmost all of my time here now. It is a good group of serious researchers and we welcome your future participation.

Regards,

Gordon

[Combat Trucker]

Hello,

Thank you for the welcome

This is indeed my first visit to this forum, my main interest lays with the TR however I find the early years of the BW facinating, more so now I have trawled through the posts in this section, congratulations fella's

The C160 decents were a huge difference to C130 clearly the first difference being the size of the air frame. It took a little to get used to the "claxon" and then the mass exit, as British drills are all down to timings when you leave the door

Not wanting to drift off topic too much I was lucky to also qualify for my "Blood" wings at Fort Benning in 1993, we only jumped C130, 6 decents in total.

The year before I had been on Exercise support at Fort Lewis and managed to complete 3 jumps with the 1st Special Forces lad's where we jumped C141, C130 and Chinook however as we hadn't completed 5 decents before we left for the UK we missed out on being badged that year

That brings me nicely onto more on British Army dress regulations, no matter how many exchange courses a soldier has done with different nations we are only entitled to wear one set of foreign wings at any one time

The British Armed Forces have alsways been a little reserved when it comes to wearing Medals and insignia I suppose when we do get to wear particular awards etc it makes them that little more specialThough if a soldier receives an award for valour from a foreign state you expect the rules to be stretched, you will probably find that the individuals that make these rules lack in Operational experience themselves.....

I look forward to visiting the BRD forum more often.

Cheers,

Mark.

Not too long ago, we had a doctor on base who was prior Army, who has on his blues jacket, his Combat Infantry Badge and (you guessed it) Bronze BW Fallschirmjager wings

Regarding Foreign decorations and US Forces; we can wear them to an extent (I have the NATO Non-Article 5 ISAF ribbon on my blues for example). They must be the last ribbon on the set with any other Foreign decorations. Same goes for the Army. IIRC the Army is only allowed to wear one Combat patch on their uniform (usually the first one awarded; TJ, can you confirm this?)

I have not seen any other Air Force personnel with the exception of the aforementioned wearing the BW jump wings since then.

[Guardian 5]

Mark - You certainly have been "around the block" a few times.

On your next trip back to the U.S. of A., you'll be happy to know that we are in the midst of a micro-brew revolution and will at last be able to offer you some decent beer. While the airframes and uniforms are different, every paratrooper I've ever known (with the possible exception of gents from South West Asia) are unanimous in their appreciation of a good brew.

Thanks again for your unique insights.

Craig - Regarding the the combat patch, you are correct in asserting that many troops just wear the first one they qualified for. Seasoned troopers however, who have been on multiple deployments, tend to wear the "coolest" one they've earned. For instance, if on your first combat tour you were assigned to the 3rd Theater Support Command, and on your second with the 82nd Airborne, nine troopers out of ten would choose the 82nd patch as the one they wore on their uniform.

In short, most guys won't wear a patch from a "lame" unit if they can wear a divisional or regimental one. My old boss, a great American if there ever was one, had five different combat patches to choose from. He generally alternated between the 82nd and 101st.

Willi - The sartorial elegance affected by the United States Air Force leaves me at a loss for words. On those rare occasions when I wore a dress uniform, my display of personal awards was restricted to a pair of jump wings and a richly undeserved good conduct medal.....

All the best - TJ

[Combat Trucker]

Mark - You certainly have been "around the block" a few times.

On your next trip back to the U.S. of A., you'll be happy to know that we are in the midst of a micro-brew revolution and will at last be able to offer you some decent beer. While the airframes and uniforms are different, every paratrooper I've ever known (with the possible exception of gents from South West Asia) are unanimous in their appreciation of a good brew.

Thanks again for your unique insights.

Craig - Regarding the the combat patch, you are correct in asserting that many troops just wear the first one they qualified for. Seasoned troopers however, who have been on multiple deployments, tend to wear the "coolest" one they've earned. For instance, if on your first combat tour you were assigned to the 3rd Theater Support Command, and on your second with the 82nd Airborne, nine troopers out of ten would choose the 82nd patch as the one they wore on their uniform.

In short, most guys won't wear a patch from a "lame" unit if they can wear a divisional or regimental one. My old boss, a great American if there ever was one, had five different combat patches to choose from. He generally alternated between the 82nd and 101st.

Willi - The sartorial elegance affected by the United States Air Force leaves me at a loss for words. On those rare occasions when I wore a dress uniform, my display of personal awards was restricted to a pair of jump wings and a richly undeserved good conduct medal.....

All the best - TJ

So I would wear the 377th TSC on my sleeve

[RamJet]

no matter how many exchange courses a soldier has done with different nations we are only entitled to wear one set of foreign wings at any one time

So are our regulations in Germany. Two sets of wings max, one set could be a foreign one.