Japanese "Aircrew" wings

[Oceansider]

I picked up a fairly good-sized group of WWII-era Japanese insignia recently and this one almost immediately went missing, but last night I found it down between the sofa cushions. I only found only one similar item online and that was a Manion's sale where this one was called an "airtcrew wing." - but I don't want to trust a single reference.



So here's the one I got - same basic design but with very thick embroidery:

[Oceansider]

Well I've looked around and found two sources which say these are "observer wings" and, as with the "aircrew" wings, cite no references. One such source is another post on this forum at http://70.87.163.50/forums/showthread.php?t=94155 and the other a "Aviation Wings and Badges of World War II " website at http://www.ww2wings.com/wings/japan/japanobserver.shtml

Of course an observer is part of the flight crew so both of these terms could be correct, but I just can't find a solid reference on WWII Japanese aviation badges and wings.

[Oceansider]

There's someone selling these on ebay now and calling them "Japanese Pilot Air Cadet Bullion Wings"

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