Pilot Wings of Republic of China 中華民國空軍徽章

-

The Chinese Air Force or Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF - 中華民國空軍) of WWII was very limited in planes and pilots right before the Second Sino-Japanese War. Many Chinese-American pilots in the US left to China to help early on with the war effort. In the early 1940s, around 100 American pilots volunteered to go to China to help fight the Japanese before the US officially entered WWII. These pilots were known as the American Volunteer Group or commonly as the Flying Tigers. Hundreds of Chinese pilots were trained in the United States to help fight the Japanese. After the war, the ROCAF grew to a well trained force with assistance from the US Air Force through out the 1950s and 70s. ROCAF pilots few U2 spyplanes to help monitor Communist Chinese activity for the United States. One of the first "kills" of a modern air to air missile technology, the AIM-9 Sidewinder, was used by an F-86 of the ROCAF. Today, a few ROCAF pilots continued to be trained in the US at the same base as their predecessors. 

1937-1945

The wings during WWII had a similar shape as pictured below. There were many variations in designs that were made during the war. 
These wings are dated 1945 (卅四年) and with a serial number on the reverse.
 

 
This type was issued to American trained Chinese pilots. 
It is marked "A.H. Dondero Inc. Wash.D.C." on the reverse. 

 Post WWII, Civil War, and Taiwan

After the war, the wings took up a new shape that is similar to the US pilot wings. New branches were introduced as wings that are similar to the US, such as bombardier, navigator, medic, and etc. Each branch also were awarded based on skill level: basic, senior, or master. Each wing was serial numbered. Most, if not all, use screwbacks. 
 
Basic pilot wings 1960s-70s

 
Master pilot wings 1960s-70s


Senior medical wings 1960s-70s


Photography wings 1960s-70s


Non Commissioned Officer Engineering wings - 
this was awarded to an American serviceman 
in the 1970s


Bombardier wings - 
made by "Hwamei Co." "華美公司" 1950s

1981 and Current Issues

There are several other types of branches not listed. Some wings that I do not have include the civil war era of 1946-1949 and the post 1981 redesign. The 1981 redesign are silver in color and revert back to the WWII design, while retaining the skill level and branch designs. Clutchbacks are used for the modern wings. These below are examples from an Taiwan online auction.
 
Add caption




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Order of the Cloud and Banner 雲麾勳章

-
Image
  Probably one of the most well known medal of the Republic of China is the Order of the Cloud and Banner ( 雲麾勳章) . There are several English names as over time the Chinese translation has evolved. Some of these include the literal translation, Yun Hui, and Order of the Resplendent Banner. It came in nine classes, which would be awarded based on the rank of the awardee. It was awarded for actions that contributed to the national defense. Many Americans in the Chinese theater of war during WWII were awarded this medal. Most of the awards were given out post war around 1946 from the research I have conducted based on surviving medal documents. After 1949, these were also awarded to Americans who also helped to contribute to the national defense of Taiwan. The original full set from WWII and a few years after, came with a certificate with envelope, outside box cover, medal box, a ribbon bar, and the medal itself. There would also be a translated document that would be included. The outer
Read more

Welcome and First Post

-
Image
I would like to start off this blog by introducing items that were some of the first items for my Chinese militaria collection. These items originally came from my father, who served in the Republic of China Army (ROCA) in the late 1950s and early 60s. He didn't have a lot of items and I could only find a few documents of what he had from the army. I would like to dedicate this blog to him. The United States supplied the ROCA with many old and new gear, uniforms, and other equipment. Tensions were high between Taiwan (Republic of China) and mainland China. During this time the 823 Incident or also known as Second Taiwan Strait Crisis was occurring on Kinmen/Quemoy (金門島), a small island group just off the coastline of mainland China.   Above is a the photo above of my father dressed up for a photo shoot. From what I have researched about US military items, he is wearing a T7 parachute assembly (harness and main chute on back) with reserve chute on the front. By this time, the T7 ass
Read more

Chinese Air Force Officer's Dress Dagger 中華民國空軍 短劍

-
Image
Chinese air force officers wore these daggers with their everyday uniforms. These daggers were used from around the 1930s up to the end of WWII. The handle wrapping came in different colors, such as green, pink, yellow, and white (pictured). The eyes of the bird were mostly made of glass and some were of cut rubies.  Recently, there are fakes being sold on online auctions. These are being sold directly from China. One of the biggest sign it is fake is the polished steel scabbard. The originals are nickel plated.
Read more