Middle Eastern Air Force Wing ID help needed

[rathbonemuseum]

Hi,

I believe these wings are Egyptian kingdom, pre-Republic but I have no idea what time period they may be. Egypt is the only country that I know of that features a crescent and three stars in its wing designs. Can anyone out there help me out in terms of nailing these down?

Thanks,

Tod

[Mervyn Mitton]

The Crown does look similar to the one on the back of the Khedive's Star. Wasn't there a period in the 1960's (?) when Egypt , Syria and Iraq were allied and had stars to represent each State. Only a guess - I'm no expert on this period.

[rathbonemuseum]

Any middle eastern or Egyptian air force experts?

[Guest Rick Research]

Ah, had to dive waaaaaaay back into the library from the days when half the world was pink on maps. I remember Bechuanaland, Tanganyika, and Nyasaland as a nipper, but further north was a blank--

They are Farouk-ian Egyptian. Flag adopted 1923 and the King was chucked out by Nasser in 1952, which puts an end date on these.

© 1959 Preben Kannik, "The Flag Book." original Danish edition of 1957 was already out of date by the time this English edition came out, since Nasser went to the tricolor in 1958:

[rathbonemuseum]

Rick,

Thanks for posting those. Here is my dillema. I agree with you that all the badges are probably Egyptian and all are pre-1952. The issue is, if the wing I post below is definitely WWII period as I have confirmed with some sources, what period are the ones above. It now gets down to the nitty gritty that I can't make any more headway!

[rathbonemuseum]

Better pic

[rathbonemuseum]

Another version in metal

[rathbonemuseum]

Farouk wearing WWII wing in 1944

[rathbonemuseum]

Perhaps the resolution lies in the crown as conjectured. Almost all of the renditions I find of the Egyptian crown feature 5 vertical supports and 4 "windows", as so

[Guest Rick Research]

Yup. The arches on the first two you posted sure threw me-- they look nothing like the "European" crown used in anything else I've ever seen from Egypt. Thought maybe Libyan since I couldn't find ANYTHING on the pre-Khadafi monarchy BUT the crescent with three stars on green is definitely only Egyptian.

Here's something else to add to your mix: my heraldry sources are DEFINITE that the opening of the crescent must always either face up or face left. Facing right when open is considered "waning moon" and is objectionable.

So where were your "open right" wings made? :catjava:

[Guest IMHF]

Very Nice Collection:

Lorenzo

[rathbonemuseum]

One more thing. The crown shape looks Moroccan. But the crescent and the three stars, especially on green, is unique to Egypt (at least Kingdom). Still a mystery.

[rathbonemuseum]

my heraldry sources are DEFINITE that the opening of the crescent must always either face up or face left. Facing right when open is considered "waning moon" and is objectionable.

Rick, there is definitely something amiss, as the green winged wings are the correct Egyptian wings, facing the viewers right. The flag image you posted, based on where the pole is positioned, also features a right facing moon. And the wing on Farouk's portrait, also facing right. ??

Tod