During my study of the Heraldry of the USAF and it’s predecessors I have notice a drop in the heraldic quality in some insignia approved during 1950ies and 1960ies and some modern designs also. The arms tend to be all to naturalistic and cluttered. The naturalistic designs and cartoon figures appeared in many designs from WWII also but the tended to be restricted to squadron insignia, Groups and other higher echelons used clear and distinctive heraldic insignia. But there seems to be a mor heraldic approach nowadays even as regarding squadron insignia.
http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/rso/images/airdivision_images/0035ad.jpg
The 1960ies also produced some good AF Heraldry, like this one for the 35th Air Division approved 20 April 1966.
http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/rso/images/airdivision_images/0839ad.jpg
The 839th Air Division had a rather mor unheraldic arms approved 16 june 1958.
Both pictures from the AFHRA site.
Marcus wrote:
Quote:
During my study of the Heraldry of the USAF and it’s predecessors I have notice a drop in the heraldic quality in some insignia approved during 1950ies and 1960ies and some modern designs also. The arms tend to be all to naturalistic and cluttered. The naturalistic designs and cartoon figures appeared in many designs from WWII also but the tended to be restricted to squadron insignia, Groups and other higher echelons used clear and distinctive heraldic insignia. But there seems to be a mor heraldic approach nowadays even as regarding squadron insignia.
Yes, I think you’re right about all of this. Until 1947, what is now the USAF was under the jurisdiction of the Army, and this applied to heraldic matters as well as many other things. The very conservative hand of the Army heraldic establishment was lifted at that point, and I’m afraid freedom went to the USAF’s collective heads. Also, it was very much the thing in the Air Force to reject the past and make everything modern and "aerospace." This was obviously reflected in the choice of many insignia.
Personally, I rather like the style of pre-1947 squadron badges. It’s not classically heraldic, but the badges are generally well designed and distinctive. Even the Disney-studios-designed WWII vintage badges are mostly acceptable.
I believe that in recent years three things have happened to put things back on a more heraldic track with respect to group and wing arms. First, the USAF has gone through an effort to restore and rehabilitate lineages of historic units, even at the price of some fictive association between modern and past units. As a result, what was once the 3800th Air Base Wing—with no real history and a generic 50s/60s style coat of arms—magically becomes the 42nd Air Base Wing, with a combat lineage descending from the 42nd Bomb Group (est. 1940), and a proper pre-1947 heraldic coat of arms (Azure on a bend engrailed between two aerial bombs palewise Or four annulets Gules).
Second, the Air Force Historical Research Agency (I think it’s called) has been put in charge of managing USAF heraldry and has developed and enforced a set of design standards. Personally, I find some of them a bit too politically correct for my tastes, and I don’t like the requirement that every insignia include blue and gold in it somewhere, or the treatment of the gold edging around unit insignia as part of the blazon, but the overall impact has been positive.
Finally, I think there has been greater use of the Army Institute of Heraldry’s services in the design process of new insignia. There’s nothing mandatory about this, but I think the AFHRA’s guidelines point units toward TIOH as a source of design expertise, and that tends to push designs in the direction of traditional heraldry.
Well Joseph I can agree that the pre-1947 Squadron insignia is generally good and distinctive. But some are to "cartoonish" to my taste.
About the role that insigna should include blue and gold somewhere, there are numerous examples that doesn’t use these tinctures. Like the 39th Maintenance Sqn, 43rd Aeromedical Evac Sqn, 45th Services Sqn and the 47th Air Base Group.
More examples at the http://www.usafpatches.com/photo/index.php?cat=4
Another example of a unit inheriting a former unit history and insignia is the 350th Electronic Systems Wing who is seen as the continuation of the 26th Observer Group (estb. 21 Aug 1941).
http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/rso/images/wings_groups_images/0350esw.jpg
The CoA of the 26th Observation Group and 350th Electronic Systems Wing. The 26th was inactivated in 1949 and reactivated as the 350thTactical Electronics Group in 1985.
