US Army Glider Badge

By Crusader1307

The US Army's Glider Badge was a Skills Qualification Device, worn on the uniforms of those who qualified as Glider Pilots, during World War II. The Device was first worn in 1944 and was issued until 1951. The Glider, as we have seen – was a wooden and light metal Aircraft, which was considered a Towed Platform (via a powered Aircraft, by cable). The Plane's aerodynamic properties made it lighter than air. Steered to a target by a Pilot (who also could adjust for altitude), The Glider would be then landed (depositing it's Troop Cargo). Great skill was needed in landing, with many fatalities being recorded. The Glider landings were often seen as ''trying to land a brick falling from the air''.

Training in Glider Piloting was 5-weeks long and was conducted at Fort Benning, Georgia beginning in 1944. It was part of the established Paratrooper School (later Airborne), and would operate until 1949. The overall use of Glider's in combat was discontinued in the early 1950s (but those who had earned the Device were allowed to wear it thereafter).

The Device was a silver Gilt design which featured a pair of stretched Wings. Into the center of The Device was placed the frontal image of a 1940s Glider Aircraft. Often, a Cloth colored Patch (called a Flash) – was attached to The Device, to denote the Command that The Glider Pilot was assigned. Conversely, a Sidecap Patch (which featured a Parachute with a Glider Plane), was often worn by Glider Pilots. This Patch would remain as part of The traditional US Army Airborne Uniform until the 1990s.