Canadian Parachute Qualification Brevets of World War II

In a recent contribution to The British and Commonwealth Badge Forum, one of the members Coogan Wilson, an advanced collector of WWII 1st Canadian Airborne Battalion memorabilia, provided some excellent information on WWII Canadian Parachute Qualification brevets (wings). With sincere thanks and full acknowledgment to Coogan for a superior effort, I would like to re-publish it here, as a service to fellow collectors who may not be active members of the forum. 

Coogan has categorized the wings by type, discussing in detail the discerning differences of each type. (click on any image to enlarge).

TYPE 1 WING

Type 1 wing – The parachute canopy is well defined showing each section with 8 fine stitched zig zag shroud lines that start at the outer edges of the canopy extending down to the Maple Leaf. The maple leaf itself extends below the actual wing and appears to be dark gold or bronze in colour. It almost appears there is no stem extending below the Maple Leaf, but upon close inspection, a very small fine stem can be seen.

The wings themselves have a mild slope upwards towards the ends of the wings tips. The outer tips of the wing curve more upwards to a fine point. Starting at the tips and working your way down to the Maple Leaf, you will notice 5 well defined sections or steps in the wings as you get to the bottom where they meet the Maple Leaf. The background base material is very dark green in colour, almost appearing black under some lighting. The reverse side of the wing has a very fine black cloth backing. The canopy, shroud lines and wings are all the same colour white stitching. When found in unissued condition, the distinguishable cut of the dark green background reveals three lobes at the bottom of the border.

TYPE 2 WING

Type 2 wing – The parachute canopy shows weak detail but does have 7 faint sections. There are 8 finely stitched shroud lines starting at the very outer edges of the canopy evenly spaced down to the maple leaf. The canopy skirt seems to be flat or straight across from side to side. The canopy is noticeably fuller or taller, appearing as a one half of a circle. The Maple Leaf does not extend beyond the lower edge of the wing and appears to be more of a dark yellow tone. There is a noticeable stem that extends down. The crude Maple Leaf itself has been described as more of a ‘pot leaf’ rather than a Maple Leaf.

The wings slope upwards with a mild curve towards the outer tips. When you start at the outer tips and work your way down to the Maple Leaf, you will notice it is a fairly smooth transition from one section to the next and not noticeable steps as seen with other wing types. There are 5 sections with low definition to the wings. The background material is noticeably dark green. Some have also been observed with a lighter green base. The reverse side of this wing has fine black cloth backing. (Unfortunately the picture I have posted is a padded version) The parachute canopy and shroud lines are the same white stitching while the actual wings appear to be a slightly ‘off white’ in colour.

TYPE 2 WING (U.S. PRODUCTION?)

Type 2 wing (U.S. Production?) – It has a strong resemblance to the standard Type 2 wing with many crude details but not as broad across in appearance. The canopy is tall with a peak at the apex and the 8 shroud lines are very fine stitched and equally spaced down to the Maple Leaf. The background or base material however is black in colour. The reverse side has crude looking white mesh material unlike other war time production Canadian wings.

TYPE 3 WING

Type 3 wing – The parachute canopy shows 7 sections with reasonable detail. There are 8 ‘chunkier’ zig zag stitched shroud lines that start at the outer edges of the canopy working their way down to the maple leaf. The Maple Leaf design appears to have a crude but thicker or fuller bronze coloured Maple Leaf. The Maple Leaf itself extends slightly below the actual wings base line. The wing is stitched onto a very dark green background material.

The wings themselves are fairly flat across the top with only the very slightest curve upwards at the wing tips. When you start at the outer wing tips and work your way down, you can see each step in the row of feathering. The reverse side has a fine black cloth material. (I can’t find my lose wing to photograph the back) The canopy, shroud lines and wings all appear to be the same colour white stitching.

TYPE 4 WING

Type 4 wing – The parachute canopy is very well detailed showing 7 clear sections. There are 8 thin shroud lines which start at the outer edge of the canopy. The canopy is well defined and the base of the canopy is straight across with small curves from shroud line to shroud line. The Maple Leaf extends below the wing itself and appears to be a vibrant gold colour. There is a stem that is noticeable from the bottom of the Maple Leaf as it points almost straight down. This Maple Leaf is similar to the Type 2 wing being more like a ‘pot leaf’ in style.

The well defined wings themselves appear to be almost flat or straight across nearly in line with the lower portion of the canopy with only the tips of the wings mildly sweeping upwards. When you start at the wing tips and work your way down to the Maple Leaf, you will notice the each defined step along the way from section to section. The background is a very dark green, almost appearing black in certain light conditions. The reverse side of the wing has a black cloth backing, however slightly different than your more commonly seen cotton version. The canopy, shroud lines and wings all appear to have the same white colour stitching.

TYPE 5 WING

Type 5 wing – The parachute canopy is detailed showing 7 panel sections. This wing has ‘daisy chain’ style stitching shroud lines that start at the outer edge of the canopy and work their way down evenly to the Maple Leaf. The canopy itself has a high peak or egg shape top. The dull bronze /gold Maple Leaf itself extends below the actual wings. The Maple Leaf is proportioned and appears to be a fuller version. The actual stem of the Maple Leaf extends below curving slightly to the right.

The wings themselves have a nice gradual but pronounced curve up to the outer tips. When you start at the outer tips and work your way down to the Maple Leaf, the sections are well defined and have gradual steps at each section. The background material appears to be black. The reverse side material is a fine black fabric. The canopy and shroud lines are white while the wings are different in colour, being ‘off white’ in appearance.

TYPE 6 WING

Type 6 wing - Its appearance makes it one of the easiest to identify being entirely different than all other Canadian war time airborne wings. The shallow parachute canopy is plain with no definition. It has 7 thicker stitched shroud lines which blend in the outer edge of the shallow canopy evenly spaced down to the dull lemon yellow Maple Leaf. The Maple Leaf itself extends below the bottom of the actual wing. The Maple Leaf is a fuller version with the stem pointing straight down.

The well defined wings themselves appear to be horizontal with only the wing tips flaring up slightly. The parachute canopy and wings are matching white colour throughout. The base or background material is very similar to hunter green in colour. The reverse side of the wing has been observed with two different finishing methods. 1) Sizing or commonly known as ‘starch back’ application and the second lesser seen version is a fine weave khaki material.

As a convenient segway, I recently re-watched the movie, "The Red Beret (Paratrooper)", loosely based on Hillary St. George Saunders' book of the same name, which was one of the first books recounting some of the early WWII actions of the Parachute Regiment. The movie was produced in 1953, and as a result today seems rather "camp" or stilted, i.e. dated. However, there is a positive side in that authentic World War II uniforms, armament, vehicles and aircraft, were still available, and extensively used in the making of the movie. The main character, played by Alan Ladd, is an American, initially masquerading as a Canadian, who has enlisted in the newly formed British Parachute Regiment. In addition to coverage of initial training, the movie depicts (with some artistic license) the action of Operation Biting (the Bruneval Raid), and the assault on the Bone Airbase in North Africa in 1942. For those who might be interested, the movie can be watched here, or in full screen directly on YouTube. The specific copy of the movie shown may have been digitally restored, as both the color and resolution are excellent. The movie can no longer be directly embedded due to copyright issues. However, it can still be viewed in its entirety by using the following link; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mnRXN3u318.