US WWII US Navy Pilot, Eagle Parachute Company, Eagles Wings Club Lot, Incredible Story
This item is listed for historical interest only. It was listed on our site previously but has been sold and is no longer available for purchase.
Sold for: $350.00

Original era manufacture. February 19th 1945 dated congratulatory letter from the Eagle Parachute Corporation to Navy Aviation Cadet Ralph Henry George Jr, for hissuccessful descent from a stricken aircraft, while wearing an Eagle parachute.The letter presents him with a life-time membership in the Eagle Wings Club, and an example of the club'smembership badge.Cadet George bailed out from his aircraft involved in a mid-air collisionduring a training flight; his account reads "We were coming in from a good formation hop and were just peelingoff for the break-up...a formationon the inside of us apparently felt they would run into our formation, so broke in all directions, one coming right at me. I tried to bank away from him, but he crashed into my plane. His plane exploded, mine caught fire and six feet of my left wing was missing. This caused the plane to do a series of snap rolls, and as the fire was gaining I had to make other arrangements in a hurry.I flipped the safety belt, rolled out on the left wing and shoved off. I fumbled around for the rip-cord. I got out of it with onlya few scratches, the other poor chap wasn't so fortunate, he went down with his plane".Incredibly Cadet George was involved in another mid-air collisiona few weeks later, when another cadet pulled up beneath his plane, dove in an emergency move, with the other plane's tail catching George's wing. Thistore the tail off of the other cadets aircraft, and put an enormous hole in the wing of Cadet George. The other pilot parachuted to safety, and George made a safe emergency landing.The lot includes the newspaper article regarding the incidents, the letter from Eagle Parachute Corporation, membership badge of the EaglesWings Club in sterling and enamel, bw photo of Cadet George, US Navy V-5 Flight Preparatory Certificate dated 1943.Minor folds and scattered water damage to the documents.