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Original Aeronaut BadgeWWII Balloon Pilot BadgeWWII Senior Balloon Pilot Badge
TheBalloon Pilot Badgeis amilitary badgeof theUnited States Armed Forceswhich was issued during theFirstandSecond World Wars. The badge was issued by both theUnited States Armyand theU.S. Air Force, with theNavyequivalent known as theDirigible Pilot Badge.
Originally known as theAeronaut Badge, the Balloon Pilot Badge was created in 1918 and awarded to pilots of militaryobservation balloons. The badge consisted of a balloon centered on a standardPilot\'s Badgeand was issued in two degrees. The senior degree of the Aeronaut Badge was denoted by a star centered above the winged balloon.
The Aeronaut Badge was awarded under the authority of theUnited States Army Air Serviceand theUnited States Army Air Corpsuntil the mid-1930s. The badge was then redesignated the Balloon Pilot Badge and, during theSecond World War(WWII), was issued by theArmy Air Forces. Like its predecessor, the Balloon Pilot Badge was issued in junior and senior degrees.
The Army Air Forces also issued aBalloon Observer Badgefor those who served as co-pilots and support crew on board military balloon craft.
Due to the aircraft technology advances of the 1940s, balloon aeronautics became militarily obsolete by the 1950s. At that time, theUnited States Air Forcediscontinued the Balloon Pilot Badge; however, the basic version of the badge is still issued by theU.S. Air Force Auxiliary\'s Civil Air Patrol.[1]
