Observer Badge

The various observer badges of the United States Armed Forces are military badges dating from World War I. The badges were issued by the United States Army (prior to the establishment of the United States Air Force in 1948) and United States Navy to navigators and otherwise non-pilot flying personnel whom generally acted as air observers or air gunners. Pilots were awarded one of the various U.S. aviator badges. During the Second World War, observer badges would be supplemented — primarily in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) — by individual badges for aeronautical specialists, such as the Bombardier Badge, Aerial Gunner Badge, and the Flight Engineer Badge, among others, with a similar situation occurring in the United States Navy.