American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Ring with “Black Cat Command / Guadalcanal” flanked by eagles on each side. Inside engraved “H. (Harry) E. Knight.” Another stamp unreadable, probably “sterling.” Ca 1943.

The “Black Cats” were PBY Catalinas painted a flat black. They had a much longer range than most of the aircraft of the day – 3000 miles, a real advantage in the Pacific theater where islands were many hundreds, or even thousands, of miles apart – but paid the price in speed – they could barely get to 200 mph. If they were spotted by Japanese Zeros or ships, they were easy targets. So a few crews started operating at night and it was discovered that this helped them escape detection and many more survived their missions. The Black Cats have been described as a game changer by the time Guadalcanal rolled around – they could do many things – carry large 2000-pound bombs, transport men and supplies, fly low to spot ships, and more. At Guadalcanal, the first planes equipped with radar were used, making them even more efficient at spotting enemy assets.

Air crew wings, with anchor in circle, “Air crew” below and three stars above. 2 in. wing-tip to wing-tip. Marked Sterling and AMICO.

Navigator wings. Compass rose over crossed anchors over wings. 2.75 in.

Boxed Radar wings. Radar “blips” over crossed anchors over wings. 120 – 10k on sterling. Viking (Hilborn-Hamburger, Inc.) mfg.

Naval Observer. Anchor in “O” over wings. Sterling. Maker’s mark Robbins, Attleboro. 2.75 in.

All of these would have been present in a Black Cat command – pilots, navigators over many miles of open water, radar operators, observers. 

[With:] WWI pilot's wings, gilt sterling, 2 7/8 in. Shield over anchor over wings.