ww2 brevet ap

Any chance of a photo of this brevet 582?
I knew that the SAAF had AP’s but had not heard of RAF AP’s

regards baz

I seem to recall that post WW2 the RAF had a certain number of ‘official’ photographers (usually a bog standard airman who’d passed the Unit Photgrapher course. The best of these were used for the official RAF pictures such as the air to air pics used in recruiting brochures. These were the ‘elite’ bunch who wore the AP brevet. The forces being what they are, these things would have been procured in thousands but the chances of finding one that had actually seen service on a uniform is quite rare.
I’m sure someone more knowledgeable than I will quickly put me straight if I’ve got it wrong.

Hi yes it is an raf british brevet same style as air gunner etc

can you post a pic for us ??

cheers baz

Hi yes it is an raf british brevet same style as air gunner etc

Hi Stan
That is why I asked about the badges nationality
582…can you post a pic for us ??

cheers baz

I think that the brevet is post war- it certainly isn’t connected with the Observer’s brevet as you suggest. At the outbreak of WW2 there were only two categories of aircrew; pilot and observer. (Air gunners were an ad hoc trade). In September 1915, a brevet consisting of a half wing joined to the letter ‘O’ was authorised for wear by qualified officers who performed the duties of second aircrew member. Two months later the wearing of the brevet, often referred to as the ‘flying ********’ for obvious reasons, had been extended to qualified Warrant Officers and NCO’s. At this time the role of the Observer was to act as second navigator and to undertake the roles of gunner, bomb aimer and perform any other sundry tasks such as photography. The reduction of RAF strength in the post First World War period led to return of the pre 1915 situation whereby the only fully trained crew member was the pilot, all others being part timers who received a minimum of on-squadron training. The introduction of more modern aircraft in the 1930’s and a change of philosophy, led to a re-appraisal of aircrew training. One outcome was the re-introduction in October 1937, of the ‘O’ brevet. Qualification for wearing the brevet included:

• Passing an Observer’s course
• Serving on a squadron for six months
• Flying 50 hours as an observer
• Recommendation by squadron commander

This solved the problem for a short while, but meant that an Observer was a highly trained individual capable of, in modern parlance, multiple tasking. Whereas an individual trained in navigation, wireless operating, bomb aiming, photography and basic flight engineering was an acceptable solution in the aircraft equipping the RAF at war’s outbreak. It was a very costly and time-consuming method of training crews for the complex heavy bombers that emerged as the war progressed. For this reason other trades were introduced and the observer’s classification was finally withdrawn in 1942.

Does it look like this brevet on this link ?

http://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/history/saaf/old-aircrew-brevet

cheers baz

Hi
Missed this post yesterday
What nationality is the brevet ?
Istr that the South African Air Force had an Air Photog brevet some years ago.

cheers baz