Finally, I’d like to show some insignia from this aviation group and then a final few words. The student pilots and even mechanics and associated members would wear this insignia on the uniform collars. They are too small to be sleeve insignia. The design is similar to the member badge but it isn’t detailed.
As I mentioned in the first post, the Imperial Japan Aviation Association was established as a corporation in 1913 (just 3 years after Japan’s first powered flight) and became a foundation in 1914. It merged with the Greater Japan Aviation Association in 1940. In 1945 SCAP (the American occupying authorities) banned all civilian aircraft operations, and when the Americans left in 1952 the association sprung up again with a new name, the Japan Aeronautic Association. The group continues to operate today and is quite large.
There were other wartime aviation groups in Japan, most notably the Army-run Greater Japan Aviation Student Group (DaiNippon Hikou Shonen-dan 大日本飛行少年団), but the group discussed here seems to have been the largest.
