The Observer Badge is a military badge of the United States military which dates to the First World War. The badge was issued to co-pilots, navigators, and flight support personnel who had received a variation on the training necessary for the standard Pilot's Badge. The Observer Badge survived through the Second World War and into the 1950s, at which time the concept of an Observer Badge was phased out in favor of the modern Aircrew Badge and Navigator Badge. The United States Navy is the only service to still maintain an Observor Badge, which is issued to flight mission specialists and in both the Navy and Marine Corps.

First World War

The original Observer Badge was a half wing design of the Aviator Badge used by military pilots of the Army Air Corps. The badge was mainly awarded to gunners, spotters, and navigators on the first armed military aircraft. With the advent of bombing, the Observer Badge was also initially authorized to aircraft bombardiers. A new badge was soon created for these duties, however, and was known as the Bombing Aviator Badge.

Those qualified as Balloon Observers were also eligible for the badge, and the badge was typically referred to both as the Airplane Observer Badge and Balloon Observer Badge. There was no difference between the two titles, as far as the Observer Badge appeared, and towards the end of the First World War the badge was commonly referred to as the Airplane and Balloon Observer Badge.

Second World War

Between 1919 and 1935, the Observer Badge remained the same design as it had been during the First World War. However, as developments progressed in military aviation, the concept of an Aircraft Observer changed to necessitate the redesign of the Observer Badge and a change in the eligibility criteria.

By the time of the United States entry into the Second World War, there were three Observer Badges authorized by the Army Air Force. The first was the standard Observer Badge, which appeared as an Aviator Badge centered by a large O. For those qualified as Balloon Observers, a separate badge was created which was the Observer Badge augmented by a balloon insignia.

The third and final version of the Observer Badge was known as the Technical Observer Badge and appeared as an Aviator Badge centered on a combined T and O design. The Technical Observer Badge was awarded primarily to flight engineering personnel who were assigned as assistants to the flight engineer.

United States Navy and Marine Corps

The Naval Aviation Observer Badge was first created in the 1920s and authorized to navigators and other support personnel on multi-person naval aircraft. The Naval Observer Badge was soon phased out, however, in favor of the Naval Flight Officer Badge. The insignia was then modified and granted to aviation mission specialists such as Flight Engineers and Meteorologists.

In the modern United States Navy, the Naval Observer Badge is still in existence but is rarely referred to be its original name and is more commonly known as the Flight Meteorologist Badge. In the Marine Corps, the decoration is issued to in-flight aircraft support personnel under its original name as the Naval Aviation Observer Badge.

Observer to Aircrew

With the creation of the United States Air Force, aviation observers were phased out and replaced by more highly trained specialists known as Aircrew members. The Aircrew Badge had been created prior to the Second World War, however at that time had only been issued to enlisted personnel. With the Air Force creation of the Officer Aircrew Badge, the Observer Badge was discontinued and declared obsolete with the exception of the Navy's version of the decoration.

In the modern U.S. Armed Forces, the Observer Badge is rarely issued but has seen a resurgence in the Air Forces of other countries, most notably the United Kingdom and Canada