ATC A-2

[Phantomfixer]

Here is a neat A-2 worn by a young lady from Delaware. She flew out of New Castle field during WWII. The Pencader is a small military/local history museum...is it a Dubow?
http://www.pencaderheritage.org/main/museum/museum.html

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Not Transport Command, Air Ferry.

 

[johnwayne]

there are more keener eyed jacket heads on this forum then me but I'd put my money on it being a Dubow!
cheers
Wayne

 

[chancerider]

Penny loafers. Crikey. Bad enough having to fly open cockpit with just an A-2...but penny loafers????

 

[Chandler]

Not Transport Command, Air Ferry.

The patch isn't ATC?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Transp ... _Air_Force)

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Not Transport Command, Air Ferry.

The patch isn't ATC?

No, Air Ferry Command, AFC. I believe they flew planes as a delivery service type thing. Wasp and Service pilots, maybe for repairs etc. ATC patches would have a gray, silver, and sometimes light blue sky above the globe depending on if it was an issued patch or theater made. Air Ferry would be of gold, yellow, etc. I'm not sure as to everything they did during the war but sure I'm not too far off. Maybe someone could elaborate?

 

[zoomer]

You can also tell from the "dits and dahs" on the upper left curve. These say A F F C for Air Forces Ferrying Command.
Ferrying Command only delivered aircraft. Transport humped everything else imaginable.
Ferrying was actually folded into ATC by order of July 1, 1942, so this is surely an early war piece.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

You can also tell from the "dits and dahs" on the upper left curve. These say A F F C for Air Forces Ferrying Command.
Ferrying Command only delivered aircraft. Transport humped everything else imaginable.
Ferrying was actually folded into ATC by order of July 1, 1942, so this is surely an early war piece.

Interesting, Didn't know they were combined. Maybe that's why I've seen the same code on both. I certainly wondered about it and have seen it different but I've been using the same when I make either patch. Thanks for clearing that up zoomer, I'll be sure to revise next time I do a run of ATC's and AFC's.

 

[PaulGT3]

Penny loafers. Crikey. Bad enough having to fly open cockpit with just an A-2...but penny loafers????

In my 31 years of working in the military, I have never had a time where the photographer showed up at the right time for
a publicity pic. So I am guessing she had the proper flight boots, but she didnt think her feet were going to be in the pic
and the photographer PROMISED her he wouldnt get her feet in the photo. She was probably doing paperwork when he
showed up, and they went by her locker (she was probably always in her flight suit) grabbed her hemet and coat and chute
and went to the aircraft for the shots.

 

[tom james]

Is that Teresa James' jacket? She's a cousin! I can't find anything about it on the site.

 

[Phantomfixer]

Tom,
Cant recall if it is Teresa, but will have my contact in Newark check it out. If I recall she was/is very popular in the Delaware aviation community...notice the RAF type C helmet she wore...that was on display at the New Castle County Airport for decades....
John

on edit check this out..it is Teresa...
http://www.p47pilots.com/P47-Pilots.cfm ... D.%20James

 

[tom james]

While flying more P-47s than any other pilot, she had the distinction of delivering "Ten Grand". the 10,000th Thunderbolt.

 

[Phantomfixer]

If you ever get up to Newark De....

 

[Chandler]

Ferrying was actually folded into ATC by order of July 1, 1942, so this is surely an early war piece.

That clears it up a little, because every designation I've seen on that patch has been ATC, such as:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Air_T ... Emblem.png

To add: http://www.gibson-barnes.com/prod-29432 ... Patch.html

On 20 June 1942, The Ferry Command became the Air Transport Command (ATC) with world-wide responsibility for ferrying aircraft; transporting personnel, materiel, and mail; and for maintaining air route facilities.

Point of Interest: If you look at the short and long marks, which represent dots and dashes of the Morse Code; starting from the nine o'clock position clockwise, this is what it says: .- / ..-. / .- / - / -.-. (AF ATC)

Don't hold my feet to the fire for reliability of source, but this is what I've read in other sources too.

 

[tom james]

Thanks for the heads-up. Delaware is a nice daytrip on the Harley - I'll be sure to check out the museum.

 

[CBI]

the patches were pretty interchangeable - wartime!. There are a number of CBI theater jackets with the gold patch and the versions of morse code went from very detailed and specific to pretty vague when made in theater.

One of my favorite insignias of WW2

 

[a2jacketpatches]

the patches were pretty interchangeable - wartime!. There are a number of CBI theater jackets with the gold patch and the versions of morse code went from very detailed and specific to pretty vague when made in theater.

One of my favorite insignias of WW2

One of mine as well. Certainly two different designations prior to June 1942 as zoomer states, and both to be designated as ATC after that makes sense. I would bet a buck that individuals still differentiated the two according to their job though, especially with the theater made patches.

 

[Phantomfixer]

Tom,

My Uncle surplused the book about Teresa, written by Jan Churchill, many pics of Teresa and several with the A-2 on display in Newark..just started reading the book way cool....

 

[herk115]

You can also tell from the "dits and dahs" on the upper left curve. These say A F F C for Air Forces Ferrying Command.

Interesting. The one on my GW Bronco spells out "AFATC." Air Force Air Transport Command?

 

[bseal]

Dubow, yes. Did you guys know that Bill Kelso also makes a version of this, right?