Bomb Sqn/Group Patch ID...please..

[ausreenactor]

Gents..

Have seen some great ID work done on this topic....Any help appreciated. It may even be fantasy...

5th AAF Bomb Group would be good start...but?? Thanks for your time...Just picked up the lot, yet to get my grubby hands on them,they are repro's.

Regards..

Couchy

 

[Andrew]

Trevor, that's the patch for the 531st sq, 380 Bomb Group, B-24's, Amberley, Charters Towers then Fenton NT.

They were actually under the command of the RAAF during the War by an interesting twist. They also flew with mixed AAF and RAAF crew, training 52 RAAF Crews and ground crew to take over eventually forming independant RAAF Squadrons. I know of one RAAF Pilot and have his number who was with the 380th, now lives in Melbourne and is part of the Liberator restoration Assoc there, and another who was top turret guner in one of the RAAF Sq who lives just around the corner.


http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/380bg.htm
http://380th.org/380-History.html

 

[ausreenactor]

Mate??

Where do you meet these pilots?? I ran into a Hudson Pilot when I was with Optus as a network tech, sat with him and his wife, having restored the local phone for them. Got an immense pleasure out of it, later asked why it took so long, received 'counselling', and then quit and returned to the army a few months later.

To coin a phrase from Julian Tennant, author of Anzac Elite & 'old army buddy' from my first incarnation.

"They're not normal like us!"

Have something to channel my work based internet searching into....Thanks very much!! Too good to knock back, and worthy of whacking on a jacket as is... $45!! The lot!!

Regards..

Couchy!!

 

[Andrew]

Trevor just a benefit of living in a place where people like to retire to.

Add this one to your homework list;
http://b24australia.org.au/home.html

 

[ausreenactor]

Andrew...

Only have one patched A-2, a Flight Suits Horsehide...and what are the odds..???

Couchy

 

[Andrew]

530SQ- so you're obviously a secret fan of the 380th without even knowing!

 

[shedonwanna]

A close friend of mine was in the 380th/530th and has a classic painted jacket. Here is some of the artwork directly painted on the jacket; he has an uncut version of the 530th. Sadly, he passed away a few months ago and his son has had the jacket for several years. I consider the 380th my adoptive group -

 

[Andrew]

A close friend of mine was in the 380th/530th and has a classic painted jacket. Here is some of the artwork directly painted on the jacket; he has an uncut version of the 530th. Sadly, he passed away a few months ago and his son has had the jacket for several years. I consider the 380th my adoptive group -

Fantastic example, thanks for posting that. I wonder what patch was on it prior to the painted 530th? I love the back artwork too, The "KOTH" logo seems to have been used a bit. There's one in Maguires and I know of another which also had it. It's great that your friend still has his Dad's jacket.

The 380th is my fav too. Do you have any idea which Crew he was with or the name of the Plane? I may be able to find some shots.

 

[shedonwanna]

[quote="LeadskyFantastic example, thanks for posting that. I wonder what patch was on it prior to the painted 530th? I love the back artwork too, The "KOTH" logo seems to have been used a bit. There's one in Maguires and I know of another which also had it. It's great that your friend still has his Dad's jacket.

The 380th is my fav too. Do you have any idea which Crew he was with or the name of the Plane? I may be able to find some shots.[/quote]

He was a lead radar navigtor and flew with several crews. I'll ask his wife if she knows of a specific crew other than the one he trained with. Until I pulled out the photo above I did not recall seeing the previous stitching holes. He arrived with the group in late 1944 and had been issued a B-10 which he traded for the A-2.

 

[Andrew]

They may already be aware of it but take a look on these pages as you can search for A/C names and most of the named ships have photos. Unfortunately you can't search individual peoples names. As they were stationed in the Northern Territory most of the time they wouldn't have had much of a need for a jacket of any kind since Fenton really is the tropics, but it's interesting to see that they still wanted to wear their A-2's- I recall seeing shots of jackets sometimes worn without a shirt.

http://380th.org/HISTORY/All-Aircraft-byName.htm#s
http://380th.org/HISTORY/partIII-intro.html

If you or they want to find out if the Assoc has anything on him write to Barbara Gotham (the Assoc Secretary), tell her you heard through Andrew on the flight jacket forum- she's really helpful.