Cloth or leather patches

[WingAndaPrayer]

Hey gang,
What is everyone’s opinion about cloth patches on leather flight jackets? Was that very prevalent? Or should it be cloth/cloth patch and leather/ leather patch? I know it’s personal preference and all, but does a cloth patch on an A-2 look out of place to you?

 

[Micawber]

Chenille patches on both cloth and leather jackets were popular over here in England. If you had permanent guys on the base who were handy with paints and brushes they were quick to cotton on that there was money to be made painting nose art, jackets and also patches on scrap leather - Tony Starcer and Jack Gaffney with the 91st are two examples.
Manufacturers were also keen to get in on things so commercially made cloth patches began to be produced and sold as well. You paid your money and made your choice if both types were available.

 

[MikeyB-17]

There are no rules. During the war they would have put on whatever was provided on base-as Steve says, often there would be some enterprising types who started knocking up patches and selling them, usually painted on leather or canvas, but other units had official patches that might have been embroidered, painted or even printed. Nobody was, or is, worried about what sort of patch went on what sort of jacket. Whatever floats your boat.

 

[Silver Surfer]

that coupled with some units adopting "unofficial" sometimes risqué imagery for their patches, only to have some upper escelon prig decide to have an "official" patch designed and "suggested" that the "official" patch be used.