What Disney Squadron is this ?

[Anonymous]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0654610478 Not sure which squadron, but pretty sure it's a Disney design.

 

[atkins]

Tried googling by dragging the image, no result yet.

 

[unclegrumpy]

I have not seen this one before, but from the construction, it might be Navy.

 

[Anonymous]

I have seen it before, just can't refind it. Thanks for looking.

 

[unclegrumpy]

I have seen it before, just can't refind it.

I hate it when that happens!

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Not in Dons Dogtags

 

[dujardin]

157th liaison squadron..... but not sure 100%

 

[atkins]

From this: http://forum.armyairforces.com/m188814-print.aspx

 

[TankBuster]

Looks to be it with a slight variation.

 

[unclegrumpy]

Nice work...however, I think there is enough difference in these two patches to believe they are not the same unit. The two stars, background color, and red lighting bolt are all different. The grasshopper does look very similar, and I would not be surprised to learn this one was a liaison unit as well.

Also, the description for the 157th Liaison in the same Forum thread the new picture came from indicates that patch was misidentified:

EMBLEM. Over and through a medium
blue disc, a caricatured light yellow
green grasshopper with light blue
wings, peering through a black telescope
held in the left hand, wearing white aviator’s
goggles, red shoes and gloves, seated in a
caricatured "jeep" affronte, proper, winged
gold, bouncing over white cloud formation,
edged light blue, in base, and casting a light
red violet shadow. (Approved 30 May 1944.)

Here are a couple of clues I see in this one that might help.....back to my construction comment, besides Navy patches, there are a number of AAF units that trained along the Gulf Coast that had similarly constructed and printed/painted patches....maybe all made by the same company. Also, the yellow back ground could indicate a training squadron, because that was color the planes were painted.

Lastly, I am very comfortable with the patch on eBay being a WW II original. The other one may well be, but unless I was the guy getting it out of the cigar box I would very likely be passing on it. It might look better in person, but it might not.

 

[TankBuster]

I have to admit that when I first saw the original post with the eBay listing, I thought navy as well since it is a canvas patch. I do think Marcel may have it, but it surely could be a different liaison unit that is from the same group or area? WW2 bomb squadrons within the same group sometimes all carried a similar theme within their patches with slight variations. Maybe another possibility?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the response, it very well could be a variation, based on an individuals idea as to what he wanted. The art work is very well done.

 

[unclegrumpy]

It very well could be a variation, based on an individuals idea as to what he wanted.

I don't agree.

The eBay patch is a not a one off patch, it is screen printed/painted. I also think these are clearly different units, and not something one particular individual wanted.

What I do think is it is a Disney design, and that the Studio did different variations on the same theme for a number of different Squadrons or related units. You can see examples of this in the Disney Dons Dogtags book.

This brings us back to the problem regarding what the specific unit is. That is a problem with many Disney patches, because they do not have very good records, and many of their designs went to units that were disbanded before they ever got their patches.

Two big positives with this patch, is it was both mass produced to some extent, and appears to have been worn, so we at least know a number of guys probably had and wore them. That means we can assume the unit existed, and somewhere out there is a chance that the history is still attached to one of these patches.

The bad news is it might take years to sort this out, but IMO it is worth waiting for the right answer.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

This could possibly be a pocket patch for the base service unit / truck driver considering the steering wheel, it is smaller than the average squadron patch 3-7/8 leading me to believe this is the case. As hard as it is to ID, it is likely a stateside unit, and all the more reason for it not to be an individualized patch. Very strict guidelines as opposed to in theater. The other version is quite possibly a squadron from the same base, the steering on that could be a C-47 or something.

 

[Jaguar46]

I googled Disney grasshopper, and came up with this image called Abel the Aeronca Disney Grasshopper, depicted on this page.

http://jojecaaero.com/

Then when I searched Abel the Aeronca Disney Grasshopper I came up with the L3 Aeronca Grasshopper plane. Some images show the exact same image as the patch.

The patch seems to be a copy from the Disney book Mr. Grasshopper Wins His Wings as seen on this website.

http://www.americainwwii.com/galleries/ ... the-front/

Undoubtedly the patch belongs to a unit that flew the Aeronca L3 Grasshopper plane.

Here are other pictures.

http://www.aeroncapilots.com/Photos/misc_photos.htm

 

[unclegrumpy]

Nice detective work Jaguar46! I think you have perfectly nailed the unidentified patch from the thread on the other Forum.

a2jacketpatches, I did not notice the size of the eBay patch, I'll have to think about that.

I would say it makes sense the eBay unit flew the Aeronca L3 Grasshopper. The lightning bolt might refer to their artillery spotting role, the rest still a mystery. I suspect this will turn out to be a numbered Liaison Squadron, but it would not surprise me if it were a stateside one that was a training unit.

 

[TankBuster]

If a guy is a patch collector, I would say this one is worth a bid with all the great added info!