Jacket ID

[Panther_99FS]

Forgot to get the information on this one.......:isadizzy:
Bomber group or fighter :ques:


Awaiting Description by RedTail_Panther, on Flickr


American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers" Leather Jacket by RedTail_Panther, on Flickr

[Willy]

With the 4 engine bomber on the patch that resembles a B-29 and the Chinese stuff there as well, my guess would be for a B-29 unit that operated out of China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ress_operators

[Panther_99FS]

Doh! - Thanks Willy! :isadizzy:
(This is what I get for not playing FS in years)

[Skyhawk_310R]

The shield patch is for the China-Burma-India theater (CBI).

However, despite my best efforts, I have drawn a total blank on the squadron patch. I can find no match for any USAAF unit that operated in the CBI.

Ken

[Jagdflieger]

I'm drawing a blank via internet searches too.

A unit under the 20th Air Force prior to relocating the Marianas is the best I can do.

[Dain Arns]

Name tag has "A. E. Stuart" embossed on it, maybe that will help?
I'm finding a reference to an A.E. Stuart in the 3rd Bomb Group at Yokota AAB in Japan in 1948, obviously post war, but I don't think that info is helpful.
Stuart is a more common name too.

[Panther_99FS]

Hmmm...bit of a mystery....Tks folks!

[Jagdflieger]

I wonder if perhaps it is a plane's and crew's patch? Perhaps a miniature of the nose art on an specific Super Fort.

[srgalahad]

I wonder if perhaps it is a plane's and crew's patch? Perhaps a miniature of the nose art on an specific Super Fort.

I wandered about looking for references to "squadron" + "B-29" + "beaver" since the critter looks to have a flat, cross-hatched tail. Found a couple of similar designs : one "patch" belonged to a CBI unit (492nd BS) that ended the war hauling fuel to China but they didn't convert to B-29s until 1946.
http://www.cbi-history.com/part_i.html

There were two others featuring a beaver but they were Air Service Sqdns.
http://www.flyingtigerantiques.com/m...ry_Code=03afsq
http://www.flyingtigerantiques.com/m...ry_Code=03afsq
Neither looked promising.

Then I found a reference to a CBI-related B-17 called "Eager Beaver". Following along, there was a B-29 nicknamed "Eager Beaver III" that served in the 879th Bomb Squadron, 499th Bomb Group, 73rd Bomb Wing that was based in the CBI (Isley Field, Saipan)

Tail Code s/n

V48

42-24750

Eager Beaver III

survived the war

http://b-29.org/73BW/bomb-wing-data/499-group.html

Panther's jacket art bears no resemblance to the B-17 nose art that can be found on WIX and other places, but that was Europe, 1943. New plane, new crew could account for changes.

This may not pan out but at least it's a start for someone who wants to dig really deep.

My eyes are tired - have fun!

[Skyhawk_310R]

There were relatively few B-29's that actually served in the CBI. They were few in number and did not stay long as the missions flown from China were extremely long in range and the logistical requirements to get fuel to those remote bases proved inefficient (and that's a gross understatement actually).

I have a theory that this jacket could be altered, and if it's in a museum, then what museum?

If this is just representative of nose art, or is some crew patch they just put on their jackets, then good luck finding proof of it? That would be needle in haystack territory.

Ken