usaaf93 Posted March 28, 2013 Share #1 Posted March 28, 2013 Hello Is it possible for an ike jacket to have an army air force felt patch on left shoulder and pilot wings with the blue felt patch on the back ? How could he be a pilot and not have 8th or 9 th air force patch on one shoulder ? thanks for your help ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAF_Collection Posted March 28, 2013 Share #2 Posted March 28, 2013 Hi, Yes it's entirely possible,not all members of a numbered air force chose to wear the numbered patch,many wore only the AAF patch. The blue felt wing backing certainly suggests he was with the 8th or 9th. Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaaf93 Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted March 28, 2013 ok thanks. I have always thought that the AAF patch was for headquarters members only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAF_Collection Posted March 28, 2013 Share #4 Posted March 28, 2013 Hi, No the AAF patch could be worn by any member of the AAF,regardless of which Air Force they were assigned to. If you have a look at some of the AAF Bomb and Fighter Group websites many have photo galleries which are interesting to study for uniform details. Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QED4 Posted March 28, 2013 Share #5 Posted March 28, 2013 Optional patches? if you don't like the one for the unit you are in you can wear an other one? The reason you see galleries of photo with different patches is simply because they are old pictures supplied by the person because he did not have a new picture or thought he looked better in an old one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAF_Collection Posted March 28, 2013 Share #6 Posted March 28, 2013 Optional patches? if you don't like the one for the unit you are in you can wear an other one? The reason you see galleries of photo with different patches is simply because they are old pictures supplied by the person because he did not have a new picture or thought he looked better in an old one. Not exactly,but as I've said any member of a numbered Air Force,whether Stateside or overseas,could wear the SSI of either the numbered Air Force to which they were assigned or the basic AAF SSI. The photos I refer to are of men in the ETO taken during their combat tours,some examples below from the 381st Bomb Group,Eighth Air Force(Ridgewell,Essex,England) and many more at this link http://www.381st.org...pleGallery-1031 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaaf93 Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share #7 Posted March 28, 2013 ok thanks. So to sum up airmen had the choice to put either the numbered patch on the left shoulder alone or the AAF alone in the left shoulder or the AAF on the left shoulder and the numbered one on the right shoulder at the same time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAF_Collection Posted March 29, 2013 Share #8 Posted March 29, 2013 Well,that depends which point in his service he was at. While serving with a numbered air force he could wear either the AAF patch alone or the patch of the numbered air force alone on his left shoulder. On his right shoulder he could only wear the patch of his previous combat unit,so for example it's not unusual to see a coat or jacket with the AAF patch on the left shoulder and a numbered combat air force on the right,or a combination of numbered air force patches,for instance someone who saw action with the 5th Air Force in the Pacific and who later served in the ETO with the 8th Air Force could wear the 5th patch on his right and the 8th patch on his left. Can you post pictures of the Ike jacket in question?. Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaaf93 Posted March 29, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted March 29, 2013 ok thanks it helps. Here is the jacket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAF_Collection Posted March 29, 2013 Share #10 Posted March 29, 2013 I see nothing obviously wrong,it looks like a nice jacket. If it's named there's a good chance you can research the original owner. Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atb Posted March 29, 2013 Share #11 Posted March 29, 2013 Well,that depends which point in his service he was at. While serving with a numbered air force he could wear either the AAF patch alone or the patch of the numbered air force alone on his left shoulder. On his right shoulder he could only wear the patch of his previous combat unit,so for example it's not unusual to see a coat or jacket with the AAF patch on the left shoulder and a numbered combat air force on the right,or a combination of numbered air force patches,for instance someone who saw action with the 5th Air Force in the Pacific and who later served in the ETO with the 8th Air Force could wear the 5th patch on his right and the 8th patch on his left. Can you post pictures of the Ike jacket in question?. Matt. "Combat" has nothing to do with it. In WW2, the only criteria was that the former unit was overseas- anywhere designated as overseas outside of the American Theater of Operations. It was not until after WW2 that the right arm SSI was for a unit in a designated hostile area or combat zone, but actual combat was and is still not necessary. A soldier in any type of unit only has to be present in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul70 Posted March 29, 2013 Share #12 Posted March 29, 2013 Notice 4 pockets still being used in 1946 with a few Ikes sprinkled in. Also most are wearing black ties. Interesting photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAF_Collection Posted March 29, 2013 Share #13 Posted March 29, 2013 Hi Paul, Good eye,I hadn't noticed the black ties. Regarding the date of the photos,the data at the top with the 1946 date refers to when the photo was received by the 325th Photo Wing,the dates they were taken are all prior to June 1945,for example the top picture is dated 18th December 1943. atb,my mistake,to be more accurate I should have said overseas rather than combat. Matt.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaaf93 Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share #14 Posted April 2, 2013 what do you think about this one ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaaf93 Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share #15 Posted April 2, 2013 hello what do you think about this one ? It is not named. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaaf93 Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share #16 Posted April 2, 2013 Sorry I doubled post. Please answer on the other topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 2, 2013 Share #17 Posted April 2, 2013 What's not to like? From this angle it looks like a nice privately tailored AAF officer's Ike. However, I would like to see closer shots of the patches and wings etc., before endorsing it completely. The absence of a name is not necessarily a big issue IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaaf93 Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share #18 Posted April 2, 2013 Ok. I don't own it yet so I can't make pictures at the moment. What do you think about the patches ? it is usually the numbered one on the right side and the AAF on the left side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 2, 2013 Share #19 Posted April 2, 2013 I've seen similar combinations in the past so it's not without precedence. Suggests he served with an HQ unit before transferring to the 9th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAF_Collection Posted April 2, 2013 Share #20 Posted April 2, 2013 I second what Ian says. Hard to say for sure from the pics,but the 9th patch looks like it's British Made. Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now