aurelius180 Posted August 31, 2014 Share #1 Posted August 31, 2014 Locally there is a weekly summer flea market where occaisionally some decent militaria can be found. Last year I picked up this 8th AAF Officer Uniform with bullion patch tunic along with shirt, pants and tie. Now that the wife and I are finally settled into our house I've had an opportunity to start going through my collection to examine any details I may have overlooked when I purchased them This tunic has 1LT bars along with a nice bullion patch and what appears to be a name stamped on the QM tag. I've only just started to research the name and have not had much luck. The seller indicated the tunic had wings but that "someone walked off with them." I do not see an indication that there were ever wings present so I have not restored them. It did however have a spare 1LT bar in one of the pockets. The officer shirt appears to have the remains of a service number stamped in the collar. It looks to begin with 15 and end with a 3. Hopefully it will help in the research. Oddly I just realized yesterday that there was a folded piece of paper in the rear pocket for the 1st Cavalry Division Artillery Special Order 65 which is dated April 2, 1962. I just wanted to share this flea market find and any comments are welcome. This was one of the first uniforms in my collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurelius180 Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share #2 Posted August 31, 2014 Some more pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurelius180 Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted August 31, 2014 A couple more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJohn#3RD Posted August 31, 2014 Share #4 Posted August 31, 2014 Ed, Great looking 8th AF Patch. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted August 31, 2014 Share #5 Posted August 31, 2014 Thats an interesting eighth patch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
501stGeronimo Posted September 1, 2014 Share #6 Posted September 1, 2014 I hope i am wrong, but that 8th appears fake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAF_Collection Posted September 1, 2014 Share #7 Posted September 1, 2014 I'm afraid I agree with 501, that 8th patch looks like a known repro. Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 1, 2014 Share #8 Posted September 1, 2014 Sorry my friend...I'm in the boat with the others..that 8th patch is bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurelius180 Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share #9 Posted September 1, 2014 Thank you for the input. I would rather know than not know. After doinworkinvans comment I took a closer look at the patch and realized how poorly applied it is as well. Anything else I'm missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted September 1, 2014 Share #10 Posted September 1, 2014 What about is obvious? I'm afraid I'd be suckered, too. I tend to roll the dice on 8th AF stuff a lot, so if it were on ebay with a decent buy it now price, I'd have probably jumped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurelius180 Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted September 1, 2014 Is this what the maker of my patch was attempting to replicate (sort of a combination of two styles): http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/43057-8th-air-force-lead-crew-uniform/&do=findComment&comment=332768 http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/211490-8th-air-force-grouping-out-of-the-woodwork/&do=findComment&comment=1663378 http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/209871-captain-john-w-reed-iv-303rd-bg-359th-bs-thunderbird-co-pilot/&do=findComment&comment=1647604 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAF_Collection Posted September 1, 2014 Share #12 Posted September 1, 2014 The patch on the coat you have is basically one of the generic bullion repros, probably Paki made. The overall style is the giveaway. The three photos you posted above are all known original patterns, all Brit made. The patch in the lower picture is not bullion though, and the edging was added during the war. Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurelius180 Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share #13 Posted September 1, 2014 Thank you for the additional information. Yes, I was attempting to compare the style of my patch to known original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
501stGeronimo Posted September 1, 2014 Share #14 Posted September 1, 2014 Yes, the bottom is mine id'ed to a Pilot in the 303rd BG who flew the Thunderbird B17G. Lead combat crew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted September 1, 2014 Share #15 Posted September 1, 2014 Very similar 8th AF patches are available on ebay here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/8TH-ARMY-AIR-FORCE-A-A-F-STUBBY-WING-PATCH-/191305391830?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c8ab09ed6 That isn't a serial number in the collar, it's a shirt size (like 15 1/2x33). I would try to research the name on the label (F W BUNNELL) and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurelius180 Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share #16 Posted September 1, 2014 Thank you Matt! I removed the SSI from the tunic and it's very clearly a repro and does match the one in your link. At the very least this was a good learning experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted September 1, 2014 Share #17 Posted September 1, 2014 It's still a good WW2 officer's uniform. I've found 2 Frederick W. Bunnells, one from Wisconsin (May 4, 1917- Jan 5, 1995) and one from New York (Dec 20, 1919 - Jun 2, 2006) in the army in WW2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38Driver Posted September 2, 2014 Share #18 Posted September 2, 2014 For what it's worth note the placement of the other insignia on the uniform too. The winged props and "US" are not 'regulation' in their placement so I'm guessing they are not original to the uniform either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurelius180 Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share #19 Posted September 2, 2014 Man...I'm really taking a beating on this one! At least it was a fairly inexpensive learning experience. In my exuberance when I began collecting I overlooked a few things. I'm learning to take a step back and look with a more critical eye. I do appreciate all of the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted September 2, 2014 Share #20 Posted September 2, 2014 Better to learn now and from here with friends! Good luck the rest of the way! Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurelius180 Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share #21 Posted September 2, 2014 Thanks Daniel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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