Millennium Club Intruder patch, Military? A-6?

[Siamundo]

Does anyone know for sure what this patch is or what it represents? It seems to always be identified as connected to or referring to the A-6 Intruder, but is that correct? If so, what is the Millennium Club? Is it for 1000 hours of flight time? At first I though maybe it referred to breaking the sound barrier-i.e Mach 1, and that was the wall the panther was breaking but I was not sure A-6 Intruders could do that. Why the panther? If it is military related, is it related to Navy Attack Squadron 35?

[Siamundo]

I have also seen these identified as being made in Japan. Would that be correct?

[Bluehawk]

I gave about an hour to searching where there was open access, for something to reference the patch, in both Navy and Marine aviation. This is all I came up with:

 

- Found one Navy A-6 squadron that at least once used a black panther image on a patch > ATKRON 35, as you wondered

- Didn't see anything involving breaking through brick walls, but such an image certainly suggests getting past some sort of performance barrier

- "Millenium Club" is now-and-then used in civilian aviation circles to record 1,000 hours flight time, but I don't know if Navy or other military used it that way

- Looked every which way using all key words in varieties of combinations, and that is all I could come up with for now.

 

Sure will be nice to find out where the patch was made.

[Siamundo]

Hi Bluehawk, thank you for taking the time in trying to help out with a definitive ID for this patch. You share some good observations. I appreciate the effort!

[Randy]

Sure will be nice to find out where the patch was made.

 

I don't know much about Navy stuff, but as far as where it looks 1970s US made.

 

Randy

 

[Siamundo]

Thanks Randy. I'll agree, it doesn't strike me as a typical Japanese looking made patch but I am not positive if it is US made or not based on the lettering. There does seem to be a little bit of inconsistency in some of the letters as is sometimes found on Asian made patches but realistically, lettering could just as easily be slightly different on a US made patch as well. Specifically, there are three 'L's in the top and all are just slightly different as are the 'M's. I thought it was odd too that the bottom letters all have serifs yet the top letters do not.

[Bearmon]

I have seen just the Black Cat breaking through the wall on a patch with just the intruder logo at the bottom which signified the A6 to me. I think the millennium club is an addition to the standard patch. obviously done at the time of manufacture but added on. I would go with the 1000 flight hours, the jet jockeys loved to celebrate milestones, look how many different centurion patches are out there.

[firefighter]

Could be a 1000 hours patch for an A-6?

[Siamundo]

Thanks firefighter. It seems to be the consensus that Millennium Club refers to 1000 hours of flight time.

[firefighter]

Thanks firefighter. It seems to be the consensus that Millennium Club refers to 1000 hours of flight time.

 

Yes. Sorry I meant to add that I think it may be something from Northrop-Grumman and not a particular squadron. A-6 Prowler

[ScottA]

The Panther breaking through the wall was Grumman’s initial idea for the A-6 Intruder patch, the Navy came up with their final version (pictured below). The above picture is from the flight jacket of a Navy A-6 acceptance assigned to the Grumman Bethpage plant in the late 60’s, they wore the Grumman submitted patch as a throwback. No idea about the millennium patch, but it may be a thousand hour deal for Grumman assigned pilots. The below Navy patch is what 1000 hour USN regular intruder pilots wore.

Scott

 

I hope the pictures show up, they are not displaying on my computer...If not, perhaps someone can lead me to the proper way to post JPG. Thanks Scott

[ScottA]

The Panther breaking through the wall was Grumman’s initial idea for the A-6 Intruder patch, the Navy came up with their final version (pictured below). The above picture is from the flight jacket of a Navy A-6 acceptance assigned to the Grumman Bethpage plant in the late 60’s, they wore the Grumman submitted patch as a throwback. No idea about the millennium patch, but it may be a thousand hour deal for Grumman assigned pilots. The below Navy patch is what 1000 hour USN regular intruder pilots wore.

Scott

 

 

[usaf70]

VMA-224 has a similar look

[usaf70]

Here is the VMA-224 patch

[Bluehawk]

I wonder what the connection, if any (?), might be between the "Millennium Club" and the "Bengals" of VMA-224?

[Steindaddie]

Just to add further evidence to the tale, this is the generic A-6 patch given me by a man who was skipper of VA-165 in the late 1960s.

[Siamundo]

Thanks everyone for the additional information. It definitely sounds like an aircraft patch for the A-6