beezman Posted May 6, 2012 Share #1 Posted May 6, 2012 I found this patch on a USAF L2B flight jacket; I cannot find it anywhere in my documentation. Any ID welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rr01 Posted May 7, 2012 Share #2 Posted May 7, 2012 That sure looks like the Skoshi Tiger emblem; the USAF evaluation of the Northrop F~5. That would be from the mid~60s which would also be right to be on a L~2B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintageproductions Posted May 7, 2012 Share #3 Posted May 7, 2012 There is also a bomb squadron with the same tiger head and a nuke cloud behind it. Could also be a civilian school patch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Signor Posted May 8, 2012 Share #4 Posted May 8, 2012 There is also a bomb squadron with the same tiger head and a nuke cloud behind it.Could also be a civilian school patch. You're thinking about the 393rd Bombardment Squadron , it's not their patch , they never had just a tigers head , it always had the atomic cloud on thier patch , I have seen this patch somewhere on the net and it's not the "skoshi" tiger either . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River Patrol Posted May 8, 2012 Share #5 Posted May 8, 2012 It's on Lee Jackson's Militaria website, on his unknown section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Signor Posted May 8, 2012 Share #6 Posted May 8, 2012 Yeah , that's the site i saw it on , still an unknown............................................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluehawk Posted May 8, 2012 Share #7 Posted May 8, 2012 I found this remarkably similar image which is Karate related: http://www.karatemart.com/tiger-head-patch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steverino Posted May 8, 2012 Share #8 Posted May 8, 2012 I found this remarkably similar image which is Karate related: http://www.karatemart.com/tiger-head-patch Why is everyone assuming this is a military patch? I would estimate that the odds of it being military are long odds, indeed. Do you suppose this could be a sports team (high school, college?) instead? Patch Johnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Signor Posted May 8, 2012 Share #9 Posted May 8, 2012 If you read the posting you'll notice he says that it was "ON" a USAF flight suit , usually if one is sewn onto a flight suit it makes it military related .................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted May 8, 2012 Share #10 Posted May 8, 2012 Could it be linked in some way to the annual NATO air forces "Tiger Meet"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluehawk Posted May 8, 2012 Share #11 Posted May 8, 2012 If you read the posting you'll notice he says that it was "ON" a USAF flight suit , usually if one is sewn onto a flight suit it makes it military related .................. It was on a L2B flight jacket - which doesn't necessarily mean it was put there for military reasons, although one would normally think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rr01 Posted May 8, 2012 Share #12 Posted May 8, 2012 Could it be linked in some way to the annual NATO air forces "Tiger Meet"? I took a look at some of the Tiger Meet images available on line; there just isn't much that would be for the era of that jacket but that doesn't mean it isn't from Europe. Could this be a foreign military flight jacket? I know it's American manufacture but a lot of other nations wore them. Though the official Skoshi Tiger patch is not the same as this one my gut says it still has an association. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezman Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share #13 Posted May 8, 2012 Thanks for your replies. The patch is on a USAF issued, USAF used MIL-J-7448D L-2B flight jacket. The name tags and ranks were removed. It came from an old aviation collection in the US, so I really think the patch is American. But it could have been reused by a college student indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezman Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share #14 Posted May 8, 2012 We might have a winner here: http://canvas-nakano.com/archives/5583 Who reads Japanese, or knows enough about vintage clothing to tell us more about this varsity jacket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluehawk Posted May 8, 2012 Share #15 Posted May 8, 2012 We might have a winner here: http://canvas-nakano.com/archives/5583 Sure seems so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rr01 Posted May 8, 2012 Share #16 Posted May 8, 2012 We might have a winner here: http://canvas-nakano.com/archives/5583 Who reads Japanese, or knows enough about vintage clothing to tell us more about this varsity jacket? They seem to be offering another jacket simialr to one they sold before. A closeup of the tag looks like it might be of Japanese or Chinese origin {kanji symbols}. The Japanese will take a patch or any image like this one and apply it in a whimsical way. I doubt this jacket is associated with a school but it will probably sell, even if the jacket that was advertised about two years ago at ¥36,000 or $450 today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steverino Posted May 9, 2012 Share #17 Posted May 9, 2012 Why is everyone assuming this is a military patch? I would estimate that the odds of it being military are long odds, indeed. Do you suppose this could be a sports team (high school, college?) instead? Patch Johnson I realized that when I posted this people would tell me "because it was on a military jacket." Well, I can read, but I am also aware that just because it was on a military jacket that it did not automatically mean that it was military. ESPECIALLY with such a commonly-seen patch like this. Several members posted suggestions relating to specific military units. Fine and dandy. However, since no definitive conclusion was reached by the time I posted my "Hey, stupid, can't you read?" comment, I thought I would think the unthinkable and suggest that it might be a non-military patch on a military jacket. I know that such a thing has never been done before, but just a thought! patch Johnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezman Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share #18 Posted June 20, 2013 Hi, one year later I might have some news regarding the patch. I found these pictures in the Life photo archive: Source: http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f91fa5e578d63e4a.html Life Raft Sea Survival Off The Coast Of Puerto Rico Photographer: Hank Walker I guess from the mid to late 1950s. Here is a better shot of the patch worn on chest; does anybody know the unit? I guess these guys are SAC B-36 aircrews attending sea survival training. I wonder if the Tiger patch is for the survival instructors or worn in the Bomb Wing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nguoi tien su Posted June 20, 2013 Share #19 Posted June 20, 2013 Nice research! And some luck too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezman Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share #20 Posted June 20, 2013 OK I have the answer, the patch worn on the flight suits chests is the 72nd Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, flying RB-36s out of Ramey AFB from 1952 to 1959. The 72nd had three Reconnaissance Squadrons, (60th, 73rd and 301st), the tiger patch might be one of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefighter Posted June 20, 2013 Share #21 Posted June 20, 2013 The Capt with the pith helmet has SURVIVAL across the front of it.I assume the patch must belong to the survival instructors.But then again in the 1st picture it shows a crew member wearing the wing patch with the tiger head patch. Did the 72nd have a survival school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamski Posted June 20, 2013 Share #22 Posted June 20, 2013 Now that is what I call phi slamma jamma photographic proof! Well done professor! -Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLHorstead Posted June 20, 2013 Share #23 Posted June 20, 2013 As far as my research shows of the 3 Strategic Reconnaissance (Redesignated in 1955 as) Bombardment Squadrons assigned, the 60th and 73rd squadrons, Approved Insignia in the 1960's and the 301st Bombardment Squadron never had an approved Insignia. As for a Survival School, the Wing Life Support / Survival Equipment Section (as all other SAC Combat Units) provided refresher training after Inital Survival Training by the 3904th Composite Group (SAC) at Camp Carson, Colorado and later at Stead AFB, NV, (Note; the 3904th was later re-designated as the 3635th Flying Training Wing (ATC) and it's Arctic Survival Training Detachment at Eielson AFB and Water Survival Training Detachment at Homestead AFB). Terry L Horstead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted June 20, 2013 Share #24 Posted June 20, 2013 The tiger patch doesn't really fit the mold of a true squadron patch. Maybe it's a qualification/graduate/instructor patch for the survival training. The training looks to be locally instructed. Even the guy in fatigues has one on the shoulder. Just throwing that out there, as Terry has already pointed out there are no known or approved squadron designs during this era. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezman Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share #25 Posted June 20, 2013 Thanks for your input. Could the patch be from a Combat Support Group, an Air Base Squadron or some other support unit? Probably not, because it would not be worn by flight personnel. I guess the qualification/graduate/instructor explanation provided by Randy is the most probable. It must have been locally authorized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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