CATF China Air Task Force | 11 theater made patches

[walika]

CATF China Air Task Force | "Flying Tigers" | 11 theater made patches

 

On July 4, 1942 the AVG was dissolved and the China Air Task Force under Brig. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault was born. The CATF was activated with a full fighter group and new planes with the build up to two fighter groups in one bomber group. Its insignia is the Flying Tiger sinister (facing left from the viewpoint of the bearer).

 

The CATF was made part of the 10th Air Force with headquarters in New Delhi, India and Brig. Gen. Clayton Bissell as commanding general. Bissell had been promoted to Brig. Gen. one day ahead of Chennault and thus was the superior officer. The entrenched military never wanted Chennault in China in the first place but he had proven himself with the AVG and both Chang Kai-shek and Franklin Roosevelt were behind him.

After the historic meeting in Casablanca in January, 1943, it was agreed the CATF would be expanded. Chennault wanted an independent Air Force under his command in China. Gen. Hap Arnold, commander-in-chief of all American Air Forces, flew to India and then China, after which he recommended to Gen. Marshall that the CATF be expanded but continued as part of the 10th Air Force. Despite opposition of Bissell, Stillwell, Arnold, and Marshall, after consulting with advisors FDR approved the establishment of the 14th Air Force under Maj. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault. On February 19, 1943 Marshall radio Stillwell of the decision and informed him that the new Air Force would be independent of Bissell but would report to Stillwell as theater commander. Both Bissell and Chennault were to be promoted to Maj. Gen. (Again Bissell was promoted one day before Chennault.) On March 10, 1943 the 14th Air Force was born on the mainland of China.

 

The 14th Air Force adopted the insignia of the CATF, with the tiger reversed, dexter (facing right from the viewpoint of the bearer).

 

 

 

Theater made, left to right: Chinese silk embroidery on silk; Indian embroidery on denim, twisted rope border in AAF colors; Indian embroidery on denim; Chinese bullion embroidery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theater made: Chinese silk embroidery on silk.

 

 

 

 

Theater made, left to right: Chinese silk embroidery on silk; Chinese silk embroidery on silk, on leather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theater made, left to right: Multi-piece leather, hand-painted.

 

 

 

 

Theater made. Chinese silk embroidery on silk.

 

 

 

 

 

Related posts:

 

AVG | American Volunteer Group | "Flying Tigers"

 

23rd Fighter Group | China Air Task Force (CATF) | 10th & 14th AAF CBI

 

 

 

Flying Tigers

[The Iron Brigade]

[josesharontraders]

Dear Walika,

 

 

What a wonderful spot-on collection for the early CATF replacements to the AVG you have, circa July '42-Sept '43. Your tigers, facing sinister, are characteristic of the 23rd fighter group, 74th-76th squadrons. They would be worth between $400 to $1500 apiece whilst the slightly later Tiger jumping through the Nationalist Chinese white sunburst--late CATF overlap to 14th Airforce--would be worth between $6,000 to $11,500. Congrats.

 

Happy holidays.

 

josesharontraders

[walika]

Below are larger images of the shoulder patches . . .

 

 

 

 

[walika]

Thanks for your comments.

 

Rick

 

Dear Walika,

 

 

What a wonderful spot-on collection for the early CATF replacements to the AVG you have, circa July '42-Sept '43. Your tigers, facing sinister, are characteristic of the 23rd fighter group, 74th-76th squadrons. They would be worth between $400 to $1500 apiece whilst the slightly later Tiger jumping through the Nationalist Chinese white sunburst--late CATF overlap to 14th Airforce--would be worth between $6,000 to $11,500. Congrats.

 

Happy holidays.

 

josesharontraders

 

[josesharontraders]

My good friend Rick,

 

I hope you do not mind me so belated posting new nuanced aspects of China Air Task Force (CATF) history coming to light that clarifies which are CATF patches and which ones were the 14th Airforce insignia of the tiger, and why the tigers faced sinister-left or dexter-right. After surveying many other displays of CATF and knowing what I know now after some 4 years of notes & study for this particular hobby, I can say your above CATF samples, with their laborious artwork and material used--versus even mine (boo..hooo.hooo) which are just painted images over leather--and by the way your authentic insignia have been preserved, are the best quality pieces I have seen for period CATF stuff. Your CATF set will only go up in value if you hold onto them or pass them to me one day, better than a medium term bond or even a structured financial product--hahahah.

 

Thanks for showing again. Also, here below is historical update completed early October 2019, as corollary to a consolidated Comprehensive AVG Flying Tigers Patches study, and partly commented on fellow USMilitaria Forum member Mortaydc60's blog.

 

About CATF Patches:

 

 

HI Mortaydc60,

Updated History. Better late than never for the sake of updated knowledge: I stand corrected from my greenhorn days in 2016, stating your wonderful CBI tiger patch is 14th Airforce. Like other savvy collectors here and because I just finished an almost 4-year study on AVG Patches and the subsequent CATF, your patch and my DUI pins above are all from the CATF period. Almost all tigers facing dexter-right were used by the CATF, whilst facing sinister-left was a pattern used by the 14th Airforce.

Politics That Created An Overlap Period Bet. CATF & 14th Airforce. Even if PatchCollector quoted written history that CATF was dis-established in April 1943, the reality you find amongst former AVG personnel diaries is that the 14th Airforce was actually in full force and effect only by December 1943, not earlier. The order by Pres. Roosevelt over the opposition of Gen. Marshall, Gen. Hap Arnold & Gen. Stlllwell to create a 14th Airforce--a breakaway from the Br. India 10th Airforce--was given in April 1943 as a result of a White House private emissary visit to China by businessman Wendell Wilkie and his interview and amazement of the many enemy kills performed by the small poorly supplied 23rd Fighter Group + 1 Bomber unit of Chennault in Kunming, China. Wendell Wilkie may have convinced the President, but the USAAC/F dragged their feet in activating with full force of men and materiel the 14th Airforce until almost the end of 1943.

The Confusion in this Forum. Hence, from mid 1943 up to the end of 1943, there were overlapping CATF men using right tigers patches and incoming men of the 14th also adopting initially the right-facing tigers until 14th Airforce came into its own in actuality in December 1943 through Feb 1946. There were almost 23,000 CATF airmen & personnel rotating into the CBI from July 1942 through December 1943, while there were almost 76,000 rotating 14th Airforce personnel into the CBI from mid 1942 through Feb, 1946 wearing these left or right tigers. These dudes & gals together with China kept down the bulk of the 4-million man Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan, who would otherwise have gone to defend the Pacific islands from the approaching forces of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Adm. Nimitz & Halsey etc.

Value. But generally since there were fewer CATF, and if the patch is not painted cheaply, but comes embroidered or in bullion design with local material like silk, mixed in with gabardine from British India or twill or wool cloth from U.S. forces mainland supplies, and the dexter-right facing CATF tiger in the patch is ¨very handsome¨ like an Amur tiger, unlike the narrow-faced Bengal tiger, the former is far more valuable than the many--even U.S. mainland-made--14th Airforce sinister-left facing patches. You can imagine Admiral Nimitz' naval forces pilots & crew temporarily landing in China's USAAF/CAAF scatter fields also collecting 14th Airforce CBI patch souvenirs (as well as ivory to sell back in the U.S. per many soldiers' diaries on privateering...hahahah) as the fleet approached the Chinese coastline in the early summer of 1945.

Conclusion. So, authentic and nicely made smiling, dexter-right CATF patches are far more valuable. Yours are real and even better than mine. Thanks for showing, bro.

jose

 

 

Here is the CATF's 23rd Fighter Squadron + 1 bomber squadron Kunming, China air base late 1942. Note all ground crew now stayed in the barracks of the base, while many pilots stayed only in nearby Hostel 2. Hostel 1 & 3, closer to downtown Kunming, of the original AVG Flying Tigers for a short time billeted CATF pilots, but were eventually used for US advisers and their interpreters for the Combat Infantry Training Command (CITC)-related activities.

 

The CATF patches were made--like the original AVG Flying Tigers patches--by tailors in the burgeoning commercial hub of Jinxing Street using local silk intertwined with much more available cloth varieties supplied by US forces. Can you imagine, unlike the very scarce period of the AVG Flying Tigers, with so many US airmen and logistics personnel in town, there must have been many tailors sprouting up to manufacture all sorts of varieties of CATF patches, the best of which our friend Rick/Walika has displayed above.