439th Troop Carrier Group Question

[Upottery439th]

Good afternoon from an overcast UK , Currently trying to find a definitive answer to a seemingly tricky problem i have .... I live just down the road from Upottery Airfield , Yes that Upottery Airfield and my Jeep is marked up as the 439th TGC as they were based there under the command of Lt Col Charles H Young... My problem is this ..... we Dress up and go to all the events commemorating things and i've chosen to remember the 439th TCG as they are sadly overlooked with all the focus on the 101st and easy company  as they left Upottery for D-Day . i'm about to buy a Usaaf tunic and cant find a definitive answer to which shoulder/arm patch i should put on it .... 9th Airforce OR Airborne troop carrier Group . I'Ve seen both and i would like to get it right .... anyone in the know ?  regards Jon

[WVsubvet]

Welcome to the forum, Jon! I appreciate that you chose to honor the Airborne Troop Carriers as I too believe that their work was overshadowed and they often received unnecessary blame for issues during the Normandy drop. 
 

In the world of buying uniforms I most often encounter only the Troop Carriers patch on the left or occasionally both sleeves. If I were you I’d even invest in a nice English made example. Here is an example I once owned, a radio operator. 
 

 

 

 

[Upottery439th]

Thank you for the reply , interesting to see that patch on the enlisted mans jacket , i will see if my wife can trace that gentleman to Upottery . The picture i uploaded of 'Bella' was taken at Upottery at a show there .... Hallowed ground 

[jonesy1275]

Jon, it depends if you're going to wear the Class A's to depict a specific period during the time that the 439th were in the UK or in France. Initially, they would have worn just the 9th AF patch but around late summer 1944 they started adding the Airborne tab over the 9th AF patch to denote that they were supporting airborne forces. It was around February 1945 that the Airborne Troop Carrier patch was approved. So if you're planning on wearing Class A's around Upottery, then you've got to take into account the time period that the 439th were there.

[Upottery439th]

Jonesy1275 .... Superb knowledge , thanks muchly for your information .... will be wearing class A's at some of the shows we attend , we are just down the road from Upottery so wanted to get the attire period/time correct as i knew there was a 'crossover' of patches ... will therefore affix the 9th air force patch to cover the time period the 439th were at upottery . thanks for that , much appreciated , regards Jon