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Post-WWII 1950's & 1960's US Air Force uniform photos


Bob Hudson
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Hi, thanks for looking. I doubt that there are many floating around. It is a very interesting jacket even if not regulation. It will be I'm my upcoming volume 3 of into the blue in the chapter on coveralls. Here's a photo of the one I have.

 

Thanks again

 

Lance

Yeah I can't find it now, really sorry, it was one of random sightings you know. Normally if there was names in the foto or any other captioning, or a unit site, I bookmark it to give this info when posting, but from what I recall it was just a general page on stuff about the AF.

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Me in winter parka 1957.

Is this taken at Landstuhl? I think I recognize that hanger in the background....

BTW killer pics of you in the USAF...totally dig them....

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If I am not mistaken, I think the unidentified Colonel shown in Posting 139 is C.R. Smith, who was the owner of American Airlines at the beginning of WW II. He became Deputy Commander of the Air Transport Command. See the attached scan of Col. Smith as shown on the first page of photos in "When The Airlines Went To War" by Robert J. Serling.

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If I am not mistaken, I think the unidentified Colonel shown in Posting 139 is C.R. Smith, who was the owner of American Airlines at the beginning of WW II. He became Deputy Commander of the Air Transport Command. See the attached scan of Col. Smith as shown on the first page of photos in "When The Airlines Went To War" by Robert J. Serling.

 

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Posted 08 October 2010 - 06:48 PM

Unidentified Colonel ca. 1949/50, wearing the Military Air Transport Service SSI. This is one of the few pictures on this Forum showing a senior officer wearing SSI on the newly authorized USAF Blue uniform (link here to see another).

 

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A couple of photos of Airman 3rd Class Jerry Mathers at the 1967 Emmy's, a Reservist, he goes with the formal appearance with white shirt and Black bow tie.

 

 

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With Gene Kelly and Angela Cartwright, and with Cartwright again by herself, Kelly won his Emmy for Jack and the Beanstalk, I believe

Angela Cartwright of The Sound of Music (film) and Lost in Space (TV) fame was another young award presenter that night :D.

 

(By the way, what's that ribbon he's wearing, couldn't or shouldn't be the old Army Good Conduct Medal, and besides the AF got their new GCM by 1967) (Could it be this? The Combat Readiness Medal, it first came out in 1964 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Readiness_Medal)

 

And here's a later one of Mathers, now a Airman 2nd Class, curiously no discs or service ribbons are worn by him in this portrait. Can't find his unit, or his MOS, I gather it was a California based USAFR outfit.

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The ribbon Mathers is wearing in #537 is the Air Force Small Arms Expert Marksman ribbon. USAF had it's own Good Conduct Medal/Ribbon by 1963, but it takes 3 years service to get that.

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The ribbon Mathers is wearing in #537 is the Air Force Small Arms Expert Marksman ribbon. USAF had it's own Good Conduct Medal/Ribbon by 1963, but it takes 3 years service to get that.

Thanks Lee, no way would of been the old Army GCM, just couldn't ID the ribbon.

 

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Air Force Small Arms Expert Marksman ribbon.

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Posted 08 October 2010 - 06:48 PM

Unidentified Colonel ca. 1949/50, wearing the Military Air Transport Service SSI. This is one of the few pictures on this Forum showing a senior officer wearing SSI on the newly authorized USAF Blue uniform (link here to see another).

 

post-1963-1286592302.jpg

Actually the are not the same guy, this sent to me as a tip, see HERE

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I have several early air force caps. One has all the characteristics of a true crusher, the other is transitional with the visor dyed black from brown.

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Aircraft Mechanic Trainees at Amarillo AFB pose on the wing of a B-47 Stratojet early 60s, they all appear to be wearing the Army OGs rather than the unique Sage Green utilities of the period.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Here's a rather blurry photo of Air Police at the Burpelson Air Force Base Main Gate in 1963, probably the reason it's blurry was it was taken by a Soviet spy, Burpelson then was a mostly restricted installation.

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Ah, yes. Burpelson AFB....know it well (sic)...where is Dr. Strangelove when you need him....

 

Never saw this side of Offutt AFB.

 

In any other circumstance, this would be an entry control point of a weapons maintenance storage facility and the SP/APs would be in fatigues, not standing around.

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Ah, yes. Burpelson AFB....know it well (sic)...where is Dr. Strangelove when you need him....

 

Never saw this side of Offutt AFB.

 

In any other circumstance, this would be an entry control point of a weapons maintenance storage facility and the SP/APs would be in fatigues, not standing around.

There On To Me.

 

This was the Base CO then. BG Jack Ripper :P

 

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Hey you know there's T shirts for the base, cool huh?

 

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Her are two pictures of my father. The first was taken at Lackland in 1962 (he is wearing the summer uniform). The second was taken in 1962 while stationed at Hill AFB in Utah serving in the Air Guard.

 

I have enjoyed all the comments and photos .... Thanks to everyone!

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Ah, yes. Burpelson AFB....know it well (sic)...where is Dr. Strangelove when you need him....

 

Never saw this side of Offutt AFB.

 

In any other circumstance, this would be an entry control point of a weapons maintenance storage facility and the SP/APs would be in fatigues, not standing around.

 

I don't believe this was filmed at Offutt. The Airbase scenes were filmed in the UK.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057012/locations

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Strangelove

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  • 3 weeks later...

Got this uniform recently... everything checked out with it except the gunners wings on the uniform. Has anyone got any comment on it. Cheers.

 

 

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Well as we see WWII ribbons on this long serving NCO, he clearly was a Aerial Gunner during the war and rated the wear of these wings permanently, you know a qualification badge. We see don't see the Aircrewman wing, so perhaps he went off flight status in the 50s and went on to another MOS.

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Hi. All I know was that he was a country music singer at some point and I think he may have been in recruiting. I have a vinal record here where he sings and plays guitar with another artist. I thought the wearing of gunners wings was not allowed after 1947 and that only aircrew wings were permitted?

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If a man earned the Aerial Gunners wings when they were awarded, he would be allowed to continue wearing them, IF he changed his AFSC to something other than one that required flying. If he continued on flying status after the gunner wings were obsolete (26 July 1949), he would then have changed over to Aircrew wings.

Back in the 1990's, there was a photograph of a then serving Air Force Brig.. General who continued to wear his Aerial Gunner wings he earned in WWII as an enlisted man. His duties after his enlisted service didn't rate a wing badge.

By the way, for you that don't know. In the Air Force the term for job description is AFSC, or Air Force Specialty Code, not MOS.

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Once earned, the wings are permanent. That's the reg. You have to do something really bad to have the wings pulled.

 

Aerial gunner wings were issued as late as 1953 and could be worn until 1955 when they were supposed to be retired in favor of aircrew wings -- but for those who were proud of them, they continued to be worn until the late 1980s. I know the general you're talking about. He was a B-17 tail gunner who wore the wings as a physical demonstration that he cared about his enlisted troops. There also was a chief of chaplains as well.

 

On the flip side, CMSAF Paul Airey was a B-24 aerial gunner in WW II, but he wore aircrew wings as a CMSAF.

 

I think these days they're called "legacy" wings or badges, but I doubt very highly if you'd see a pair on an Air Force uniform, other than a retiree at a formal event.

 

So who was this sergeant?

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One thought is this M/Sgt went off flight status after WWII, maybe even leaving the Army all together, and coming back in during the Korean War and now in a non flight job. Sure wish we had the Viet Vet Data Base up, I could look to see at least if he listed and what his AFSC was then.

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Hi all... interesting discussion. His name was Henry Thome and he performed country music with Ronnie Ryan. When I purchased the uniform a vinal record was part of the grouping...featuring songs from both artists. Sure wish I could find more on him but haven't had much luck. Hope someone can assist here.

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