Wwii Army Air

Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co

Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co

Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co
It is all original with Lieutenant bars (hard to tell if 1st or 2nd) on the shoulders, the shoulder patch and the squadron or unit patch on the chest. It has the original leather name tag with the Lieutenants name and reads LT. It has the original TALON zipper. It is in amazing wearable condition. I do not have much information on the Lieutenant at this time. Im hoping to get more detail on his service but I believe he achieved the rank of Major and became a pilot thru the course of the war. I have researched the squadron patch and with the help of some great people on 2 separate web site forums it has been identified as shown in one photo as the 462ND BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON (HEAVY). The squadron was activated on July 6 1942 and served in the Pacific with strikes on Japan.

It is a size 40 as shown on the tag in one photo. The jacket tag reads as shown TYPE A-2 DWG. 42-18775-P PROPERTY AIR FORCE, U. Online research indicates there were 50,000 made and cowhide was used for the leather.

Ive read that some were horsehide. It is really in wonderful condition with the wear, scuffs and aging you would expect from a 1940s World War 2 jacket but very much wearable with no real damage, fraying, holes or tears. There is nothing about the jacket condition that would be considered to be damage.

It looks like the Lieutenant came home from the war and hung it in the closet and never wore it again. If you have questions or would like more photos please let me know. The 462nd Bombardment Group was a very heavy bombardment group group that took part in the early B-29 campaign operating from bases in India and China before moving to Tinian to join the direct assault on Japan. The group was activated on 1 July 1943 and joined the 58th Bombardment Wing as it developed in its bases in Kansas.

This was a flat area well suited to the new bomber and was also close to the Boeing factory where they were being built. The 58th Bombardment Wing was destined for India, and made the move in March-June 1944, traveling via Africa. This was a major effort and did cost aircraft - of the first 150 aircraft dispatched five were lost and four seriously damaged - but it did mean that the B-29 groups were present at their Indian bases by the summer of 1944. The 462nd was in place by April, and began to use its aircraft to fly supplies across the'hump' into China.

Their first mission wasn't long in coming. After all of the effort that had gone into the B-29 programme there was real pressure to start using the new bomber. The Japanese had also launched a major offensive in eastern China and XX Bomber Command was under pressure to help lift the pressure. The wing's first mission was an attack on railroad shops on Bangkok, carried out on 5 June 1944. The aim was test out the new organisation and the new aircraft on a less difficult target than the Japanese Home Islands. This first raid was fairly chaotic, with aircraft over the target for over an hour and a half but fortunately there was very little opposition. Results were limited but only five aircraft were lost, none to the Japanese. The first attack on Japan came ten days later. This was the first attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the Doolittle Raid of 1942, and required a maximum effort from everyone involved just to get enough supplies ready. The Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata was chosen as the target.

The aircraft began to take off from their Chinese staging posts at 16.30 on 15 June, so that they would be in hostile airspace at night. The first bombs were dropped just before 23.38pm (China time) and 47 of the 68 aircraft that the wing had managed to get into the air reached the target area and dropped bombs. The Japanese were unprepared for an attack on the Home Islands - very few fighters appeared and the heavy flak was inaccurate.

Sadly so was the Allied bombing and later photo reconnaissance showed that only one hit had been scored. The raid may not have been a great operational success, but it was a great publicity boost for XX Bomber Command. The 462nd Bombardment Group spent eight months operating from India.

During that period it attacked transport, naval and industrial targets across Japan, Thailand, Burma, China, Formosa and Indonesia. In August the group took part in a mission to drop mines into the Moesi River on Sumatra, operating through a staging post on Ceylon. Many aircraft involved in this raid suffered from poor visibility, but eight aircraft from the 462nd flew under the 1,000ft cloud ceiling and dropped two mines each into the river. The group won a Distinguished Unit Citation during this period for a return attack on the iron and steel works at Yawata in August 1944. As the Americans advanced across the Pacific better bases became available and the difficult operations from India and China were abandoned. In April 1945 the 462nd moved to Tinian, from where it focuses most of its efforts on the Japanese Home Islands. It flew a mix of mining, strategic bombing and incendiary raids between then and the end of the war.

The group won two more Distinguished Unit Citations during this period, the first for an attack on the industrial areas of Tokyo and Yokohama in May 1945 and the second for a daylight attack on an aircraft factory at Takarazuka factory on 24 July 1945. 462d Bombardment Group (Very Heavy). DUC: Yawata, Japan, 20 August 1944 Awarded for a daylight raid against the iron and steel works in the city.

DUC: Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan, 23, 25, and 29 May 1945 Awarded for bombing industrial areas in the cities. DUC: Takarazuka, Japan, 24 July 1945 Awarded for a daylight attack on the aircraft plant in the city. Stations: Piardoba, India, 7 Apr 1944-26 Feb 1945; West Field, Tinian, 4 Apr 1945-5 Nov 1945. Carmichael, 26 Aug 1943; Col Alfred F.

The item "Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co" is in sale since Thursday, May 3, 2018. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Militaria\WW II (1939-45)\Original Period Items\United States\Uniforms". The seller is "1910buck" and is located in Montgomery, Texas.

This item can be shipped to United States.
Original WWII US Army Air Corp A-2 Leather Flight Or Bomber Jacket Aero Co