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LOT 1329
Iconic World War II U.S. Army Air Forces A-2 Flight Jacket - This
World War II USAAF A-2 flight jacket was manufactured by
Poughkeepsie Leather Coat Co., is a size 44, and has a
Talon zipper. The maker’s label has the contract number
“W535ac28560.” Adopted as standard issue in early
May 1931, the Type A-2 leather flight jacket became
synonymous with the image of World War II USAAF
pilots and aircrews on every front but wartime use
was not limited to airmen alone. Although extremely
popular, the jacket was canceled in 1943 by General
Hap Arnold, who was in favor of the nylon style
jackets like the B-10 and B-15. Nevertheless, later
wartime aircrews never seemed to fail in getting
their hands on the more popular A-2s. It was
impossible to stop airmen from wearing the
jacket. The popularity of these jackets remained
high well into the Korean War as most notably
F-82 and F-86 fighter pilots continued to wear
the World War II issued A-2 jacket despite it
from being officially canceled a decade earlier.
In 1988 the Air Force officially reissued the A-2
jacket, a decision likely heavily influenced by
the popularity received from the 1986 film
“Top Gun” where the main character Lieutenant
Pete “Maverick” Mitchell wore the U.S. Navy’s
legendary leather flight jacket, the G-1.
CONDITION: Very good showing typical wear
and use for a highly popular World War II era
article of flight clothing. Some heavier wear is
visible on the collar, cuffs and waist band. A solid
example of a World War II A-2 flight jacket that has gained legendary status. Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection.
Estimate: 1,000 - 2,000
LOT 1330
Two Fine Leather Patches and a Silk Banner
for the Fourth Bomb Squadron of the Chinese-
American Composite Wing - The successor unit
to the American Volunteer Group (aka the Flying
Tigers) and run by Tigers chief Claire Chennault, the
Chinese-American Composite Wing was a combined
effort between the U.S. Army Air Force (including
many former Flying Tigers who ended their de-jure
“mercenary” status and resumed their former Army
commissions) and the Republic of China Air Force,
the CACW had American and Chinese men and
officers working together against the Japanese in
China, scoring many air to air kills and doing massive
damage to enemy installations and logistics. The
4th Bomb Squadron of the 1st Bombardment Group
of the CACW would earn the Distinguished Unit
Citation for their actions warding off a sustained
enemy assault on their own home base, inflicting
an estimated 25% casualty rate on the attackers
and facilitating a successful Chinese counterattack.
Included with the group are two leather patches,
one with the emblem of the 1st BG (a B-25 Mitchell
dropping bombs with the U.S. and Chinese Nationalist stars as accents) and one with the 4th BS emblem (the silhouette of a long haired woman in front of a crescent moon). Also present is an embroidered silk banner, 13” wide and 16” long, with the 4th’s emblem at top, American and Chinese aviator wings, and a front view of a Mitchell bomber mid-drop, along with untranslated symbols on the sides.
CONDITION: Very good, with minor wear on the patches and a few small stains on the banner.
Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection.
Estimate: 3,000 - 5,000
LOT 1331
Six World War II Bomb Group Aviation Patches - The group includes patches from the 718th Bomb Squadron of the 449th Bomb Group (embroidered cloth, featuring an eagle dropping bombs), 463rd Bomb Group (heavily painted cloth, featuring a goose with a gas mask and 4000 pound bomb, marked “SWOOSE(sic) GROUP” on the front and “CELONE, ITALY/1944- 45” on the back), 33rd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (embroidered felt with a skull shooting lighting bolts over a bomb), 597th Bomb Squadron
of the 397th Bomb Group
(embroidered cloth, featuring Bugs Bunny reclining on a wing with a bomb held in his feet), 86th Bomb Squad of the 47th Bomb Group (painted leather, featuring a well-dressed wolf with a bomb hiding from searchlights and flak in a cloud), and the 566th Bomb Squad of the 389th Bomb Group (embroidered cloth and felt, featuring a bucking bronco on a falling bomb). The 33rd Photo Recon patch has a data card depicting the layout and attributes of the insignia; the card is made out for the “24th Reconnaissance(sic) Squadron”, an earlier name for the 33rd prior to a reorganization.
CONDITION: Good to very good overall, with wear appropriate to age. The 463rd Group patch has a heavy crease along the top, and the 86th and 566th patches show stitching holes around the border.
Provenance: The Putnam Green/
Sycamore Collection.
Estimate: 3,000 - 4,000
LOT 1332
Grouping of World War II Aviation Patches, Pins and Artifacts - The lot consists of three groupings. The first is a collection of items from the 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron of the 5th Air Force. Also know as the “Eight Ballers”, the 8th was active in the Pacific during World War II, often performing high-risk runs over occupied islands to gather intel used to
plan amphibious assaults. The
set includes a 5” wide cloth patch
of the unit logo (an stereotypical Mohawk Indian with a hatchet, camera and large 8-ball, a Holiday greetings card “from Somewhere in New Guinea” with a picture of a serviceman, a larger picture of the same serviceman wearing corporal’s stripes and a 8th unit patch, a set of “G” glider wings and other small pins and patches. The greeting is signed by “Nephew Don”, with “Don Wolzmuth” on the back; records show a Donald Wolzmuth of New York born in 1915 and deceased in 1998, with a final rank of Sergeant. The second collection contains
two patches and a photo for the 44th Bomb Group. Part of the 8th Air Force, the 44th claimed a U-Boat kill in the Gulf of Mexico before relocating to Europe, operating out of the UK, Libya and Tunisia, earning multiple Distinguished Unit Citations on missions including the Ploesti Raid. The patches feature a bird-like creature made from an 8-ball and a bomb, one embroidered with a green beak, the other felt with embroidered
accents with a multicolored beak and the words “FLYING CONTROL” on the bottom. The photo is of a man in an “Ike” style jacket, with the 8th Air Force patch on his shoulder and the 44th BG patch on his breast. The third collection contains a patch and custom pin from the 490th Bomb Squadron. Active in the China-Burma-India theater from 1942 into 1945, the 490th became known as the “Burma Bridge Busters” for their refinement of the “glip bombing” tactic that made it possible for their Mitchell medium bombers to reliably inflict severe damage to enemy-held bridges. The patch is white and black painted leather, 5 inches wide, and the pin is silver plated brass, about 1 inch wide, both featuring a set of aviator wings adorned with a skull.
CONDITION: Very good overall, showing wear appropriate to age and travel. The 490th BS patch shows evidence of removed stitching from around the edge.
Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection.
Estimate: 2,000 - 4,000