ORIGINAL WWII USAAF OFFICER’S PAINTED A-2 FLIGHT JACKET – 15th AIR FORCE, 817th. ORIGINAL WWII USAAF ISSUE OFFICER’S PAINTED A-2 FLIGHT JACKET – 817th BOMB SQUADRON – EXTRA LARGE SIZE 44 – BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE. WWII USAAF ISSUE OFFICER’S PAINTED A-2 FLIGHT JACKET. 15th AIR FORCE, 483rd BOMB GROUP, 817th BOMB SQUADRON. LARGE 817th BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON INSIGNIA TO LEFT CHEST. EXTRA LARGE SIZE 44 WITH PARTIAL SERVICE NUMBER TO INTERIOR. OUTSTANDING LEATHER WITH NO “PRESERVATIVE” EVER APPLIED. MADE BY BRONCO MANUFACTURING CORPORATION UNDER 1942 CONTRACT. GUARANTEED 100% AUTHENTIC, ORIGINAL & UNALTERED. PLEASE EXAMINE ALL PHOTOS & READ ENTIRE DESCRIPTION. We Welcome You to “Like” Us on Facebook and Follow Us on Instagram at Old Patriot Militaria. NOTE : Scroll to the End of The Description to See the Impressive History of the 483rd Bomb Group. However, Please Be Aware That There Are Several Stitched Repairs to the Cuffs and Waistband. Jacket is an Original, Early War US Army Air Forces ISSUE A-2 that Bears a Large Hand Painted 817th Bomb Squadron Insignia to the Left Chest. Insignia Depicts the L’il Abner Comic Strip Character “Mammy Yokum” Delivering Her “Good Night Irene” Uppercut Punch that She Used to Keep The Piece in the Fictional Town of Dog Patch. Jacket Also Bears an Unusual Yellow Stenciled Outline Only USAAF Winged Star Insignia to the Left Shoulder as Well As Silver First Lieutenant Rank to the Epaulette Areas of Both Shoulders. Above the 817th Bomb Squadron Insignia Remains the Painted Black Outline of a Shield With What Appears to Once Have Been a Silver Painted Wing Badge that Bore the Name of an Air Man Who Once Wore This Jacket. It Also Appears that This Name Was Purposely Removed, Which Suggests More Than One Owner During the WWII Period. Oral History that Accompanies This Jacket States That This Jacket Was Owned and Worn By an Officer Named Ray Wallace. However, There is No Evidence of this To Be Found in any Recent Research that Has Been Conducted On This Piece. Perhaps with More and More Information Becoming Available Online, This Information Can One Day Be Traced and The Jacket Connected to Mr. This Jacket Came to Us From a Dear Friend that is One of The Best, Most Trusted Sources for Military Antiques on the Planet. He Informed Us that Until Recently, This Jacket Was Part of a Very Large, Very Advanced Collection of Painted A-2s. This is Truly A Beautiful, Scarce Example that We Believe to Be of Museum Quality and Worthy of An Advanced Collector. Jacket Shows Some Signs of Age, Wear and Use but All Leather Remains Solid, Soft and Supple with NO Signs of Any Sort of Leather Conditioner or “Preservative” Having Ever Been Applied. We Rate the Jacket as Being in VERY GOOD to EXCELLENT CONDITION. There are No Holes, Rips, Splits, Tears or Other Blemishes and the Only Visibly Worn and Somewhat Weak Area is Located to the Upper Right Sleeve and Area of Shoulder. However, this Area Remains Solid and No Other Weak, Thin or Overly Worn Areas are Present. Even What Are Normally Problem Areas Such As the Upper Back, Shoulders and Elbows Remain Solid With NO Issues and The Leather Remains Thick and Soft. Jacket Maintains It’s ORIGINAL CROWN Zipper with the Bell Style Pull. The Zipper Is Marked “Crown” To All Portions Including the Zipper Pull, Slider Front and Rear as Well as the Zipper Stop Front and Rear, Which Can Be Seen in the Photos. Zipper Functions Smoothly and Perfectly and is NOT Damaged, Loose or Separating in Any Areas. Collar Maintains It’s Hook and Loop Fasteners and Buttons, All Also Remaining Undamaged and Functioning Properly. The Front Pockets Show No Damage and the Buttons Function Properly, but Do Show a Bit of Verdigris that Should Easily Clean Away. Jacket Maintains It’s ORIGINAL Cuffs and Waistband that Remain in Very Solid Condition but Do Show a Few Snags, Small Holes and Some Repairs. The Repairs to the Cuffs are Mostly Located to the Rear of the Cuffs and the Repairs to the Waistband A Very Small. All Repairs Are Not Readily Apparent When the Jacket is Displayed, But They Are Visible Under Close Inspection. These Repairs MAY Have Been Done During the War, but We Cannot Say for Sure. Regardless, They Were Done Using the Proper Thread and are Stitched Quite Well. The Interior of the Jacket Maintains It’s ORIGINAL Cotton Liner that Remains Firmly Attached and in Very Good Condition with No Rips, Splits, Separations or Damage of Any Sort. Shows Signs of Age and Wear with a Few Minor Spots of Soiling but No Other Blemishes and All Stitching Remains Solid. Liner Bears the Stamped Partial Service Number “A-9033″ as Well As a Stenciled Army Air Forces Winged Star Insignia. Liner Maintains It’s Embroidered Contract Tag That Identifies This Jacket as One of the 59,000 Ordered From Bronco Manufacturing Company in MAY 1942 as Part of Contract Number W535ac 29191. Tag Remains In Excellent Condition and as Firmly Applied to the Jacket as the Day it Was Sewn on. All Information Remains Very Clear and Very Easy to Read. Size Tag of “44” Also Remains Firmly Attached and Very Easy to Read as Well. Leather Hanging Tab Also Remains Firmly Attached to the Interior Collar by It’s Original Thread and Remains Very Solid, Showing Only Minor Age and Wear. Overall, This is Truly A Beautiful and Scarce Example of a WWII USAAF Issue A-2 Not Only Due to It’s Obvious Connection to the Historic 817th Bombardment Squadron but Also Because of It’s Size and Very Solid, Very Good Condition. This Piece Remains in an Excellent State of Preservation, The Likes of Which We Dealers and Collectors Rarely See. Most Examples in This Condition are Already in Museums or Advanced, Private Collections. This Jacket Maintains Wonderful Color Throughout and Is Very Impressive When Displayed. We Are Very Confident that You Will Be Very Pleased with This A-2 When You See it and Proud to Add it To Your Collection. PLEASE Examine All Photos Closely, Read Entire Description and Ask Any Questions that You May Have. THANK YOU for Looking!!! History of the 483rd Bomb Group from The Robins Air Force Base Museum. As part of the 15th Air Force in WWII, the 483rd Bombardment Group (H) played a significant role in the eventual defeat of Germany’s forces. Its four combat squadrons, the 815th, 816th, 817th and 840th flew a total of 5,623 sorties from 12 April 1944 to 26 April 1945, dropping more than 13,700 tons of bombs and losing 79 of its aircraft in combat. Its human losses were high: of the original 646 flying personnel sent to Italy in 1944, 39.8 percent were either killed in action or became prisoners of war. The 483rd, stationed at Sterparone, Italy, flew B-17 “Flying Fortress” missions against critical enemy-controlled targets in Austria, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Northern Italy, Germany, Yugoslavia, Poland, Southern France, and Greece (Salamis). The group also supported ground forces during the invasion of Southern France in August 1944 and the Allied offensive in Northern Italy in April 1945. Two secret missions were flown in support of Czech patriots who held Tri Duby airdrome near Banska-Bystrica. The 483rd earned two distinguished unit citations. It is also known for having the “Most enemy aircraft destoryed by a B-17 on one mission by one crew, ” “Most Me-262 jets destoryed on one mission by one crew, ” “Most decorated combat crew for one mission in Air Force history where each of the ten crew members was awarded a Silver Star and four wounded members were awarded the “Pu rple H eart Medal. It is Also Knows for having the most jets destoryed by one group during the entire war. PACKAGES THAT WEIGH OVER FIVE POUNDS VIA UNITED PARCEL SERVICE (UPS) GROUND. WE AS WELL AS OTHER BUSINESSES IN OUR AREA HAVE HAD TOO MANY PACKAGES GET LOST OR TERRIBLY DELAYED GOING THROUGH JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING. WE ARE A RETIRED MILITARY FAMILY WITH AN EXTENSIVE BACKGROUND IN MUSEUMS, ENGINEERING AND MILITARY HISTORY. WE GO TO EXHAUSTIVE LENGTHS TO BRING YOU THE BEST MILITARY ANTIQUES AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET TODAY. WE OBTAIN MANY OF OUR ITEMS FROM OUR DEAR FRIENDS WHO ARE EITHER ADVANCED DEALERS OR ADVANCED COLLECTORS AND IN SOME CASES, BOTH! WE ALSO OBTAIN ITEMS AND GROUPINGS FROM FELLOW HISTORIANS AND FELLOW COLLECTORS WISHING TO “THIN OUT” THEIR COLLECTIONS. WHAT WE OFTEN REFER TO AS BEING FROM THE FAMILY OF THE ORIGINAL COLLECTOR. ” WE ALSO ACQUIRE SOME PIECES LOCALLY AS WE ARE IN A “HISTORY RICH AREA OF THE GULF COAST. WE ARE A FAMILY BUSINESS AND EVERY MEMBER OF OUR FAMILY IS INVOLVED. WE ARE ALL COLLECTORS OF MILITARY ANTIQUES, EVEN OUR VERY YOUNG SON. WE TRY TO DESCRIBE EVERY ITEM WE SELL TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY AND TAKE THE BEST, MOST DETAILED PHOTOS THAT WE POSSIBLY CAN. MEANING THAT WE DO NOT SELL FAKES, REPRODUCTIONS OR ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN ALTERED TO THE POINT WHERE THEY ARE MISLEADING OR THEIR HISTORICAL VALUE IS DESTROYED. OUR MAIN PURPOSE IS TO WHOLEHEARTEDLY PRESERVE THE HONOR AND INTEGRITY OF THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE US AND WERE WILLING TO DIE IN DEFENSE OF FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY AND OUR GREAT NATION. WE WILL NEVER DO ANYTHING TO DISHONOR THEIR SERVICE, THEIR MEMORY, OURSELVES OR OUR CUSTOMERS. WE SERVE YOU WITH HONOR AND ARE COMMITTED TO OUR FELLOW VETERANS AND TO YOU AS OUR HIGHLY VALUED CUSTOMERS. THIS IS OUR PLEDGE. WE WILL GET BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS WE CAN. IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO SELL ONE SINGLE ITEM OR AN ENTIRE COLLECTION, PLEASE LET US KNOW. Track Page Views With. Auctiva’s FREE Counter. The item “WWII USAAF ISSUE OFFICERS A-2 FLIGHT JACKET 817th BOMB SQUADRON 15th AIR FORCE” is in sale since Sunday, November 24, 2019. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Militaria\WW II (1939-45)\Original Period Items\United States\Uniforms”. The seller is “geauxusa” and is located in Gulf Breeze, Florida. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Modified Item: No
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
- Featured Refinements: USAAF