A hand-embroidered blood chit has a Republic of China flag and a Chinese message promising a reward to anyone who helped the airman get back to Allied lines.
A hand-embroidered blood chit has a Republic of China flag and a Chinese message promising a reward to anyone who helped the airman get back to Allied lines.
Winn’s Warriors jacket rules!!!!
‘cuz we knew how to win wars 70 years ago?
Related article ...
“WWII War Paint: How Bomber-Jacket Art Emboldened Our Boys”
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/wwii-war-paint-how-bomber-jacket-art-emboldened-our-boys/
It was also a period when men were men, and that fact was appreciated by most.
Not quite accurate.
The USAAF lost 46,000 men KIA in WWII.
That does not tally with a 1,000 men killed per bombing run.
I am unaware of any raid that lost 100 B-17s in a single run.
Aren’t “bomber jackets” the leather jackets with furry linings and big furry collars, and that the jackets in the photos above were, at the time, called something else?
Well the jackets were badass - decorated or not - and why they were allowed (needed) to wear them....
Because it was COLD up there!!!!
Live in fame or go down in flame!
USAF!!!!
These are absolutely incredible!
God bless those brave men. What would we have done without them?
Looks like “walkabout” jackets - they wore those wool and leather jackets while flying. Incidentally, the reason for leather is that it doesn’t burn. When I fly I always have a pair of leather gloves in my case just in case of fire (usually happens most behind the panel) - if the controls are to hot because of fire and you have to get down real quick, those gloves will come in handy. (just my 2p worth)
Air Force Tears Down the Pinups
"The Air Force Times reports: Commanders and supervisors in all corners of the Air Force will conduct a widespread sweep of all work spaces and public areas starting today, looking for pictures, calendars and other materials that objectify women. The order covers all active, reserve and Air National Guard units and must be completed by Dec. 17. Pictures of scantily clad women in calendars, posters or in briefing slides have no place in a professional workplace, said Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh, who ordered the service-wide health and welfare inspection. The decision was made as part of the Air Force’s efforts to combat sexual assault, of which there were six hundred reports made in 2011. General Mark Welsh, USAF Chief of Staff since August 2012, explains the inspection: “After talking to a number of our female officers and NCOs, I believe that there is a potential that this is a problem in more than those isolated areas…
Trust me - today there are not even .0000001% of pin ups in Air Force offices, maintenance hangers, or flightline shops. Period. That practice has been long since purged.
See the 1st Jacket, slightly mis-spelled :-)
Cool stuff!
I’ve had a lot of leather jackets. One of my favorites is a reproduction of a German WWII “Messerschmitt” jacket. Not very warm, but very cool.
Wow. Excellent article - thank you. My late dad was one of those young men, joining the Bloody 100th at ~24. He was the old man of the squadron. 32 missions, got him home safely...