A WWII USAAF 15th Air Force B-24 crew A-2 flight jacket with painted unit emblem (718th Bomb Squadron, 449th Bomb Group), belonging to Gunner Lt. Lyle V. Carr. This is an attractive dark brown leather, issue jacket with dark brown elastique hem and cuffs. The jacket has a single, original Talon front zipper with collar snaps, and a hook and eye fastener at the throat. The jacket was made by Rough Wear Clothing Co. of Middletown, PA, and has an intact sewn-in label with small size 44 sub-label, and lists production under the W535 AC 23380 contract. The exterior leather is slightly stiff, with minor wear and flaking along the edge seams, collar, and on the forearms and sleeves. The cuffs are both heavily frayed, and there are further spots of damage and small holes along the hem. The original inventory label is still present in the left side pocket and lists serial #460. The jacket is embellished with an incised leather 15th Air Force patch, surcharged with the Bomb Group ID and “NEW YORK” on the left shoulder (a construction technique commonly found on locally manufactured Italian patches), and a large, heavily flaked, but still discernible squadron emblem on the left breast (the Bombing Eagle emblem of the 718th Bomber Squadron). A leather name strip is present just above the emblem: "L.V. CARR / ENG. GUNNER." The interior lining of the jacket is in good shape, but does exhibit quite a few tears at the collar stand, and at the sleeve seams. The 449th Bomb Group 'Flying Horsemen' was comprised of the 716th, 717th, 718th, and 719th Squadrons, and flew from bases in Italy from 1944 until the war ended, attacking strategic targets across Southern Europe. The Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations: first for the unescorted bombing of the rail marshaling yards at Bucharest on April 4, 1944, under intense fighter attack; second for an attack on the oil refineries at Ploesti on July 9, 1944. This is a great piece of WW2 history, worn by an airman who flew on the infamous Ploesti Raids, and would make a splendid addition to any collection of WW2 AAF memorabilia.
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