Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
US Airforce Uniform Jacket, c. 1950-1982 |
Object Name |
Jacket |
Description |
US Airforce Uniform Jacket, c. 1950-1982. Polyester/cotton short jacket is blue in color, has two angled flat front pockets, an interior chest pocket with a straight horizontal opening on proper right side, a zipper front closure and dark blue plastic buttons at side of waistband for adjusting circumference. Each shoulder has an epaulet strap secured with blue plastic buttons beneath the collar. |
Date |
c. 1950-1982 |
Creator |
Bendone, New York |
Role |
Manufacturer |
Catalog Number |
2015.025.028 |
Dimensions |
H-30 W-20 D-10 inches |
Collection |
3D - Clothing |
Inscription Text |
"40R" (tag beneath interior of collar); "BENDONE / NEW YORK" (black, white and gold label sewn on outside of interior pocket); "JACKET, MAN'S, LIGHTWEIGHT, BLUE 1157 / SPECIFICATION R&D EXHIBIT ASNMC 68-3 / CERTIFICATE NO. L J-9-1-70 / 65% POLYESTER 35% COTTON / WASH & WEAR / If laundered, do not spin or wring. / Rinse thoroughly two or three times / to remove all soaps so that water / repellency is restored. / Light ironing will improve water re- / pellency and appearance if dry cleaned. / Request thorough rinsing to remove / all detergents. / Name ____ / No. ____Size_____ / BENDONE MFG. CORP." (white label inside proper left side of jacket) |
Provenance |
Item belonging to Allan R. Brown during his tenure in the military: -Served as a navigator for the 8th Army Air Force, 14th Combat Wing, 392nd Bomb Squadron based in Wendling, England during WWII from September 18, 1942 - January 10, 1946. -After his B-24 Liberator plane was shot down, became a Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag Luftwaffe I in Barth, Germany from1944-1945 -Served as a navigator for the US Air Force during the Korean War from August 10, 1950 - August 9, 1952. -Served in the Air force Reserves following both tours of duty through 1982. |
Notes |
"Inevitably Mr. Brown finally joined the service. Going down to the draft office at the age of 19, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, or as we know it now, the United States Air Force. He was sent off to England where he was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 14th Combat Wing, 392nd Bomb Squadron based at Wendling. … Ultimately there came the mission when Allan Brown didn't return - his ninth. "On a mission over Munich where they were supposed to bomb industry, Mr. Brown's bomber was hit by flak which locked the elevators. … Five to ten German fighters intercepted him and shredded the plane with their guns. The Liberator went up in flames. Three airmen were burned inside the bomber, while one died on the ground. The civilians that captured Mr. Brown called a Luftwaffe officer to pick him up, who then took him to solitary confinement at the air base in Munich. German interrogation officers … charged Mr. Brown as a spy, declaring that he had been dropped in for espionage work. …From the Interrogation Center, he was driven up to the cold regions of the Baltic Sea to Stalag Luftwaffe I, a prison camp for airmen who had been captured by the Luftwaffe. …On May18, 1945, the first Russian soldiers marched into the camp and declared every prisoner free." ["Allan Brown: A Biography" by Peter Allen Sparacino (Brown's 13 year old neighbor's 7th grade Literature class paper, May 21, 1997)] "The Eighth Air Force (8AF) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). Established on 22 February 1944 by the redesignation of VIII Bomber Command at RAF High Wycombe, England, 8 AF was a United States Army Air Forces combat air force in the European Theater of World War II, engaging in operations primarily in the Northern Europe AOR; carrying out strategic bombing of enemy targets in France, the Low countries, and Germany; and engaging in air-to-air fighter combat against enemy aircraft until the German capitulation in May 1945. It was the largest of the deployed combat Army Air Forces in numbers of personnel, aircraft, and equipment." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighth_Air_Force#World_War_II_.281944.E2.80.931945.29] "The 392d Strategic Missile Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. During World War II, its predecessor unit, the 392d Bombardment Group was an Eighth Air Force B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment group stationed in England, stationed at RAF Wendling. The group flew 285 combat missions, suffering 1552 casualties including 835 killed in action or line of duty and 184 aircraft lost." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/392d_Strategic_Missile_Wing] "Stalag Luft I was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp near Barth, Western Pomerania, Germany, for captured Allied airmen. The presence of the prison camp is said to have shielded the town of Barth from Allied bombing. Approximately 9,000 airmen (7,588 American and 1,351 British and Canadian) were imprisoned there when it was liberated on the night of 30 April 1945 by Russian troops." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_Luft_I] |
Search Terms |
Air Force Brown, Allan R. Military Military Uniforms Uniforms United States Army |
Subjects |
Air forces Military uniforms U.S. Army |
People |
Brown, Allan R. |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Kathleen M. Brown |