United States. A B-17 8th USAAF A-2 Flight Jacket, Named to Lieutenant J.A. Wright, Navigator, 369th Bombardment Squadron, 309th Bombardment Group (Heavy) "The Reich Wreckers"; The exterior is fabricated from brown leather, with leather straps stitched in place on both shoulders. It displays running script inscribed "Magellan" in silver ink and outlined in red ink on the left breast, with an English-made 369th Bomb Squadron patch sewn in place below the script, the patch in black and green embroidery on white and light blue felt, with the inscription "FIGHTIN' BITIN' " prominent and measuring 122 mm in diameter. The front with a full-length vertical zipper closure, with pockets stitched in place at the waist on either side, each pocket with a fold over flap and snap closure. The collar is held in place via snap closures on either side, both armpits with a pair of metal eyelets for ventilation, with a wide band of elasticized cotton at the opening. The reverse of the jacket has an image of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber releasing thirty bombs in succession in silver ink, the detailing of the bomber and bombs in black ink, the group markings on its tail in green and yellow inks, running script inscribed "Ice Cold Katie" in silver ink above the bomber, the script surmounted by large block letters in an arch inscribed "TOLEDO OHIO" in white ink and outline in red ink. The interior is lined in a reddish-brown cotton, with an embroidered manufacturer's tag inscribed "TYPE A-2 / DRAWING NO. 30-1415 / CONTRACT NO. W535 AC18091 / ROUGH WEAR CLOTHING CO. / MIDDLETOWN, PA." sewn in place at the collar, with a size "40" tag affixed to it, inscribed in handwritten black ink "LT J.A. WRIGHT / 369 -306B.G. / APO. 557 / USA" below the tags, with a leather strap stitched in place above the tags in the collar for hanging the jacket from a hook. The jacket measures 470 mm across the shoulders x 630 mm in length overall, exhibiting wear in the leathers and lining from active use, along with some cracking and loss in the white block lettering on "TOLEDO OHIO". It features quality stitching, the embroidered and felt 309th Bombardment Group insignia in excellent condition. As worn.
Footnote: The unit was constituted as the 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on Jan 28, 1942. It was activated on Mar 1, 1942 and trained for combat with B-17's. The unit moved to England in August-September 1942 and was assigned to the Eighth Air Force in September 1942, Station 111 at Thurleigh. During combat, from October 1942 to April 1945, they flew 342 missions of 9,614 sorties from that station dropping 22,575 tons of bombs. The Group lost 171 aircraft Missing in Action. Operations were primarily against strategic targets, striking locomotive works at Lille, railroad yards at Rouen, submarine pens at Bordeaux, shipbuilding yards at Vegesack, ball-bearing works at Schweinfurt, oil plants at Merseburg, marshalling yards at Stuttgart, a foundry at Hannover, a chemical plant at Ludwigshafen, aircraft factories at Leipzig, and other objectives on the continent. It took part in the first penetration into Germany by heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force on Jan 27, 1943 by attacking U-boat yards at Wilhelmshaven. Without fighter escort and in the face of powerful opposition, the 306th completed an assault against aircraft factories in central Germany on Jan 11, 1944, being awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for the mission. It received another DUC for action during Big Week, the intensive campaign against the German aircraft industry, Feb 2 to 25, 1944. Although hazardous weather forced supporting elements to abandon the mission, the group effectively bombarded an aircraft assembly plant at Bernberg on Feb 22nd. The group often supported ground forces and attacked interdictory targets, in addition to its strategic operations. It helped to prepare for the invasion of Normandy by striking airfields and marshalling yards in France, Belgium, and Germany and backed the assault on June 6, 1944 by raiding railroad bridges and coastal guns. The group assisted ground forces during the St. Lo breakthrough in July and covered the airborne invasion of Holland in September. It helped stop the advance of German armies in the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 to January 1945, by attacking airfields and marshalling yards. It bombed enemy positions in support of the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945. It remained in the theater after V-E Day as part of United States Air Forces in Europe, and engaged in special photographic mapping duty in Western Europe and North Africa. The 309th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was inactivated in Germany on December 25, 1946. First Lieutenant J.A. Wright was a Navigator with the 369th Bombardment Squadron, 309th Bombardment Group (Heavy) "The Reich Wreckers". He reported to the Eighth Air Force (ETO) on July 8, 1944 and flew thirty missions between July 17, 1944 and November 16, 1944, flying with Alfred Johansen's crew, departing the unit that November. The B-17 "Ice Cold Katie" was the aircraft he originally flew on. Wright was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three oak leaf clasps and the European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. (C:197)