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Original U.S. WWII 8th Air Force Flying 8-Balls Painted A-2 Leather Flight Jacket Named to Pilot Lt. Raymond Bethel, 44th Bombardment Group with Documents
Original U.S. WWII 8th Air Force Flying 8-Balls Painted A-2 Leather Flight Jacket Named to Pilot Lt. Raymond Bethel, 44th Bombardment Group with Documents
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Product Details

Painted WWII American A-2 Flight Jackets have realized unprecedented prices in the past year. For example jackets at Rock Island Auctions sold in 2022 for $32,000 and $23,000 respectively they can be found at this and this . When comparing the Rock Island Auction jackets with the one offered here, one can easily see that our offering is an exceptional value!

Original Item: One-of-a-Kind. This is an absolutely beautiful World War Two American A-2 flight jacket with hand painted squadron insignia, named to R. W. Bethel. Original documents show that Bethel, was a B-24 Pilot with the 44th Bomb Group "Flying 8 Balls" where he conducted 35 missions and was awarded the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters and 3 “Battle Stars”. 

The documentation present with this grouping is extensive. Included in the documents are both originals and photo copies. Of note is his DD21 service record, photos of him with his crew, bomb run mission records with 35 missions showing the targets and dates, handwritten account of specific missions and much more. We estimate over 200 pages of documents in total.

The A-2 jacket, which is in wonderful condition with fantastic hand painted patch insignia. The left chest features a faint but legible leather name tag above the bomb group patch. Assigned to 8th Air Force at Cheddington from 11-Sep-1942 to 28-Jun-1943. The Group was known as the 'Flying Eight-Balls' and each B-24 Liberator it flew was decorated with a winged bomb cartoon of an 8-Ball (pool ball) over which were superimposed eyes and the nose of a bomb in the squadron color. The patch is a great example of their insignia with nearly all paint and details still present.

Jacket is in size US 46 and has retained all original components including period correct replacement knit waist band and sleeve cuffs, something we often see replaced on A-2 jackets that saw extensive service. Also original is the TALON brand zipper which is functional.

The interior lining is in really good condition but is noticeably a replacement with the original tag sewn back on, another common sight to see. The top rear back portion of the liner still retains the original tag:

TYPE A2
Drawing no. 301415
CONT. NO. W 535 AC-28557
STAR SPORTSWEAR MFG. CO.
LYNN, MASS.
PROPERTY
AIR FORCE, U.S. ARMY

This is an incredible example of a hard to find painted A-2 jacket, offered in wonderful condition. Comes more than ready for further research and display.

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