ELC Star project query: bomb tallies on jackets

[better duck]

Hi guys,
In the original thread about my ELC Star / "Home James" / Elvgren "Knee-ding a lift" jacket art project (here's the link to it: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=118 ) I mentioned that we have picked the thread again. And so we have. I've received a fourth draft, incorparating a few ideas I had in the (long) meantime.
One of these ideas was to add a bomb talley somewhere on the jacket. A bomb talley, as we all know, indicated the number of mission the owner of the jacket had flown.

Now there lies my question: Does any of you guys know if it was more or less usual to add these missions flown symbols one by one, say, after each mission flown, paint on a additional little yellow or white bomb: sixteen done, nine more to go - or was that considered as bringing bad luck and were the painted on after the completion of the (or, for a select few - a) tour of operations?

 

[Chris217]

Peter, I've always thought the bombs looked really cool painted on the front of the jacket over the right pocket. To really add a cool touch, have the target names painted in the bomb, such as KIEL, HANOVER, SCHWEINFURT, etc..

As far as when they were painted, my guess is most guys had the bombs painted on at the end of their tours. However, some might have done it mission by mission. Guess it was up to the individual.

Chris

 

[Vcruiser]

Peter, I've always thought the bombs looked really cool painted on the front of the jacket over the left pocket. To really add a cool touch, have the target names painted in the bomb, such as KIEL, HANOVER, SCHWEINFURT, etc..

As far as when they were painted, my guess is most guys had the bombs painted on at the end of their tours. However, some might have done it mission by mission. Guess it was up to the individual.

Chris

Chris
Don't you mean 'right" pocket?
Most that I've seen have them placed on the right breast panel above the right pocket on the opposite side of nametag....or on the back....
Van

 

[Chris217]

D'oh....Your right Van, brain fart! :lol:

 

[better duck]

I've always thought the bombs looked really cool painted on the front of the jacket over the right pocket. Chris

My thoughts exactly after Robin suggested that the back will become too crowded with the pinup and the caption "Home James". In Art of the Flight Jacket and other books, and also here on VLJ, there are examples of jackets with the bomb talley on the right chestpanel.

 

[Anonymous]

Perfectly normal to have 'bombs' (missions) painted on as a flyer progressed through his tour. On p.168 of 'American Flight jackets', top left, you'll see a good example. Obviously the pictured 'Miss Behavin' jacket crew member was shot down half way through a tour. For the sake of accuracy, you'll probably also want to paint the correct numbers of bombs on. A tour went from 25 to 35 missons as the war progressed. I think you'll find the 751st BS, 457th BG operated from Jan 1944 and all did 35 mission tours.

 

[better duck]

Perfectly normal to have 'bombs' (missions) painted on as a flyer progressed through his tour. On p.168 of 'American Flight jackets', top left, you'll see a good example. Obviously the pictured 'Miss Behavin' jacket crew member was shot down half way through a tour.

Great example; for those not in posession of 'American Flight jackets' and wondering what makes it obvious that the 'Miss Behavin' crew member was shot down half way through his tour: the text accompanying this picture (B&W, showing a guy wearing this A2 with 'Miss Behavin' and 18 bombs on it) goes: "Unteroffizier Heinz Hanke wearing an A2 ..."
Must have been a gratifying feeling for Heinz, wearing this jacket of one 'Terrorflieger' whose tour of duty had come to a premature end...

 

[better duck]

For the sake of accuracy, you'll probably also want to paint the correct numbers of bombs on. A tour went from 25 to 35 missons as the war progressed. I think you'll find the 751st BS, 457th BG operated from Jan 1944 and all did 35 mission tours.

Thanks! I was going to look into that, as one of the ideas I had was to take the mission list of the 457th / 751st as a starting point, and than use that to add names to the bombs, as one other member suggested, following history, so to speak.

 

[Anonymous]

For the sake of accuracy, you'll probably also want to paint the correct numbers of bombs on. A tour went from 25 to 35 missons as the war progressed. I think you'll find the 751st BS, 457th BG operated from Jan 1944 and all did 35 mission tours.

Thanks! I was going to look into that, as one of the ideas I had was to take the mission list of the 457th / 751st as a starting point, and than use that to add names to the bombs, as one other member suggested, following history, so to speak.

Here's a relevant quote from an unlucky AAF flyer...

"In January of 1944 when I had completed 11 missions, I was informed that a combat tour was increased from 25 to 30 missions. When I reached 28 missions, the length of the tour was increased to 35. In view of the time I had been on combat, the group stated I would need to complete 31 missions."