Opinion on rank patch

[Rutger]

Curious as for if this is going to be period accurate with an A2, and if these aren't simply repro's.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Pair-W ... 1c27e246ae

cheers all,
Rutger

 

[unclegrumpy]

They are not reproductions, but also not WW II. They are USAF....could be from the 1950's up until the 1970's or so. Hard to tell from the photo, but I would say probably Vietnam era.

 

[watchmanjimg]

They are not reproductions, but also not WW II. They are USAF....could be from the 1950's up until the 1970's or so. Hard to tell from the photo, but I would say probably Vietnam era.

I agree they're USAF, and likely a private purchase item. They were definitely used from the 1950s and possibly into the Vietnam era, but I wouldn't consider them typical of the period. I know the rank is hard to see in the attached picture, but here's a magnificent B-15D Modified I acquired from LJ Militaria:

This jacket sports the same type embroidered-on-black leather Major rank offered in the Ebay listing as well as sleeve patches following the 48th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron's transition from F-102 to F-106, which is discussed on this website:

http://www.f-106deltadart.com/48fis.htm

Based on the foregoing, it would appear that this particular individual was assigned to the 48th FIS during its F-102 era (summer 1957-fall 1960), and remained there for at least some time during the subsequent F-106 era. How long is uncertain, but my guess is that this jacket was worn in its current form during the very early 1960s. My experience with later USAF flight clothing is that the plastic-encased or embroidered-on-sage fabric rank insignia became much more prevalent by the mid-1960s as US involvement in Vietnam escalated.

 

[unclegrumpy]

I agree about these being private purchase, as pretty much all officer rank insignia would be. However, I have had flight suits and jackets with this type of rank on them that have been post Vietnam into the early 1980's manufacture. Most were sewn on under plastic squares. Some units went back to full color insignia again after Vietnam, and they had some pretty jazzy looking flight helmets, patches, and gear.

It would be interesting to hear from some of the guys if they know exactly when the USAF finally banned the color rank insignia. I think it was before Desert Shield (1990), but I don't think by too much.