Lot 423

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Description:

IDENTIFIED DECORATED JACKET FROM 40TH BOMB GROUP, 315TH BOMBER WING FLYING "THE HUMP"
A very rare World War II flier's jacket owned and hand-decorated by a crew member of a B-29 belonging to the 40th Bombardment Group, 315th Bomber Wing, Squadron 25. The jacket, ID'ed to S. Hamilton, bears four colored leather theater-made patches and documents Hamilton's service from the time he left "Smoky Hill Kan" until his service on Tinian, sometime before rotating home in November, 1945. The khaki, lightly-lined jacket bears 20th Air Force, 40th Bomb Group and China Army Air Corps patches, as well as a large, circular patch on the right chest with the logo of Hamilton's B-29: "KAGU TSUCHI THE SCOURGE OF THE FIRE GOD". The emblem depicts and angry Japanese God with his head ablaze, preparing to hurl three bombs. On the back of the jacket, Hamilton has drawn in ink a large 20th Air Force emblem, beneath which he has sketched a view of a B-29 with a tailgunner calling "Hi" from the rear of the plane. We suspect this was Hamilton's position. He adds the names of the seven bases through which he had traveled, with the last entry reading "HOME?". At bottom Hamilton draws 15 falling bombs with the names of the targets penned within, and colors 15 additional red and black bombs for emphasis. Five camel figures represent the "Hump" over which he flew delivering supplies, listing Karachi and Calcutta as his destinations. Targets included Saigon, Bangkok, Yawata, Anshan, Yawata, Singapore, Formosa, Rangoon, etc. This historic jacket, much rarer than comparable jackets from the European campaign, is in excellent condition and is a fine item for display. The 40th Bomb Group was classed a very heavy bomb group. Activated Apr. 1, 1941 it transported supplies over the Hump, was the first to bomb Japan since Doolittle, and attacked a wide variety of target in Japan and Southeast Asia from its bases in China. The group received two unit citations for its exemplary service. With research identifying the plane, its history, unit histories, etc.

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March 17, 2016 10:30 AM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000