Item:
ONSV21WS245

Original U.S. WWII 8th Bombardment Squadron Japanese Made Bullion Thread Embroidered Patch

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an exceptionally rare Japanese made bullion embroidered patch in very good condition. It measures WIDTH: 3.5"
LENGTH: 3.25"

The 8th was supplied with Douglas A-20C Havoc aircraft in August 1942. They returned to Australia for a short time to train in this new type of aircraft. On 28 September 1942, the Squadron was redesignated as the 8th Bombardment Squadron (Dive).

On 12 September 1942, the 8th and 89th Bombardment Squadron A-20s attacked the Japanese Buna Airfield. The Japanese, expecting an attack from 3,000 to 4,000 feet were caught off guard. The A-20 crews came in at tree top level. When the last A-20 pulled away, it left the airfield a flaming wreck with 17 Japanese aircraft destroyed. The group continued low-level attacks against ground targets in support of the Papua Campaign in their A-20s, fought from 23 July 1942 to 23 January 1943, to clear the Japanese from its lodgments at Buna and Gona on the northeast coast of New Guinea. The campaign earned them their first Distinguished Unit Citation.

When peace came the 8th was transferred to the Japanese Home Island of Honshu. The first U.S. personnel from the 3d Group touched down at Atsugi Airfield on 31 August 1945. They landed in one of the new A-26B Invaders, and the landing was not without controversy as other units claimed the squadron was "grandstanding". The remainder of the group arrived at Atsugi on 8 September.[7]

By the end of 1945, the last A-20 had been transferred out, and the group became an all A-26 outfit. The wartime personnel strengths declined rapidly as the Army underwent demobilization. By January 1946, the 13th, 89th and 90th Bombardment Squadrons had been reduced to one officer and one enlisted man each. The remaining personnel were concentrated in the 8th Bombardment Squadron. By late March, the personnel situation had improved to the extent that the 90th Bombardment Squadron could be made operational again. On 20 August 1946, the 3d Bomb Group moved to Yokota Air Base, near Tokyo. It considered naming Yokota after its Medal of Honor recipient, Major Raymond Wilkins. However, the name was not accepted.

On 18 August 1948, the new Air Force organizational configuration was in place, and the 3d Bombardment Wing was activated.[8] In March 1950, the 3d Wing moved to Johnson Air Base[1] to accommodate the 35th Fighter Wing, which took its place at Yokota to perform the air defense mission nearer Tokyo.

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