Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is an wonderful A2 leather flight jacket issued to lieutenant in the 44th Bomb Group 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 44th BG is among the most famous of all WWII Bombardment groups and is notable for the following achievements:

- First 8th Air Force Bomb Groups to be equipped with B-24 Liberators
- Operated from England for a longer period than any other B-24 Group
- Sustained highest losses of aircraft of any B-24 Group in 8th Air Force
- Claimed more enemy aircraft than any other 8th AF B-24 Group 153.
- First Bomb Group to be awarded a DUC for 14-May-43 Kiel
- CO Col Leon W. Johnson awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor 1-Aug-43 Ploesti.

This A2 Flying Jacket features a rare genuine hand painted 44th Bombardment Group Flying 8 Balls insignia patch and is attached to the jacket with correct thread and pattern.

Excellent condition jacket which has leather lieutenant bars on each shoulder, excellent manufacturer tag and perfectly working original Talon zipper. The waist band and wrist cuffs are period correct. The original jacket liner is fine condition with some wear at the neck. Jacket retains all original functioning snaps on the pockets and neck closure. Manufactured by the Rough Wear Clothing Company it is a size 40 made.

Approximate Measurements:

History of the 44th Bomb Group

The 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 15-January-1942 at McDill Field, Florida and equipped with B-24Cs. The Group moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana and acted as a training unit for the 90th 93rd and 98th Bomb Groups and flew anti-submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico; the Group claimed 1 U-Boat destroyed. On 26-July-1942 the Group moved to Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma to prepare for overseas deployment. The Ground echelon sailed for the UK on the Queen Mary on 4-September-1942. The air echelon moved to Grenier Field, New Hampshire and in late September was re-deployed to the UK.

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 colour. The Group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for an extremely hazardous mission against naval installations at Kiel on 14 May 1943. This mission involved drop incendiaries on the target from an unprotected position behind B-17 formations that had dropped high explosives. The Group lost five of its seventeen Liberators in the target area.

The group was transferred TDY to the 9th Air Force at Benina Main, Libya from 28-Jun-43 to 25-Aug-43. They provided support for Operation HUSKY, the invasion of Sicily, during July 1943. They also participated in the famous 1-Aug-43 raid on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania dubbed operation TIDAL WAVE. The unit was awarded another Distinguished Unit Citation for this action in which 11 of the 37 B-24s it despatched were MIA. Col Leon Johnson, Group Commanding Officer was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his leadership in this action. Afterwards the 44th returned to Shipdham for a very short respite from 25-Aug-43 to 17-Sep-43 at which time the Group was again sent TDY to North Africa at Oudna, Tunisia where the they shared the base with a B-17 Bomb Group, the 99th to support the invasion of Italy. On 1-Oct-1943 the 44th participated in a mission to bomb the Messerschmidt plant a Weiner-Neustadt, Austria where they met intense anti-aircraft fire and hordes of German fighters. The Group lost 8 B-24s of the 25 they sent to the target. On 4-Oct-1943 the Group was sent back to Shipdham for the remainder of the war.

Between October 1943 and June 1945, the Group flew strategic bombing missions over occupied Europe. These were daylight raids that put the bomber crews in great danger from enemy aircraft and anti-aircraft fire. In all the 44th flew 343 missions in 8,009 sorties and dropped 18,980 tones of bombs. The Group lost 153 aircraft MIA.

CLAIMS TO FAME
First 8th Air Force Bomb Groups to be equipped with B-24 Liberators
Operated from England for a longer period than any other B-24 Group
Sustained highest losses of aircraft of any B-24 Group in 8th Air Force
Claimed more enemy aircraft than any other 8th AF B-24 Group 153.
First Bomb Group to be awarded a DUC for 14-May-43 Kiel
CO Col Leon W. Johnson awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor 1-Aug-43 Ploesti.