Original Items: Only One Grouping Available. Now this is a fantastic grouping attributed to a WWII B-24 Pilot who was shot down over Groningen, Holland after a raid on Bremen, Germany in 1943. He was captured by the Germans and imprisoned in Stalag Luft 1 at Barth, Germany and was released by the Soviets in May 1945.

Roy E. Braly, a retired Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. engineer and decorated World War II bomber pilot, died in 2008 of complications from an infection at the Augsburg Lutheran Home and Village in Arbutus. He was 88.

Mr. Braly, the son of an airport owner, was born and raised in Spring Lake, N.J. He was a graduate of Asbury Park High School in New Jersey.

His interest in flying began when he was a youngster.

"One time, he flew with Amelia Earhart from his father's airport to see the arrival of the Hindenburg at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station," said his wife of 12 years, the former Jeanne Macon.

Mr. Braly enlisted during World War II and was trained as a B-24 bomber pilot.

He was assigned to the 8th Air Force in England and participated in the historic raids on the Ploesti oil fields in Romania that supplied NSDAP Germany with most of its oil.

Mr. Braly, a command pilot, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for participating in the mission. He also earned a Purple Heart.

He was shot down in 1943 over Barth, Germany, while returning from a bombing run over Bremen, and spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner, assigned to Stalag Luft 1.

Discharged with the rank of captain, he remained in the Air Force Reserve for 20 years, where he attained the rank of colonel.

After the war, he enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned an engineering degree on the GI Bill in 1949.

He worked for 34 years as a senior underground engineer with BGE's distribution engineering department, until retiring in 1983.

The items in this grouping:
- L-2B Flight Jacket: The USAF L-2B Flight Jacket was developed as a direct replacement for the blue L-2A Flight Jacket. L-2A Flight Jackets were produced in blue circa 1950 as part of an effort by the then-new USAF service branch to stand apart from the old USAAF and its association with the U. S. Army. This blue color proved unsatisfactory in combat conditions during the Korean War, where a downed airman needed a combat uniform color that would help conceal him from any nearby enemies and the new USAF blue, unfortunately, only made downed aviators better targets and more easily found. The result of this combat experience in the first two years of the Korean War resulted in the development of a new color that did better conceal downed airmen and, by mid-1952, the first of the combat flying clothing began to appear in this new color known as sage green. The early sage green tended to have a distinctly more silver-gray cast to it than the later sage green shade employed in the 1960s, which is one distinguishing characteristic of the earlier L-2B Flight Jackets.

The L-2B Flight Jacket was intended for wear in climates between 42 degrees and 65 degrees Fahrenheit, thus ideally suited for spring, summer and fall. The essential differences between the L-2A Flight Jacket and L-2B Flight Jacket are: Color changed from blue to sage green, size on labels changed from numerical (38, 40, 42, etc.) to textual increments (small, medium, large, etc.), the cut was made more generous and the outer nylon shell was changed from 1/3 twill to the heavier 2/2 twill, while the lining was changed from a wool-and-nylon blend to a wool-and-rayon blend. The L-2B Flight Jacket had a long service life, with later versions that featured the orange linings that were first introduced in 1964 still being found in service use into the late 1970s.

The flight jacket features a Colonel rank insignia on each shoulder, a name tag on the left side of the jacket in the respective sleeve, Tactical Air Command patch on the right side and a 459th Congressional Wing “In Honor of Congress” patch on the right sleeve. The jacket still retains the original data label and states this is an Extra Large jacket.

- Colonel Braly’s Visor: There is a tag on the inside that states that this visor was given to a Charlie Klein in 1986. The visor is in good condition with signs of minimal wear.

- x2 WWII Pictures: The pictures are of Braly as a young officer during WWII. The one picture is an original while the other is a printed copy. Both are in great, clear condition.

- x12 Uniform Accessories: The items consist of 7 USAF uniform buttons, x2 Colonel rank insignia, x2 “US” collar devices and a blue USAF pin back name tag that says Braly.

All items are in wonderful condition and would be welcomed into any USAF collection. Comes more than ready for further research and display.

Approx. Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 11”
Shoulder to sleeve: 25”
Shoulder to shoulder: 20”
Chest width: 25"
Waist width: 24”
Hip width: 20”
Front length: 25"