L@@K WWII 398th Bomb Group (B-17) Pilot\'s Crusher Hat & Officer\'s Ike Jacket
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L@@K WWII 398th Bomb Group (B-17) Pilot\'s Crusher Hat & Officer\'s Ike Jacket:
$527.55
Original WWII 398th Bomb Group
B-17Pilot\'sDress A Service Hat
aka \"Crusher\"Hat
Plus His Original Custom Made
\"Ike\" Style Officer\'s Jacket
This is a WWII US Army Air Forces veteran\'s Dress A service hat and short \"Ike\" style officer\'s short jacket which recently came from his wife\'s estate - he passedseveral years ago. Unfortunately, there was no family at the estate and I could find out more about him beyond his WWII service. He may have flown A-7s with the Air Force Reserve into the early 70s, but I do not know that for sure. He definitely liked the A-7 though - he had many photos and prints. I will havemore of his estateitems in later sales.
The hat is a Bancroft Flighter with an unmarked but brilliant gold/guilt Army eagle. The hat having a \"25 mission crimp\" is in fine to near very fine condition and the leather must have been treated long ago as it is flexible and has no cracks at all.
The \"Ike\" style officer\'s short jacket is unmarked as to maker, but was probably made in England and features all bullion insignia as well as DFC, Air Medal andETOCampaignribbons. It is in very fine+ condition with no issues.
A bonus to this sale will be a 398th Bomb Group Reunion baseball cap from the 1980s.
Thishat and jacket ensembleis from a WII veteran\'s estate who flew 44 combat missions in B-17s inthe ETO. He was shot down over Belgiumon his 34th mission in June of 1944, but he and his surviving crew members were rescued by locals and turned over to the approaching British Army. Upon returning to England they resumed flying and flew 10 more bombing missions.
Note: The jacket is in fine+ to near very fine condition. The 8th Air Force bullion on wool felt patch is in very fine condition.The bullion first lieutenant bars are in very fine condition. The bullion wings are in very good+ condition and the ribbons are in very fine condition.I found one tinymoth nipon the jacket.
The hat is in very good+ condition with all the staining on the sweatband one would expect of a WWII original Dress A officer\'s hat that was there on the front lines of the air war against the Luftwaffe (crusher they call them now .. back then they called it the 25 mission crimp)....The term crimp or the crush comes from removing the woven cane, leather or metal stiffener that normally is part of the hat so a set of ear phones can be worn easily over the hat while flying. The mid to late WWII guilt US Army Officer\'s eagle and shield are in excellent condition. There is no manufacturer\'s marks that I could see.It appears the underside (cardboard) stiffener that made the leather bill stiff was also removed. The leather billis very flexible and shows no signs of cracking. There are no moth holes in the chocolate wool material of the hat. I found one tinymoth nipon the jacket. Thesecond photo is with flash the rest are without. The winner of the sale will have the veteran\'s name. There are several references to his exploits on the Internet.
This sale is for an original WWII US Army Air Forces officer\'s \"Ike\" style jacket with his original Dress A service hat and everything that goes with it.The uniform jkacket and Dress A hat are absolutely original to the period of his combat service in the ETO during WWII.
Measurements
Tailor\'s sleeve length: 35\" (middle of collar at back to end of sleeve cuff)
Arm pit to arm pit: 20\"
Shoulder seam to shoulder seam: 18\"
Collar seam to shoulder seam: 6-1/2\"
Shoulder seam to end of sleeve cuff: 25-1/2\"
Top of collar to bottom of waistband at back: 23\"
Standard shipping will be $11.95 USPS via Parcel Select mail or $13.95 USPS Priority Mail expedited.
Please wait for the invoice!
Roswell Army Airfield is striving to become one of the best and most reliable sellers of unique and interesting estate and garage sale finds on . We will feature many military related items, both memorabilia and historical as well as more recent military items. You will also find non-military items listedthat we find to be unique and interesting along with a few things for the girls.
The posted picture(s) is what you will receive if you win the offerding. Clothing items may show wear from useor insect damage. Patches may have glue and scrap book paper on back. If they do I will post a photo showing that. Vintage memorabilia that is 50 to 70 years or older may have slight age/storage related issues. My carefully detailed descriptions shouldadequately explainany issues/problems with any particular itemI am selling should they exist.
Paypal is required. If you desire alternate payment methods please email me, I am pretty flexible. Credit cards are accepted through PayPal (only) at the present time.
Note, due to ever increasing shipping costs, most patches below $20 may be shipped in a plain envelope with suitable protection. Patches (over $20), metal badges, etc., will be shipped in a padded envelope. Payment must be sent within 10 days or item will be re-listed. I will combine shipping with multiple wining offers and get buyers the best price. Please note that once I mail the item, delivery is beyond my control. Almost always there will be a tracking number. There is no return on paper items such as books, magazines, etc.
To my valued future customers, I work a regular job and my work hours are 8am-5 pm making it nearly impossible to ship Tuesday through Friday. Saturday, Monday and Tuesday are my shipping days. I will try to get your items out as soon as possible, however some times 5 or 6 days may be needed to get your goods in the mail. Please, if you have some special need of overnight/2nd day shipping let me know and I will do my best to make you happy.
Attention Overseas Buyers: Please contact me about shipping rates before offerding! All items over $20 in value must be shipped by insured international methods.
\'s fees are very expensive and youcan help me keep costs down by giving top numbers in detailed seller ratings (DSRs). If you feel there is a problem just let me know before you leave response so I have a chance to resolve any issue. NM sales tax will be charged to New Mexico residents only.
I will gladly combine on the shipping but please WAIT to pay so I can easily combine your shipping total. I will happily sell to overseas buyers, but I insist (as does ) on shipping with a tracking number of some sort via priority or express. I will not declare a lower amount on the customs form! So please do not ask me to do so! I will not be responsible for thefts on overseas purchases, especially if the items shows it entered the customs process in the destination country! I welcome buyers from all over the world. Thank you for looking!
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. On Apr-10-13 at 22:22:53 PDT, seller added the following information:
Additional Information:This veteran was the aircraft commander of his B-17 meaning left seat pilot. The co-pilot almost always takes the right seat.Both the Ike jacket (BOQ dry cleaning name tag) and the crusher hat (veteran\'s first and middle initial and full last name in some type of ink or pencil on under side of bill) bear marks that indicate the veteran\'s name - they are original and date back to WWII ....I also posted a close up photo of the back side of the eagle and shield insignia (last photo). Note how bright it is (as well as the front) and this has not been polished otherwise enhanced in any way by me. There is no maker\'s mark ... but still a very, very high quality version!
L@@K WWII 398th Bomb Group (B-17) Pilot\'s Crusher Hat & Officer\'s Ike Jacket:
$527.55