Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 265:
Description
WWII USAAF Corporal’s CBI / 14th Air Force "Flying Tigers" Uniform Grouping – Model 1939 Four-Pocket Service Coat (size 38R, laundry mark H-0527), Khaki Chino Shirt, and Botany Wool Tie, with Theater-Made Shoulder Insignia, Aerial Gunner Wing, Armorer Cuff Patch, and Five-Clasp Marksmanship Badge This three-piece uniform grouping is identified only by its insignia to an unnamed USAAF Corporal who served in the China-Burma-India Theater under the 14th Air Force, the command built by Major General Claire L. Chennault around the legacy of the American Volunteer Group. Associated with LOT 313 A-2 Jacket Activated in China in March 1943, the 14th Air Force absorbed the China Air Task Force and inherited both the mission and the iconography of the original "Flying Tigers." Ground crews, armorers and aircrew serving under Chennault operated at the far end of the Allied supply chain, dependent on materiel flown "over the Hump" from India, and it became common practice for personnel in this theater to commission locally embroidered insignia from Chinese and Indian tailors as a mark of pride and unit identity – a practice vividly preserved in the hand-worked 14th Air Force shoulder patch and CBI shield present on both coat and shirt in this lot. The Model 1939 four-pocket wool service coat is the centerpiece of the grouping, its right shoulder bearing a theater-made 14th Air Force "Flying Tiger" patch and its left a hand-embroidered CBI shield, both worked in the characteristic coarse stitching of Asian tailor shops. Wool Corporal chevrons are sewn to both sleeves, and a small blue triangular bomb/armorer trade patch appears on the lower left sleeve. The left breast displays a silver aerial gunner wing above two rows of ribbon bars, including the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon, alongside a five-clasp marksmanship badge reading Expert, Carbine, Rifle, Sharpshooter and Pistol; a yellow diamond qualification patch, U.S. and branch collar discs, and an honorable discharge "ruptured duck" complete the coat’s identifying insignia. The coat interior retains a legible ink laundry mark "H-0527" and size notation "38R." The accompanying khaki cotton chino shirt repeats the theater-made 14th Air Force and CBI shoulder patches, matching Corporal chevrons, and the armorer cuff patch, while the Botany-labeled wool tie completes the set. Condition on the wool coat is very good, with strong fabric integrity, sharp stitching, and intact insignia showing only honest period wear and minor fraying at patch edges. The khaki shirt shows more pronounced age toning, surface staining and creasing consistent with theater wear and long-term storage. The tie shows only light wear. No papers or additional accessories accompany the lot. A visually striking, theater-patched CBI and 14th Air Force enlisted uniform grouping that captures, in cloth and thread, the hand-worked insignia culture unique to the Flying Tigers’ ground war over the Hump.
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