Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 298:
Description
WWII 12th Army Air Force Officer’s Custom-Tailored ‘Ike’ Jacket with Bullion Pilot Wings, Ribbon Bar, Pink Trousers, Shirt and Tie This lot presents a complete World War II US Army Air Forces officer’s dress ensemble, tailored in the distinctive ‘Pinks and Greens’ combination favored by aviators of the 12th Air Force in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. The short, waist-length service jacket bears a bullion pilot’s wing, the 12th Air Force shoulder patch, U.S. and winged-propeller officer collar insignia, and a three-place ribbon bar comprising the Air Medal, EAME Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, and WWII Victory Medal – a combination consistent with a rated aviator who served in-theater during the North African, Sicilian, or Italian campaigns. No wearer’s name or service record accompanies the uniform, and no separate published biography has been located; its story rests entirely in the insignia, campaign stars, and tailoring preserved on the garment itself. The Twelfth Air Force was activated in 1942 to support Operation Torch and the subsequent Allied advance through North Africa, later providing close air support and interdiction over Sicily and the Italian mainland through 1943-1945. Officers serving in that theater, taking their cue from British battledress and General Eisenhower’s own short field jacket, frequently had regulation four-pocket service coats recut by post or local tailors into the trim, waist-length ‘Ike’ silhouette well before the pattern was standardized Army-wide in 1944. The two bronze service stars mounted on the EAME ribbon here denote credited participation in two campaigns or major operations, pointing to sustained combat service in the Mediterranean air war rather than a single engagement. The jacket is a converted Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot four-pocket OD elastique service coat, its surviving label reading ‘Uniforms, Service, Officer’s, Two Piece O.D., Dark (Coat), Elastique, ‘ size 36R, Tentative Spec. P.Q.D. No. 149B, dated November 4, 1942, subsequently cut down and belted at the waist in the ‘Ike’ manner. The bullion pilot wings show honest tarnish with minor edge fraying consistent with age and wear, mounted above the intact ribbon bar; the 12th Air Force patch and collar devices remain crisp and firmly secured. Accompanying the jacket are matching officer’s ‘pink’ wool trousers with belt loops and slash pockets, a khaki Regulation Army Officer’s Shirt (label reading size 15-33, marked ‘Dry Clean’), and a matching khaki necktie, shown knotted at the collar in the photographs. Condition throughout is very good for the period: the wool elastique jacket retains crisp structure with only light age toning to the wool, and the trousers and shirt show minor creasing and surface storage wear with labels and buttons intact. A handsome, well-assembled 12th Air Force officer’s uniform grouping whose 1942-dated, tailor-cut jacket and bullion wings capture the dashing ‘pinks and greens’ look prized by USAAF aviators in the Mediterranean skies of World War II.
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