| Before the United States entered WWII, eager
American pilots flew Spitfires in the Royal Air Force Eagle Squadrons. The RAF’s
Seventy-one Squadron became the USAAF 334th Fighter Squadron in 1942, but kept
their Spitfires. In 1943 they transitioned to P-47 Thunderbolts and later to the P-51.
The 334th flew in the 4th Fighter Group of the 8th Air Force.
The 334th accounted for 395 kills
against the Luftwaffe, and later flew F-86 Sabres in Korea,
destroying 142 enemy aircraft. It flew F-105 Thunderchiefs in
Vietnam and F-15 Eagles in Operation Southern Watch, patrolling
the no-fly zone in Iraq.
We've screened the "Boxing Eagle"
on natural tooling leather just as worn by some of the 334th
pilots in England. It is an exact duplicate of an original patch,
down to the most minute detail. |
|
Size
|
5 inches (12.5 cm) diameter |
|
Materials
|
Screened on natural tooling leather |
|
