WWII Leather Jacket Patches

[Ztex]

My cousin loaned me two leather jacket patches that my uncle the B-24 pilot wore on his flight jacket! I scanned them to alleast save the images.
One is a painted squadron logo (783rdBS, 456thBG, 15thAF)
The other is a hand cut cartoon. I would guess this is a one of a kind patch.

Questions:
1. How can these things be best preserved? The paint is coming off of the one.

2. Are there many of these floating around?

3. Were most patches leather or cloth?

[ACarey]

My cousin loaned me two leather jacket patches that my uncle the B-24 pilot wore on his flight jacket! I scanned them to alleast save the images.
One is a painted squadron logo (783rdBS, 456thBG, 15thAF)
The other is a hand cut cartoon. I would guess this is a one of a kind patch.

Questions:
1. How can these things be best preserved? The paint is coming off of the one.

2. Are there many of these floating around?

3. Were most patches leather or cloth?

Nice patches. I don't know how to preserve them but I'd suggest contacting a preservationist at a museum. Original patches are highly collectable.

Alan

[tulsaboy]

Paint loss happens with wear and with time. It's why I think that it's a tough decision on whether or not to wear an original vintage jacket with leather patches. They don't last forever if they're being used. For instance, the below patches are both from the 765th Squadron of the 461st BG, 15th Air Force. One was on a guy's A-2 jacket that he wore throughout his service, and after as well. The other was from a guy on the same crew that never applied his to a jacket, and just stored it. The difference in condition is obvious.

[img][img]http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g204/tulsaboy/765thpatch.jpg[/img]

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Original patches from WWII are incredibly valuable, especially if they come from particular squadrons or bomb/fighter groups. There are a bunch of avid collectors out there that will pay top dollar. I'd find one of their websites to see if they have suggestions on preservation. As with most any preservation effort, you don't generally want to try to clean them, use any chemicals on them, use any abrasive pads on them, or handle them more than you have to.

kevin

[gtokid]

I believe most patches were leather and hand painted. I've gotten a few repro patches from eBay seller "aircorpscolors". He does really nice work and he's prices are very reasonable. If he doesn't have what you're looking for just ask, he can probably make it. This way you can keep your originals safe, yet still honor your favorite group or squadron.

Todd

[tom d. friedman]

try to keep the painted patch flat, in a good temperature environment, not to damp, not to dry. handle sparingly, & enjoy.

[Ztex]

Wow Kevin that unused patch is beautiful!

Thanks guys. I sure wish I could claim ownership to these patches...but at least there in the family.

This is the only leather patch I have...it is from the Korean era, form my friend that was stationed on Okinawa. As you can see it is larger than the scanner.

[sdennison]

Here's a few that my Dad did. Post war but in the style they did during the war.

[tom d. friedman]

great stuff!! also keep those patches from direct light to prevent fading

[Misterg97]

The first one is a copy of the original 533rd BS Patch. It is an embroidered patch ... part of which is chenille. I still have this original patch.

The second one is Gunnery School. It was painted on leather. The original one was worn so much that it cracked and I no longer have it






I am going to test a new embroidery process for making patches using a polyster material with special backing. While it won't be as thick as the old style, the ones that I have seen came out pretty nice.

[Jack Cook]

Chenille was very popular especially in the Pacific.
I have a original 44th FS Vampire patch made in Australia.
Saying they're valuable is a understatement. I was
offered$1500.00 for this one. I guess it's a rarity among
the already rare