WWII US Army 5th Air Force Jacket Patch

A scarce 5th USAAF Flying Jacket patch. Australian made, embroidered on wool with a cotton cloth backing, with age and service wear. A small nip on the edge at 10 O’clock.

Large size at 4 1/2”

Fifth Air Force (5 AF) activated for the first time in its history as the Philippine Department Air Force at Nichols Field, Philippines, in September 1941. The following month the organization underwent a re-designation that reflected a wider area of responsibility in the region: Far East Air Force (FEAF).

FEAF immediately experienced its baptism by fire in December 1941, only a few hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, had drawn the U.S. into World War II. The enemy forces’ strike on the Philippines was also a surprise attack that caught all U.S. forces on the islands flat-footed, destroying most FEAF aircraft on the ground before they could be deployed against the invaders. However, some FEAF aviators succeeded in becoming airborne and engaged enemy fighters, helping to slow the Japanese advance on the Philippines and thereby enabling many Allied forces to withdraw south to the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) and Australia.

FEAF headquarters relocated briefly to Australia, then Java, and back to Australia as the Japanese war machine pressed forward and expanded the boundaries of its empire. On Feb. 5, 1942, FEAF received its numerical designation, becoming “5 Air Force” and then “Fifth Air Force” September 18 while under the command of Lt. Gen. George C. Kenney. By this time, Fifth Air Force and other Allied air, land, and sea forces had stalled the enemy juggernaut and subsequently began the long counteroffensive to liberate the Southwest Pacific region from the Japanese.

Code: 57941