If you look in the patch books you 'll find something like 18 Army Air Force command and special service arcs that were designed to be worn over the AAF branch winged-star shoulder insignia. Since most of these weren't authorized until late in W.W.II, were cancelled soon after the war, and are rarely found on uniforms I suspected for a long time that most were never worn. However, here's an example that shows at least the Personnel Distribution Command arc was worn during the period of authorization.
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This 1940 spec. overcoat was manufactured in 1942, the year that it's owner enlisted in Utica, New York. Some documents obtained with the coat show that he spent some time at Gulfport Field in Mississippi and at a base in San Antonio before being separated in January 1946.
Both patches are U.S.-made, with the arc being completely embroidered, while the AAF branch patch is an uncommon variation (note the blue separation between the feathers) machine embroidered on a thin "doeskin" type of wool. -
According to the Smith and Pelz patch book, "The Personnel Distribution Command was established and given Command status on June 1st, 1944, with headquarters at Atlantic City, New Jersey, when the Army Air Forces Redistribution Center was redesignated. The new command consolidated several redistribution centers and had the mission of interviewing, rehabilitating, and reassigning Air Force personnel returning from theaters of operations. To perform the mission, the Command was divided into three major sub-commands consisting of Redistribution Stations, Convalescent Hospitals, and Overseas Replacement Depots. Before the Command was discontinued on June 30th, 1946, it had processed approximately one million of the 1.2 million Air Force personnel who were overseas during W.W.II."Comment
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While the patches aren't sexy and the coat is one of those bulky moth attractors that most collectors hate to have clogging up the closet, this is a good example of a uniform item that should not have the insignia stripped off. For once the patches are removed, the link between the arc, the named and dated coat, and the named and dated documentation will be broken, destroying evidence of wartime use of the arc. While this may seem trivial, this forum regularly demonstrates the appalling lack of solid information we have about many aspects of this hobby and the historical record we have a hand in preserving. So, here's a plea: cut those patches loose so they'll fit nicely in a Riker mount if you must. But, please think about it long and hard before you do because you may be whacking up a piece of the puzzle that will be hard to replace.Comment
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Fascinating, thanks for sharing this information. I always thought these were stateside additions that were only in use during the immediate post war period to (I suppose) 1947.
So what is the window of use for these arc's? You say the PDC command was established in mid 1944, it is reasonable to presume that the arcs were available at that time as well?
The most common arc seems to be the "Tactical Air Command", any idea why we see more of these than any others? They also seem to be mated to very nice AAF HQ patches more frequently than not.
Paul V has a nice one in this thread:
http://www.wehrmacht-awards.net/foru...ad.php?t=59596
Accidentally offending people on the internet since 1997
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Probably the bulk of these items did indeed exist in that late 1945-1948 period, with several fairly well documented to the narrower window of 1946-47ish. The Alaska Air Command is a good example of one with well-documented dates because somebody put in for approval on the arc and we know when it was replaced with the Alaskan Air Command SSI. The PDC obviously goes back to '45, but pushing it back to 1944 would be guesswork. So, more digging!
The Tactical Air Command arc is probably somewhat common because of the size of the command (60,000 personnel by the Korean War). Compared to something like the Mobile Training Units, which was a bunch of tractor trailors roaming around the country, TAC was a monster.Comment
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