Description: WWII OP CHASTISE RAF 617 SQN DAMBUSTERS AVRO LANCASTER Thumper Mk II BOMBER #1#2#3This is a very special WWII OP CHASTISE RAF 617 SQN DAMBUSTERS AVRO LANCASTER Thumper Mk II BOMBER #1#2#3 (+ 8th AAF BOEING B-17 PATCH, the B-17 patch is included as an extra not related with the OP CHASTISE). You will receive the item as shown in the first photo. (All three items) Your original SSI shades of color may vary from different US-Made batch/location and/or PC settings. Established on 22 February 1944 by the redesignation of VIII Bomber Command at RAF High Wycombe, England, 8 AF was a United States Army Air Forces combat air force in the European Theater of World War II, engaging in operations primarily in the Northern Europe AOR; carrying out strategic bombing of enemy targets in France, the Low countries, and Germany;[2] and engaging in air-to-air fighter combat against enemy aircraft until the German capitulation in May 1945. It was the largest of the deployed combat Army Air Forces in numbers of personnel, aircraft, and equipment. During the Cold War, 8 AF was one of three Numbered Air Forces of the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command (SAC), with a three-star general headquartered at Westover AFB, Massachusetts commanding USAF strategic bombers and missiles on a global scale. Elements of 8 AF engaged in combat operations during the Korean War; Vietnam War, as well as Operation Desert Storm. The history of Eighth Air Force begins on 2 January 1942 with its activation at Savannah Air Base, Georgia. In quick order, on 5 January, Major General Carl Spaatz assumed command of HQ Eighth Air Force atBolling Field, Washington, DC. On 8 January the order activating the "U.S. Air Forces in the British Isles" (USAFBI) was announced. On 12 May, the first contingent of USAAF personnel arrived in England to join the Eighth Air Force. On 15 June, Spaatz arrived in England to establish the Headquarters of Eighth Air Force at Bushy Park, 15 miles (24 km) WSW of London/. On 4 January 1944, the B-24s and B-17s based in England flew their last mission as a subordinate part of VIII Bomber Command. On 22 February 1944, a massive reorganization of American airpower took place in Europe. VIII Bomber Command and Ninth Air Force were brought under control of a centralized headquarters for command and control of the United States Army Air Forces in Europe, theUnited States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF). VIII Bomber Command was redesignated as Eighth Air Force, with VIII Fighter and VIII Air Support Commands being brought under the command of the redesignated Eighth Air Force. This is from where the present-day Eighth Air Force's history, lineage and honors derive. General Carl Spaatz returned to England to command the USSTAF. Major General Jimmy Doolittle relinquished command of the Fifteenth Air Force to Major General Nathan F. Twining and took over command of the Eighth Air Force from Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker at RAF High Wycombe. Doolittle of course was well known to American airmen as the famous "Tokyo Raider" and former air racer. His directive was simple: 'Win the air war and isolate the battlefield'. Spaatz and Doolittle's plan was to use the US Strategic Air Forces in a series of co-ordinated raids, code-named Operation 'Argument' and supported by RAF night bombing, on the German aircraft industry at the earliest possible date. Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently publicised as the "Dam Busters",using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Sir Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Edersee Dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more were damaged. Factories and mines were also either damaged or destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians drowned: about 600 Germans and 1,000 mainly Soviet forced-labourers. The damage was mitigated by rapid repairs by the Germans, with production returning to normal in September. Number 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron, originally based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and currently based at RAF Marham in Norfolk.[2] It is commonly known as the "Dambusters", for its actions during Operation Chastise against German dams during the Second World War. In the early 21st century it operated the Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role until being disbanded in the spring of 2014. The squadron reformed on 18 April 2018, and was equipped at RAF Marham in June 2018 with the F-35B Lightning, becoming the UK's first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) squadron with this advanced V/STOL type. Operation Chastise, the destruction of the Mohne and Eder dams in north-west Germany by the RAF's 617 Squadron on the night of 16/17 May 1943, was an epic that has passed into Britain's national legend. Max Hastings grew up embracing the story, the classic 1955 movie and the memory of Guy Gibson, the 24-year-old wing-commander who led the raid. In the 21st Century, however, he urges that we should see the dambusters in much more complex shades. The aircrew's heroism was entirely real, as was the brilliance of Barnes Wallis, inventor of the `bouncing bombs'. But commanders who promised their young fliers that success could shorten the war fantasised as ruthlessly as they did about the entire bomber offensive. Some 1,400 civilians perished in the biblical floods that swept through the Mohne valley, more than half of them Russian and Polish women, slave labourers. Hastings vividly describes the evolution of Wallis' bomb, and of the squadron which broke the dams. But he also portrays in harrowing detail those swept away by the torrents.. You will receive the item as shown in the first photo. Other items in other pictures are available from my eBay Store. **IF YOU NEED ITEM OTHER THAN THE ONE IN THE 1ST PHOTO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW W/YOUR ORDER**. They will make a great addition to your SSI Shoulder Sleeve Insignia collection. You find only US Made items here, with the same LIFETIME warranty. **eBay REQUIRES ORDER BE SENT WITH TRACKING, PLEASE SELECT USPS 1ST CLASS SERVICE w/TRACKING** **eBay REQUIRES ORDER BE SENT WITH TRACKING, PLEASE SELECT USPS 1ST CLASS SERVICE w/TRACKING** We'll cover your purchase price plus shipping. FREE 30-day No-Question returnALL US-MADE PATCHES HAVE LIFETIME WARRANTYWe do not compete price with cheap import copies.Watch out for cheap import copies with cut-throat price; We beat cheap copies with Original design, US-Made Quality and customer services.Once a customer, a LIFETIME of services
Price: 24.99 USD
Location: KANDAHAR POLO CLUB
End Time: 2025-01-22T20:00:47.000Z
Shipping Cost: 3.99 USD
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Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Country of Manufacture: United States