AUCTIONS Poulin Fine Arts & Antiques WW2 ERA 6TH COMPOSITE GROUP FLAG.

1310J WW2 ERA 6TH COMPOSITE GROUP FLAG.

SOLD
650.00USDto floor+ buyer's premium
This item SOLD at 2023 Aug 29 @ 14:01UTC-4 : AST/EDT
Category Collectibles
Auction Currency USD
Start Price 100.00 USD
Estimated at 200.00 - 300.00 USD
3’ x 4’ double applique embroidered on blue field, gold fringe. Their unit Coat of Arms features a sailing ship going through the Gaillard Cut of the Panama Canal with a biplane overhead. Above this is a pirate and the unit’s motto in Latin, "Parati Defendere," or Ready To Defend in English. This Coat of Arms is centered in the Eagle. Based on the name on the flag, which is Army blue as the unit was part of the Army then, the flag probably dates from the 1922 designation change till redesignated in 1937 as 6th Bombardment Group. Philadelphia QM label inspection in sleeve too faded to discern. This unit began as the 3rd Observation Group in the Panama Canal Zone in September1919 as part of what would become the Army Air Service. In 1921, the unit as redesignated as the 6th Group (Observation) and the 6th Group (Composite) in 1922. In 1937 they became the 6th Bombardment Group of the Army Air Corps before changing to the 6th Bombardment Group (Medium) in 1939 and then the 6th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in 1940. The command’s primary responsibility was mainly with defense of the Panama Canal and included training, participating in maneuvers, flying patrol missions, photographing the canal area, staging aerial reviews and making good-will flights to Central and South American countries. The unit also flew mercy missions in January 1939 to earthquake victims at Santiago, Chile. They were first equipped with R-4's and DH-4's in 1919 and used SE-5A, MB-3A, and P-12B aircraft in the period 1922-1929. In 1936 they received B-10's and B-18's in 1939. They also used B-17, B-18, B-24, LB-30, and L-4E aircraft after the US entered World War II. The unit disbanded in the Canal Zone on 1 Nov 1943. In January 1944, they were reconstituted in June consolidated with 6th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy), which had been raised in March 1944 and activated in the U.S. in April. They were equipped first with B-17's and later trained for combat with B-29's. The unit moved to Tinian in the Pacific in November 1944 to February 1945 and were assigned to Twentieth Air Force. They commenced combat operations by attacking Iwo Jima and the Truk Islands in February 1945. Afterward, they struck industrial targets in Japan, flying in daylight and at high altitude. They later began incendiary raids on area targets in Japan in March and later flew a night mission to drop incendiaries on Tokyo. The unit then participated in mining operations in the Shimonoseki Strait by mining harbors in Japan and Korea in July 1945. They assisted the invasion of Okinawa in April 1945 with strikes on Kyushu, hitting airfields that were used by kamikaze pilots. After the war, they dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners and took part in show-of-force flights over Japan. The unit then moved to the Philippines in January 1946 and to the Ryukyus in June 1947. The command was inactivated on Okinawa in October 1948. Later, they were redesignated 6th Bombardment Group (Medium) and reactivated in the U.S. in New Mexico as part of the 6th Bombardment Wing in early January 1951. They were assigned to Strategic Air Command and equipped with B-29's but were inactivated again in June 1952. The unit came back again in once more in October 1996 with an air refueling mission as part of the Objective Wing structure of the 6th Air Refueling Wing. Elements deployed to Southwest Asia in July 1998 to refuel aircraft engaged in no-fly operations over northern Iraq after the first Iraq war. After January 2001, the group also provided airlift for the commanders of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. Based at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, their KC-135’s have supported US military operations all over the world including refueling coalition aircraft during the war in Bosnia. Since 2001, personnel and aircraft deployed around the world to fulfill air refueling and aeromedical missions. In the late 2010s the command consisted of three refueling squadrons and an operations support unit. CONDITION: good overall, some fraying to silk edging and ribbon panels. (02-19473-24/JS). $200-300.
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