"KINGBEE"
418th NIGHT FIGHTER SQDN.
5th AAF
MULTI-LAYERED LEATHER CHEST PATCH
(for the A2 Flight Jacket or Flight Suit)

New-made facsimile

+ This particular Night Fighter Squadrons, the 418th, was the FIRST to be deployed against the Empire of Japan. The Night Fighting Squadrons were the first 'stealth' units!
+ This is a stunning, accurate, complex, hand-sewn recreation of the theater-made multi-layered LEATHER CHEST PATCH depicting the "KIngbee" worn by 418th Night Fighter Squadron  This is not a printed canvas patch! This is suitable for wear on a horsehide A2 Flight Jacket or one of the several summer weight Flying Suits:
  • Suit, Summer, Flying, AN-6550 (OD gabardine or tan cotton, replaced the A-4 in 1943)
  • Suit, Flying, Very Light, Cotton Twill, Type K-1 (khaki cotton)
  • Suit, Flying, Light, Type L-1 and L-1B (OD gabardine)


    • + Design:
    "Kingbee” Official Squadron emblem.
    Over and through a blue-green disk, a king bee black and golden
    orange, wearing a red crown, holding aloft a lighted lantern proper
    with the right foreleg, representing RADAR, and grasping a gray
    machine gun in the left foreleg, representing ARMAMENT, tip-toeing
    across a white cloud formation in base at night, and peering
    over the edge with a look of ferocity on his face: a crescent moon
    and two stars of yellow in background.
    (Approved 11 October 1943)

    + Dimensions:  6" x 7"

    + Never sewn to an A2 Flight Jacket, Flight Suit, or pasted in an album.

    + Exquisitely crafted by a consummate artist here in the States. This is NOT as Asian import!

    + Multi-layered, hand-sewn, hand-detailed of 9 different shades (Russet, Red, Yellow, Orange, Gray, Midnight Blue, Light Blue, Black and White) of fine glove leathers and at least 3 different shades of thread of top-stitched details to render the "Kingbee" mascot's face, pupils of his eyes, his antennae, the rays from his lantern and veins of his wings and 50 cal. MG, with an actual 'perforated jacket' on the barrel!
    ,
    + Very high-count stitch-per-inch! Precise hand-stitching of additional details.

    + The artisan/creator of this superb multi-leather facsimile describes this particular patch:

    "Stepping up the game these days with this 418th Night Fighter Squadron Patch. Certain details like flexibility is considered from step one now and leather prepping changed accordingly. I also change the patina (Special Sauce) to a neutral mixture that maintains the original colors without changing them. Notice how all colors in this patch harmonize. The result is a very authentic looking patina and muted / subdued colors that still grab attention like a Las Vegas marquee. Nothing looks better on a leather jacket than a leather patch, and mine are eye catching conversation starters. You'll find nothing else worldwide that compares to the 3-dimensional qualities and attention to detail. I provide patches to the finest reproduction Flight Jacket manufacturers worldwide. Including Goodwear Leather Clothing Company, Eastman Leather Clothing, Bill Kelso, and U.S. Wings."

    *****
    History of the 418th Night Fighter Squadron: 

    The 418th Night Fighter Squadron was the first Squadron to be deployed in the Pacific during
    World War II     from the Night Fighter training program. During the almost two years of combat
    operations, as part of the U.S. Army Air Forces 5th Air Force, beginning in November 1943, aircraft
    flown by the Squadron were the P-70, P-38, B-25, and P-61. Operations included attacking and sinking
    enemy shipping, attacks on enemy air fields, local base defensive night patrol, night protective cover
    over convoys and beachheads, and night intruder missions over enemy territory, in all kinds of weather.
    The 418th, along with other Night Fighter Squadrons, played a crucial role in taking the night sky back
    from the enemy and reaching victory in World War II.

    *****
    posted May 7, 2017 on MF by "walika"

    418th Night Fighter Squadron | 5th AAF | CBI

    LINEAGE. Constituted 418th Night Fighter Squadron on 17 Mar 1943. Activated on 1 Apr 1943. Inactivated on 20 Feb 1947.

    ASSIGNMENTS. Air Defense Department, AAF School of Applied Tactics, 1 Apr 1943 (attached to 481st Night Fighter Operational Training Group, 17 Jul-25 Sep 1943); V Fighter Command, c. 15 Nov 194.3 (attached to First Air Task Force, 22 Nov 1943, 308th Bombardment Wing, 1 Feb 1944; 310th Bombardment Wing, c. 15 May 1944; Thirteenth Air Force, 10 Nov 1944; 310th Bombardment Wing, 26 Dec 1944-30 Jan 1945; 308th Bombardment Wing, 9-c. 30 Jul 1945.

    STATIONS. Orlando, Fla, 1 Apr 1943; Kissimmee AAFM, Fla, 21 Aug-25 Sep 1943; Milne Bay, New Guinea, 2 Nov 1943; Dobodura, New Guinea, 22 Nov 1943; Finschhafen, New Guinea, 28 Mar 1944; Hollandia, New Guinea, 12 May 194.4; Owi, Schouten Islands, 16 Sep 1944; Morotai, 5 Oct 194.4 (ground echelon at Dulag, Leyte, 14-30 Nov 1944, and at San Jose, Mindoro, 15-26 Dec 1944); San Jose, Mindoro, 26 Dec 1944; Okinawa, 9 Jul 1945.

    AIRCRAFT. 

    P-70, 1943-1944 (the "Nighthawk):

    P-38, 1943-1944 (the "Lightning," or "the fork-tailed devil," according to the Japanese);

    B-25, 1944-1945 (the "Mitchell");

    P-61, 1944- 1945 (the "Black Widow).

    OPERATIONS.     Combat in Southwest and Western Pacific, 2 Jan 1944-14 Aug 1945.

     

    CAMPAIGNS. 

    Air Offensive, Japan; 

    New Guinea; 

    Bismarck Archipelago; 

    Western Pacific; Leyte; 

    Luzon with Arrowhead; 

    Southern Philippines; 

    Ryukyus; 

    China Offensive.