775th Bomb Squadron, 463rd Group. Incised painted leather. Made in Italy.
(Note the nickname of the group honored Colonel Robert Allyn, group commander.)
(Austria - Bomb Strike Intelligence Photo Added)
The group flew a total of 156 missions in 1944 primarily against targets in Italy, Germany, Austria, Romania, Yugoslavia and Greece.
The Group’s first Unit Citation was awarded after the May 18, 1944 mission to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. Exceedingly bad weather and poor visibility caused the Air Force to send out a recall signal which was received by all bombs groups participating in the raid except the 463rd. As a result, the formation of 35 planes from the 463rd made the run on Ploesti alone. (Patches from units that participated in the Ploesti raid are especially desirable among collectors.)
