Anyone recognise this tail insignia?

[Steve Birdsall]

This is the tail of 41-24353, previously Cap'n & The Kids in the 43rd Bomb Group and the 433rd Troop Carrier Group, then Miss Em', personal transport for General Robert Eichelberger. General Eichelberger last used the plane in August 1945.



The photo was taken at Chofu, Japan in December 1945 and I'm trying to identify the marking on the tail. It presumably relates to whoever was using the aircraft after General Eichelberger left it at Nichols Field in the Philippines.

It looks like an Army insignia to me, but . . . ?

[hang the expense]

Could it be a "Bunyap" which is from the 49th fg?Its hard to tell and I cant figure why it would be on a 17.The color looks right tho.Other than that I got nothing.

[Steve Birdsall]

Looks like the mystery insignia must be associated with General Robert Eichelberger because this was the tail of the B-17G that replaced 41-24353 in 1945.

[terveurn]

when I saw that, it looked like a first Army patch with the number 8 overlaid on it (8th AF??) and was wondering if it has something to do with Operation downfall.

From wikipedia - In May 1945, advance elements of First Army headquarters had returned to New York City and were preparing to redeploy to the Pacific theater of the war to prepare for Operation Coronet, the planned second phase of Operation Downfall the proposed invasion of Honshū, the main island of Japan in the spring of 1946, but the Japanese surrender in August 1945 thanks to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki terminated that effort.


https://www.google.com/search?q=first+a ... wVQkoNM%3A

[ThomasMi]

Hi All

General Eichelberger was the first commander or the Eight Army which was activated on 10 June 1944. Maybe this was a provisional emblem of the Eight Army?

A general could use a personal uniform and they were lots of them in WWII! But for the esprit de corps they use emblems of their command.

All the best

Tom