This is the well-named pinks and greens and crusher cap of Captain Jack Watson, 358th Bomb Squadron, 303 Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. Watson is credited with 31 missions as crew or pilot of B-17’s including Hel’en Hiwater, Meat Hound and Wanton Woman. The group consists of his named Ike jacket with lead pilot blue wing background, bullion Captain rank and US and Air Corps insignia, also has Presidential unit citation. Left sleeve has English made Air Corps patch and 4 overseas stripes in gold lace. Matching shirt and pants are in very good condition with shirt having basic Air Corps patch on left sleeve. Shirt is missing 1 button. Pants are clearly named, shirt is not named but matches pants. Crusher cap is of very high quality and is marked by military outfitter on sweatband. The jacket and hat show age and wear from period use but remain in very good condition. This group came from an older collector that had purchased it from the family many years ago.
Captain Watson, an Indianapolis native, has a storied history during World War 2:
After training and upon reaching the New York City area on their way to Bangor, Maine, the crews remembered that the opening game of the 1943 World Series, New York Yankees vs St. Louis Cardinals was being played at Yankee Stadium. The four crews then decided to buzz Yankee Stadium led by 2nd Lt Watson. The low-level buzzing incurred the wrath of New York City Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia who demanded that the Pilots be grounded and subjected to a court-martial. Due to their training and essential knowledge, they were questioned at Bangor, Maine with no grounding but fines of several hundred dollars were levied.
11 January 1944 to Oschersleben, Germany in B-17G #42-29524 Meat Hound, was last seen by other crews with two feathered props at 1329 hours on a heading of 270 degrees at 15,000 feet. The crew, with the exception of 2Lt Watson, bailed out over Zuider Zee, Holland. Four landed in the water and drowned, 2nd Lt Clayton David evaded capture and four became POWs. 2nd Lt J.W. Watson, after his crew had bailed out, decided to attempt to fly his badly damaged B-17 back to England alone. With two engines still ablaze, the left elevator shot off and a shattered connection between one wing section and the fuselage Lt Watson brought his B-17 down through an overcast and crashed landed his damaged B-17 at the 353rd Fighter Group P-47 airfield at Metfield, England. It took the emergency fire crew over two hours to put out the fires on the B-17.
The photos attached show the World Series flyover and Meat Hound after it crash landed at Metfield.
A historic grouping of a B-17 lead pilot who survived 31 missions over Germany.
