Named WW2 8th Air Force Jacket – Dinning
Phenomenal Named WW2 8th Air Force Jacket (Richard George Dinning).
Presents in high condition, bordering on mint – this jacket has seen very little use and has no pronounced issues. WW2 type B13 jacket (produced by Woolcraft Manufacturing Company). Jacket features: English made 8th Air Force patch; Amcraft pilot wings (sterling marked); Bullion overseas stripes; and English made ribbon rack.
Jacket is unmarked but was received with the memo paper stating: “From the desk of R. G. Dinning” (as pictured). We can confirm that this jacket came out of a very high-end WW2 8th Air Force collection and the previous caretaker claimed that he received the jacket directly from the family after the passing of Capt. Dinning in 2022.
*Artifact(s) come(s) with a packet of printed research paperwork related to Richard G. Dinning – including (where available) subject’s general vital statistics/subject’s military records/additional insights into subject’s military service. [Please note that this research was performed exclusively by/for Magi Militaria utilizing subscription-based archives, database resources, and other various internet searchable sources – included research may contain records from U.S. government archives, but the information furnished in this packet was not produced via NARA/NPRC information request.]
According to our research, Captain Richard G. Dinning (SN: O-825597), a native of Flint, Michigan, served as a lead B-17 pilot with the 510th Bombardment Squadron, 351st Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force during WW2.
Per Captain Dinning’s obituary: “When he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943, Richard had never been in an airplane. He became a B-17 bomber pilot, flying 34 combat missions over Europe in World War II. After he completed his required missions, he voluntarily extended his own tour to ensure that his crew safely finished theirs. Rather than talking about his bombing runs, one of Richard’s favorite stories was about flying French POWs home after the war had ended; he said “there wasn’t a dry eye on the plane” as they crossed the border into France. For his service, Richard was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with oak leaf clusters, and the French government awarded him the Legion of Honor.”
Additional information on Richard G. Dinning’s World War 2 service may be found at the below links:
- Richard Dinning (natickveterans.com)
- “Richard Dinning Collection – Accession 1470 – M715 (771)” by Richard Dinning, World War II et al. (winthrop.edu)
An impressive named WW2 8th Air Force jacket, once belonging to an absolutely remarkable man. This is an artifact with both heroics and history in spades!