Original U.S. WWII AAF 343rd Bombardment Squadron Patch - Ploesti Raid

Original Item. Only One available. The 343d Bomb Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 307th Operations Group. It is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.

The squadron was first activated during World War II as the 343d Bombardment Squadron. It saw combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, participating in the low level attack on oil refineries near Ploiești, Romania. It earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for its combat operations. After VE Day the squadron returned to the United States and trained with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses until inactivating in spring 1946.

This is a large and scarce squadron patch for the 343rd Bomb Squadron, depicting an owl smoking a cigar atop a cloud with a bomb to his side. This is a textbook example, with the winking eye of the owl not visible. 

The patch measures 7 ⅛” in diameter. 

Ready for further research and display.