Original U.S. WWII B-17 “Speedball” Sole Survivor & Prisoner of War Co-Pilot Lt. Kenneth L. Vaughn Patched A2 Flight Jacket - 511th Bomb Squadron

Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is the patched A-2 Flight Jacket of Prisoner of War & Co-Pilot Lieutenant Kenneth L. Vaughn, 511th Bombardment Squadron, 351st Bombardment Group, who served aboard the B-17 “Speedball” during his 8th overall mission when the aircraft was shot down, forced to make a crash landing at Bordeaux, France on December 31st, 1943. According to a newspaper clipping in the pocket, Vaughn was the only one of his crew to survive the crash, and he was taken prisoner by the Germans, spending 16 months in a POW camp. The jacket has Vaughn’s name tag, patches for his squadron and group, and the back of the jacket has an extremely worn painted circle, which may have been noseart from one of his B-17s. 

The jacket comes with some printed research including a newspaper clipping showing that his Air Medal was presented to his wife while he was a POW, and a list of his 10 missions (2 were aborted) including bombing locations and crew lists.

The jacket no longer has a tag, and likely had its lining replaced during the period, but there is heavy sweat-staining across it. On the left breast is his nametag, K.L. VAUGHN, and under this is a patch for the 351st Bombardment Group, depiction an eagle dropping two bombs. On the right breast is a patch for the 511th Bombardment Squadron, depicting a baseball with wings over a bomb. There is also an AAF decal on the shoulder, with heavy wear and cracking to the paint. The group patch and nametag show old stitch marks underneath and to the sides, showing that this jacket was more than likely reissued during its life, probably issued to Vaughn after he was released from the POW camps. 

The zipper, marked TALON, appears to have been restitched, as the stitching glows under blacklight. However, neither of the patches nor any of its stitching glows, nor does the nametag or its stitching.

The knit cuffs & waistband are original and in fair condition with some tearing. In one of the pockets was a large map of Munchen, which is dated 1942 and has some very small annotations that look like they could’ve been done during the period. 

A very interesting A-2 jacket with good research potential. Ready for further research and display.