Material: Embroidered cotton or silk thread on wool or cotton twill backing
Size: 75mm
Description: This uniform shoulder patch features a multi-layered design fully embroidered with cotton thread on a circular, dark cobalt-blue wool matrix. The upper section displays a stylized globe mapped out with white latitude and longitude grid lines, overlaid with the large white numeral "20" centered at the top. Symmetrically cradling the globe are two highly detailed, swept-back golden wings. The wings emerge from a vibrant, five-pointed white star at the absolute base, which is finished with a bold red central disc to complete the classic United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) national star insignia pattern.
Circa: 1944–1945
Notes:
The 20th Air Force holds an legendary place in global military history as a strategic heavy bombardment force explicitly established during World War II to operate the advanced Boeing B-29 Superfortress fleets. Operating primarily out of remote island bases in the Mariana Islands, including Tinian, Saipan, and Guam, this massive unit executed the sustained strategic bombing campaign against the Japanese mainland. Most famously, B-29 bombers serving directly under the 20th Air Force command carried out the atomic bomb deployments over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, ultimately leading to the formal conclusion of the war.