Description
The round, leather patch would have been sewn onto a flight jacket and is painted with ATC’s emblem, a stylized wing and globe. It belonged to Joseph J. Mike, a pilot who flew the “Hump” airlift route in WWII.
During WWII, the Air Transport Command (ATC) was given the responsibilities of ferrying aircraft within the U.S. and to destinations outside the U.S., operation and maintenance of facilities on air routes outside the U.S., and the transportation of personnel, cargo, and mail. By the end of the war, ATC had established air routes all over the world, some in places aircraft had never been. By July 1945 ATC had carried 275,000 passengers and 100,000 tons of mail and cargo.
In 1948, ATC became the Military Air Transport Service (MATS).
Question about this artifact? Email the Collections Manager, Hal Sellars.
Every artifact in the Air Mobility Command Museum, including this one, is part of the United States Air Force Heritage Program. We are not able to loan artifacts in the museum's collection.