Measuring about 6 inches wide, this insignia is painted on brown leather, featuring an angry bulldog in an aviator cap superimposed over an airplane and a set of three falling bombs, the World War II era insignia of the 512th Fighter-Bomber Squadron. First organized in 1943 as the 628th Bombardment Squadron and redesignated as the 512th before the end of the year, the Squadron operated P-47 Thunderbolts in Europe. They would spend the lead-up to D-Day and the day itself on dive bomber and armed reconnaissance duty, striking targets south of the beaches, as well as providing similar support for the breakout in Operation Cobra. After moving into France themselves, the Squadron continued on in the same vein, supporting the advance, assaulting retreating German forces, including around Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, the Ruhr Valley, and the Rhine before settling in for occupation duty. Inactivated in 1946, the 512th would be reactivated multiple times during the Cold War, chiefly for operations in and around West Germany, going inactive the last time in 1994, though they would retire Andy in favor of a dragon on their insignia before then. The bulldog on the patch is modeled after Andy, a bulldog adopted by an officer of the unit in England and transported to France on the shoulders of one of the pilots; an included 1991 dated letter from Doctor E.A Knowlton relates what he recalls of Andy, including his last recorded status as having been happily adopted by a German host family near Nordholz Air Base. The letter notes a group of included pictures, including one identified by Knowlton as himself, wearing a jacket featuring Andy (noted as the only picture he had showing the insignia), pictures of Andy's original owner Lieutenant Tomlinson (both with Andy and with his Thunderbolt), and some of Andy himself standing atop a car roof. Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection

Very good. The leather is solid, with the paint showing a few scuffs and cracks overall but generally solid and bright. The pictures are in good condition.