What group or division (or whatever) did the shoulder patch on the left shoulder of many of the flyers designate?
It was a 3-pronged swept propeller-shaped design inside a circle.
Couldn't find it specifically during my Google search.
It was the patch of the U.S. Army Air Force at the time, which soon after the raid was changed to the more familiar wings and star on a blue field. The reason they did not have a specific unit patch is due the secrecy, but mostly briefness of the mission.
shareIn a book I have about the raid, there's a photo of each crew on the Hornet. Some of the pilots have unit patches on the front pocket of their leather bomber jackets. However, that was merely the crest of the unit they'd been serving in prior to the mission.
Doolittle selected volunteers from their separate units and, I suppose, they were officially detached for the raid. However, Doolittle's crews did not comprise a new unit with its own patch or anything, as they were to be flying together only for that one specific mission. After returning to the United States, all the flyers were reassigned to new units (or possibly sent back to their old units) as soon as they were able (and presumably after some leave).
The insignia worn on the left shoulder of the uniform was for the "General Headquarters, United States Army Air Forces"......
http://www.usafpatches.com/photo/displayimage.php?album=251&pos=57
The patches worn on the left breast of the A-2 flight jackets typically represented the individual squadrons from which those personnel volunteering for the raid had previously been assigned to.
Six Actual......OUT!
Extra information in addition to that already posted.
The patch was indeed that of the GHQ Air Force. It was the first patch authorized for Air Corps wear (1937). GHQ Air Force was a unified combat command of all air groups stationed in the continental United States, the first in Air Force history not under control of ground forces commanders. In 1941 the Air Corps became the Army Air Forces. GHQ Air Force changed its name to Air Force Combat Command and retained the patch, whose design is called a triskelion. It was blue on orange/gold, and was replaced after March 1942 (about the time of the movie) by the more familiar Hap Arnold (winged star) patch. The patches of the numbered air forces (such as 8th AF) were not authorized for another year.
The movie's script reflects some wartime security measures. Shorty Manch says he came from Minneapolis, Lawson says he came from Columbia, South Carolina, and two others act like old buddies who haven't seen each other in a long time. In fact all the volunteers came from one unit, the 17th Bomb Group. It had been the first medium bomber group, the first to receive the B-25, and had the most experienced B-25 crews in the Air Force, and all volunteers came from its four squadrons. The movie used the actual names of the characters (compare to They Were Expendable in which all the characters were fictionalized). The 17th BG had moved from Pendleton, Oregon, where it had trained since June 41, to Columbia in February 42 to train for the Doolittle mission. Its B-25s were modified in Minneapolis, then flown to Eglin, hence all the references in the film.
During the raid, 11 of the 80 crew members were killed or captured. Of the remainder, 28 stayed in China and flew missions for a year. 19 others came home, went to new units, and flew combat in North Africa before the end of the year. (Ultimately 12 more died during the war in addition to the 7 as a result of the raid). None went back to the 17th, which had changed to a B-26 Marauder outfit in the meantime. Sad to say, but Robert Mitchum's character Bob Gray was one of those killed in action before 1942 ended.
Gen. Doolittle wore the patch for WRIGHT FIELD on his A-2 during the raid (can readily be seen in his crew photo taken on the Hornet). This patch was worn by test pilots from this famous Army Air Corps base in Dayton Ohio. Spencer Tracy also wore it in the film.
shareSome of the crew members wore their squadron patches on their A-2's. The squadrons were the 34th Bomb Squadron, 37th Bomb Squadron, 95th Bomb Squadron and 89th Reconnaissance Squadron. Doolittle's jacket bore the insignia of the Flight Test Division at Wright Field, Ohio.
"It's a hard country, kid."