--- title: "The 17 most hardcore WWII Air Corps bomber jackets" date: "2018-04-02" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/the-best-17-wwii-air-corps-bomber-jackets/" categories: - "Air Force" - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" --- # The 17 most hardcore WWII Air Corps bomber jackets ![]() Cartoon characters with machine guns, [s]()[e]()[xy pin-ups]() riding phallic bombs, and/or -- for the more skilled -- an array of Nazi Swastikas or Japanese Rising Sun flags indicating the number of aircraft or ships destroyed . . . these are just a few of the common images worn on the backs U.S. Army Air Corps pilots, bombardiers, and navigators in World War II. --- **Whether it was for good luck, a sense of home or belonging, or just because wearing a jacket featuring Bugs Bunny Pulling Hitler's severed head out of a hat fueled stories for the grandkids, there's no doubt these jackets will always be enduring icons of a hard-fought air war.** ![]() **16. Props (see what we did there?) to this unit. This jacket looks pretty damn good for being hand painted:** ![]() **15. After 35 bombing runs, this probably says it all. TWANNGGG:** ![]() **14. Does that type look familiar? During WWII, the Walt Disney Company was much looser with its trademarks when it came to the war effort. Disney designed many of the unit and morale patches used by the Army Air Corps:** ![]() **13. Native American imagery was a popular theme, not just because this imagery was born in the Western Hemisphere and is associated with the Western U.S. and Great Plains, but also because the percentage of Natives who serve in the U.S. military is disproportionately high:** ![]() **12. Lady Liberty was every pilot's best girl:** ![]() **11. Not just an awesome jacket with great art, using German seems like a it would be a bigger F\*\*k You to Hitler and the Nazis, and it's a really funny name. Der Grossarschvogel translates to "The Big Ass Bird":** ![]() **10. John McClane preferred Roy Rogers, But the Lone Ranger is good too (Yippy Ki Yay, Motherfu\*\*er):** ![]() **9. Finally, a play on words using an aviator's term:** ![]() **8. This gets to the point faster than TWANNGGG:** ![]() **7. The award for incorporating (what would become) the Air Force song:** ![]() **6. The thing about being crazy is if you know you're crazy, then [you're not crazy]().** ![]() **5. This way, you'd always remember your crewmen's names.** ![]() **4. Who among us hasn't dated Ice Cold Katy at least once? This guy is a hero.** ![]() **3. Nice use of the Air Corps star:** ![]() **2. Ramp Tramp - n. military/aviation term for a semi-skilled or unskilled airbase flightline worker, typically a baggage handler or aircraft cleaner. Flight crew and skilled mechanics/avionics personnel would not be considered "ramp tramps." This is a nice shout out:** ![]() **1. The top spot has to go to this guy. There's no room for scantily-clad women when you're trying to work in 100 bombing runs, five Japanese aircraft kills, and 12 ships, one of them a battleship.** ![]() \[jwplatform nO7lJLka\] ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()