Help, Please. I Need Some RAF Transport Command Buttons

[rathbonemuseum]

Hello everyone. I recently purchased a nice RAF Transport Command tunic named and badged to an American. I would very much like to restore the tunic. As is sometimes the case, all the buttons have been cut off. Might you have some I could acquire in that button box of yours?

I have attached images of the tunic and the buttons I am looking for. Requires four jacket buttons and four pocket buttons.

Here is the tunic:

Here is the button:

Thanks for your help.

Tod

tod@rathbonemuseum.com

http://www.rathbonemuseum.com

[David Duxbury]

Todd,

I have never heard of RAF Transport Command buttons, and am somewhat at a loss to explain nyour SD tunic. However the button you display does conmtain the key - this is NOT and RAF button, because it it ensigned by the Astral crown rather than the soverign's crown (which was the "Imperial" crown in WW2). The use of the Astral crown (formed with stars and bird's wings) shows that this is a civilian-type uniform item (all true military and full time official services such as Police, CUstoms, etc, carry the soverign's crown). For instance the ATA of WW2 (Air Transport Auxiliary) might have worn the Astral crown, although I am not certain of this. One organization of which I do have some inside knowledge is the RNZAF Museum (I work there from time to time!) and this is NOT a military organization as such as it is controlled by a civilian-adminsutered Trust Board, although it does have military officers serving on this Board. Another interesting crown used by British and Commnwealth bodies is the Naval crown (formed from views of ships!) which is used to ensign Naval badges, among other duties!

Nevertheless your tunic seems very similar to the normal RAF officer tunic of WW2, with 4 normal fromt buttons, and breast pockets with inverted box pleats. However the pilot badge is interesting as it is NOT and RAF badge, and does look somewhat like the ATA badge, although their uniform is black! So what do the letters on this badge read? Lii,m forward to your reply.

David Duxbury

Hello everyone. I recently purchased a nice RAF Transport Command tunic named and badged to an American. I would very much like to restore the tunic. As is sometimes the case, all the buttons have been cut off. Might you have some I could acquire in that button box of yours?

I have attached images of the tunic and the buttons I am looking for. Requires four jacket buttons and four pocket buttons.

Here is the tunic:

Here is the button:

Thanks for your help.

Tod

tod@rathbonemuseum.com

http://www.rathbonemuseum.com

[rathbonemuseum]

Doug,

The RAF Transport Command originally started service as the RAF Ferry Command which started as the RAF Atlantic Ferry Service. As the name infers, this was a service to ferry planes from the US and Canada to Great Britain. It was made an RAF command in July 1941. In 1943, the Ferry Command was subsumed into a larger, global Transport Command, not unlike the U.S. Air Transport Command. The original mission of the Ferry Command, that of ferrying airplanes across the Atlantic, was now contained within 45 Air Transport Group. The use of the Astral Crown is consistent with the use of the Tudor crown versus Astral crown in the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy. The Ferry Command and Transport command were under RAF command, but most of the pilots were contract civilians. The majority were not commissioned RAF personnel as far as I know.

This is different from the ATA, or Air Transport Auxiliary, which was a true civilian volunteer auxiliary service. It worked with the RAF but at the behest of aviation manufacturers in Britain, like De Havilland. It was there job to deliver planes from the factories to bases. Uniquely, women were allowed to fly in the ATA.

Which brings us the wing. Under the RAF in the wing it says A.T.G.45, which stands for Air Transport Group 45, which as mentioned above, was the group after 1943 that ferried aircraft across the Atlantic. This particular tunic belonged to an American by the name of R. W. Ainsley. I believe this the same as Raymond W. Ainsley who lived in San Diego and passed away in 1994. I have contacted his widow to see if she can shed any light on his career.

The button I picture is from another Air Transport Command tunic, a summer one, owned by a friend.

Now if I could only find some buttons!