816th Bomb Squadron, 483rd Group. Italian-made. Painted, incised leather.
The 483rd Bombardment Group (H) was a B-17 group that fought with the Fifteenth Air Force in Italy from April 1944 to April 1945. Combat records include:
1. Most enemy aircraft destroyed by a B-17 on one mission by one crew
2. Most Me-262 jets destroyed on one mission by one crew
3. Most Me-262 jets destroyed by one gunner on one mission
4. The B-17 with the greatest number of ‘flak’ from combat action to return to an operating base
5. The most decorated combat crew for one mission in Air Force history where each of 10 crew members was awarded a Silver Star, and four wounded members, the Purple Heart Medal
6. The most jets destroyed by one Group during the entire war
