This Buckingham Air Field T-shirt brings a distinctive piece of American aviation history back to life. The design has been carefully recreated from the pictured original, heavily worn WWII-period shirt.

The blue fabric features a cream-coloured print with the words South Florida, Buckingham Air Field and Ft. Myers, Fla. At the centre is a distinctive winged propeller, representing American military aviation and the training of thousands of wartime aircrew members.

The historically inspired artwork, gently aged appearance of the print and comfort of a modern T-shirt combine to create a wearable tribute to the men trained at Buckingham Field.

A distinctive shirt for enthusiasts of the USAAF, American military airfields, bomber crews and WWII aviation history.

Combine this T-shirt with our other historic USAAF airfield shirts and create your own collection of American flying fields.

Historical context

Buckingham Field was situated northeast of Fort Myers, Florida, and was officially activated in July 1942. Approximately 6,500 acres were acquired for the base, which eventually contained hundreds of buildings, including barracks, mess halls, a hangar and extensive medical facilities.

The airfield became an important training centre for flexible aerial gunnery. Aircrew gunners were taught to operate the movable machine guns and powered turrets used to defend American bombers. Buckingham trained an estimated 50,000 aircrew gunners, using aircraft that included the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator.

From late 1942, Buckingham also housed the Central Flexible Gunnery Instructors School. The school trained instructors, standardised gunnery procedures and supported research into aerial-gunnery techniques. After WWII, the field was returned to the City of Fort Myers in September 1945.

The design of this T-shirt is based on the pictured original example featuring the words South Florida, Buckingham Air Field and Ft. Myers, Fla. Its central winged-propeller emblem gives the shirt its distinctive American airfield appearance.

Specifications

• Historically inspired Buckingham Air Field T-shirt
• Based on an original WWII-period T-shirt
• Print: South Florida – Buckingham Air Field – Ft. Myers, Fla.
• Central winged-propeller emblem
• Blue base colour
• Cream-coloured print
• Classic crew neck
• Short sleeves
• Regular-fit unisex model
• Suitable for everyday wear, events and historic aviation collections
• Sizes: XS to 5XL
• Sizes 4XL and 5XL have an adjusted price due to higher production costs

Material: 100% cotton