They can be sarcastic, hilarious, mysterious and even downright intimidating. Naval aviation patches represent not only surprisingly creative and in some cases very well executed art, but they are also full of inside jokes, symbolism and historical references to the elite culture of naval aviation.
The F-14 Tomcat brought in the age of especially “diverse” and often time non-politically correct series of patches featuring the the same back-alley cat with a penchant for ending every term with “baby!” Other, like the attack community, had some downright wicked looking patches that symbolized their high-risk mission of attacking some of the most well defended targets in the world, often times in the dead of night. Helicopter squadrons had some gorgeous art that underlined the unique culture of their community.
So dig deep into the history and lore of naval aviation and show us some of the most unique, historical, striking and funny patches of all time.
Contact the author at Tyler@jalopnik.com.