USAF 485th Tactical Missile Wing TMW Soviet Hammer and Sickle PatchBBGM-109G GLCM Florennes AB Belgium1985 (3 Inch) – Variant B1

485th TMW Hammer and Sickle (Soviet) Motif  Patch USAFE Tactical Missile Wing Florennes AB Belgium USAF BGM-109G GLCM Cold War 1985 Variant B1

This 485th TMW Hammer and Sickle variant has a lighter blue background with a brighter red tomahawk head and a Soviet hammer and sickle motif featuring a smiling cartoon missile holding a tomahawk axe manufactured after the first production run.

Validation – Tangible authentic and original

Manufacturer – Taiwan made

Manufacture – Embroidered on a darker blue twill backing with ribbing from top left to bottom right with white paper covered white single warp gauze back and white synthetic return thread, black merrowed overlocked edge

Condition – Very good, has not been sewn onto uniform

Size – 83mm diameter

Approximate Imperial Size – Three and one-quarter inches diameter

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USAF Patch USAFE 485th Tactical Missile Wing Florennes AB Belgium BGM-109G GLCM Cold War

This original 485th Tactical Missile Wing patch represents one of the most significant USAFE missile units of the Cold War. Based at Florennes Air Base, Belgium, the Wing operated the BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM), a key element of NATO’s nuclear deterrent strategy during the 1980s.

Activated on 1 August 1984, the 485th Tactical Missile Wing was established to counter the growing threat posed by Soviet SS-20 intermediate-range missiles deployed throughout the Warsaw Pact. Reporting to Seventeenth Air Force, the Wing controlled the 71st Tactical Missile Squadron and maintained forty-eight BGM-109G cruise missiles at Florennes Air Base.

The design features a USAF Ground Launched Cruise Missile together with the Soviet Hammer and Sickle symbol. This imagery reflects the Wing’s Cold War mission of deterring Soviet missile forces and maintaining NATO’s strategic balance in Europe during a period of heightened East-West tension.

During increased alert periods, missile flights could disperse from Florennes to pre-surveyed deployment locations throughout Belgium. These sites were prepared for operational launch capability and protected by extensive security measures and camouflage procedures.

The signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 1987 ultimately led to the withdrawal and destruction of all BGM-109G missiles in Europe. Following completion of the mission, the 485th Tactical Missile Wing was inactivated on 30 September 1989.

Patches from the 485th Tactical Missile Wing are highly collectible among USAFE, NATO, missile and Cold War aviation collectors. They represent a unique period in military history when Ground Launched Cruise Missiles formed a key part of NATO’s nuclear deterrent strategy in Europe.

This patch dates from 1985.

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