Life-saving Blood Chit

Combat pilots began their missions full of hope, but naturally, everyone thought about the possibility that one day they might not return to base. Pilots had to prepare for situations where they would find themselves alone in a foreign country—for example, because their plane was shot down and they had to eject, or because they emerged injured from the wreckage of a crashed plane. No officer could be expected to speak the language of every country where they were deployed. For this reason, a multi-language inscription was placed inside the pilots' jackets, identifying their nationality and asking the civilian population for help to get back to their unit as soon as possible. This text was called a Blood Chit.

The Blood Chit is not an invention of modern warfare. In 1793, the Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard demonstrated his hot-air balloon in the United States. Since he could not steer the balloon, he could not determine in advance where he would land. Because Blanchard did not speak English, George Washington wrote a letter that the traveler took with him. It stated that it was the duty of every American citizen to help Blanchard return to Philadelphia.

During World War I, pilots of the British Royal Navy in India and Mesopotamia were also given a document written in four local languages, asking for assistance so that the British soldiers could return safely to their unit.

In the US military, the multi-language Blood Chit inscription was sewn into the inside of pilot jackets. In the jackets of the legendary Flying Tigers, help was requested in Chinese for the stranded volunteer pilots. In the picture below, we can see an original inscription stained with the blood of a wounded soldier.

The text on it is as follows:

I am an American pilot. My plane is destroyed. I do not speak the language. I am an enemy of the Japanese. Please give me food and take me to the nearest allied military station. You will be rewarded.

In our webshop's selection, you can choose from several types of pilot jackets—take a look at our models.