As you might have guessed, its the emblem of the 863rd Bombardment Squadron.
Combat Squadrons of the Air Force - WWII describes the emblem as:
"On a disc per fess debased, invected light blue and dark blue, within a border of equally divided rings of black and golden orange, a winged black cat, yellow face and red tongue, and white paws, riding an aerial torpedo golden orange with a shark's face and eye on nose, all emitting speed lines white, falling to a dexter base; a white cloud formation outlined in black in chief."
Sorry, I have no clue what the heraldry terms mean. but that's the 863rd BS logo. A prized posession for sure. The 863rd was an antisubmarine unit early in the war, hence the torpedo rather than a bomb. They were part of the 493rd Bombardment Group. Have you tried info at the group level?
http://www.geocities.com/gordonww/493hist.htm Also check this board under the 493rd BG forum...oops, never mind, we're here.
Ron
<message edited by Kasserine Kid on 12/03/2007 05:03:00 PM >
Son of Ron Macdonald Flying Sgt. 59th OTU RAF (Hurris & Spits, Dieppe raid), Lt. with 346thFS/350thFG North Africa (P-39s). Shot down at Kasserine. Instructor with the 1053 BFTS Randolph, 2138 BU Craig, 2532BU Randolph, & 2543 BU Waco (AT-6s & B-25s).