A-2 field mods: Did they happen?

[Fletch]

Has anybody seen, close up or in photos, an A-2 jacket that was modified in the field/theater - beyond the occasional fur collar or map pockets?

I'm curious how likely it would have been for an airman whose jacket bound him around the shoulders to have gussets or suchlike put in.

Nonleather clothing was altered all the time - cutdown Class A blouses and the like. Leather was in short supply but there may now and then have been a basket case jacket around.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Has anybody seen, close up or in photos, an A-2 jacket that was modified in the field/theater - beyond the occasional fur collar or map pockets?

I'm curious how likely it would have been for an airman whose jacket bound him around the shoulders to have gussets or suchlike put in.

Nonleather clothing was altered all the time - cutdown Class A blouses and the like. Leather was in short supply but there may now and then have been a basket case jacket around.

You see some photographs of jackets that seem to be in good condition but which have had the cuffs removed. I'm not sure if this was done because they had become ragged or for some other reason, like fit or movement.

Alan

 

[Edward]

INEB*... I did read somewhere that once the elastic in the cuffs stretched to the point where it didn't keep the breeze as intended any longer, they were often removed. I can see that being done if the jacket as issued was a little long in the sleeve for the wearer.



*I'm No Expert But

 

[Feraud]

What other practical field modifications could we look for in such a jacket?
We noted removing the cuffs but would adding gussets be something practical? What else could have been done to an a2?

 

[Alan Eardley]

What other practical field modifications could we look for in such a jacket?
We noted removing the cuffs but would adding gussets be something practical? What else could have been done to an a2?

I once saw a photograph of an A-2 that had new eppaulettes fitted, closing with snaps like a bike jacket. Possibly done post-war, I suspect.

Alan

 

[Spitfire]

I have seen photos of Luftwaffe officers with A2's with added german officers eppaulettes, ironcross'es, metal Luftwaffe eagles etc.
But I guesse it doesn't realy count.

 

[Edward]

I've never seen any pictures of it happening among the Luftwaffe (or the RAF, for that matter), but I'd love to see what Luftwaffe jacket / nosecone are would have been like.... would it really have been all that different from what the USAAF boys wore? After all, probably most of the men on both sides had as much in common as they lacked as people. I sauppose the popular stereotype is that the Luftwaffe would have been much stricter on uniform rules, but then if they were allowing private purchase leather jackets for some years before any were issued.....

 

[Fletch]

No it doesn't count. Just booty from POWs. German airmen had to buy jackets. Later in the war they probably were none to be bought.

I guess what I'm wondering is if anybody's actually owned or inspected an A-2 that had anything done to it that looked like a work-around for tight arms or shoulders.

 

[Grit]

Can't say that I've seen a mod involving tight sleeves or shoulders. IMO that's a pretty serious mod, bordering on tailoring. I doubt many guys would have access to that sort of talent. The most common fix, probably, is going up one jacket size--something that seems to be supported by the myriad degrees of fit you see in period photos.

About the most extensive mod I've seen (in a book) was making a new lining out of an officer's shirt. The shirt was sewn in inside out, so the shirt pockets became jacket inside pockets. I always liked that, I plan on doing this when the inevitable happens and I wear through a liner.

 

[Raymundo]

During WWII some AAF aces had red silk linings sewn into their A-2 jackets. I saw a picture of one. After the war, Airmen were sending their A-2 jackets to tailors in the Middle East and Far East for alterations that included sleeve length, adding or subtracting leather to the chest and waist, inside and side pockets, silk linings, etc. So there were many and varied alterations to A-2s. I used to own an A-2 that was modified by a tailor in Turkey. Many Air Crews sent their jackets to him for custom features.

Ray

 

[Fletch]

Were there no tailors in (say) England or Italy that would mod a jacket for fliers stationed there during the war?

Or were mods like extra panels, handwarmers, etc pretty much forbidden by regulations until the A-2 was no longer an issue item?

I like that shirt lining idea. I seam-ripped a flap pocket off a twill shirt once, sewed up the buttonhole, put on a snap and handsewed it onto the liner of a jacket. Not the neatest looking job ever (far from it in fact), but it worked.

About the de-cuffing: The Aero Scotland folks claim this was the practice of gunners, who had to have free movement of bent arms, which some A-2 fits don't allow for. Taking off the cuffs would let the sleeves pull up more freely and relieve some tightness. I hope they at least had the base tailor do a sturdy hem.

 

[Edward]

During WWII some AAF aces had red silk linings sewn into their A-2 jackets. I saw a picture of one.

I read on one of the repro manufacturers' sites (can't remember which one) that this was permitted (or maybe this was just "tradition") to have the lining redone in red following a fifth confirmed kill?