AN 6552 or what

[SPLINTER]

Hi everyone ,
Just been browsing Ebay.com and I stumbled across this flight jacket for sale. The seller has offered me it at a very good price and I would be interested if it turned out to be what it possibly could be.
eBay item number:
203025858851
Vintage WWII USN M-422a G-1 Flight Jacket S Small Mens Goatskin Leather Bomber
I thought possibly it would make a nice little restoration project if I knew what it was . The seller sent me an image of the label which is unreadable but you can just make out the ghost outline of the contract number which reads
N 288s24333
now this suggests its a Bogen and Tenenbaum AN 6552 but I could be hugely wrong .

Can anyone of you " experts " help to possibly identify this jacket as even the label does not seem to match the Bogen and Tenenbaum labels that I've looked at.
Thanks to everyone in advance --- just a little fun to see what it could be.

 

[nick123]

"BOGEN & TENENBAUM Contract No. N 288s24333 AN 6552"

Source-
https://www.vintageleatherjackets.org/threads/g-1-contracts.6533/

It's an AN-6552. Here's one from the same contract (but different colored lining) listed here a while back.

Source+more photos
https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/bogen-tenenbaum.90564/

 

[Edward]

Could have been a re-lining with the label reinstalled later on? I've only ever seen the brown in a G1 before; all AN6552s I've seen had red.

 

[nick123]

Could have been a re-lining with the label reinstalled later on? I've only ever seen the brown in a G1 before; all AN6552s I've seen had red.

They came in both colors. Here's a W&G I used to own.

 

[Edward]

They came in both colors. Here's a W&G I used to own.

View attachment 243969
View attachment 243970

Interesting! I assume the switch was down to cost / avaiability, but I wonder did it also come later on after the red, thus leading to the brown with the G1?

 

[SPLINTER]

Hi Everyone,
I very much appreciate the help.
Just out of curiosity , I read somewhere that there was an order of 200 An6552's requested for the 23rd fighter group by Chenannault after the AVG disbanded. Don't know if this is fact but I did read it somewhere.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Apologies in advance for this slight detour: All I can tell you is there is a wreckovation vs. a restoration, and sometimes you have to know the lines...I honestly love love love a nice worn out jacket, there's nothing in the world like it. So if you do invest. I'd love to see more photos. Just want to share with you what I've learned over the years collecting and working on Jackets is that before you touch the jacket, wait...seriously it can wait...it took years to get worn in and worn out...and you should spend just as much time gradually restoring the thing, it takes a lot of patience and you can't rush art/ let the piece speak to you, learn it's individual character and voice...The last project of mine was ready for the trash bin, I've left it alone and worn it like that like a guilty pleasure...Wear that jacket like it is until you begin to take on the dreams of the person who wore it before. This may sound strange but eventually the jacket will tell you what it wants from you. I left the oil from this one. It gets air and sun from riding my motorbike, it gets a few drops of rain (I mean a few drops, not a shower!) just to give it some ply instead which leaves the leather more natural and doesn't affect the hue of the patina as such, leave it nice...I've left the liner all ratty and frayed and it loves me for it. The patina is absolutely that of a jacket that had Years of seat time in a russian fighter Jet, I've lovingly restored a chunk out of the left cuff where the throttle control took some chunks out of it only to hold it together for more useful lifespan..only to keep the rest of the splits from cracking and falling apart any more, the thing is perfection and when you have something so perfect it's a wonderful feeling. Other than that I've re-sewn by hand some of the busted stitching on the back seams.

 

[SPLINTER]

Hi everyone
Well the jacket arrived today and I’d like any of you experts to help confirm that it is indeed an AN 6552. The contract number suggests it is but I’ve noticed that the stitching for the hanger is through the neckline and on other B and T’s the stitching is below the collar joint . I wonder if the shape of the neck strap can help to Id it . There is a very faint U S stamp to the rh side of the collar . Once again thanks in advance .

 

[Dumpster Diver]

All I can say is That's practically NOS condition!...the cracked and missing bits off the collar just happen because of Age I would say, the fleece looks like it's matted from storage but otherwise not shrunk like it's been sweated or matted down through daily wear...I mean it's been worn, but It's barely worn at all.

 

[SPLINTER]

Its in much better condition than I expected ---- the leather is in excellent condition. The zipper appears to have been replaced with a one that is a little short and the puller has been replaced . Overall I'm very happy with it . Its a little too small to wear but a nice addition to my other jackets. Are Bogen and Tenenbaum the only makers that used a single ply waistband . I'm still not 100% convinced its an AN 6552. If anyone else knows different then I'd appreciate their advice. As I've mentioned on all of the B and T's that I've seen the leather hanger has been stitched below the collar seem while on this one you can see that it has been stitched through the actual collar seem.

 

[thor]

That waistband looks like a replacement to me. Otherwise looks like a cool jacket.

 

[SPLINTER]

Well , I have just been reading some old threads on another forum and a very respected member stated that Gordon and Ferguson had 2 contracts for AN-J-3 . These contracts were 1944-N288S 24333 and 1945-N288S 32277. There is also a link to the 1945 contract http://monstervintage.com/catalog.php?state=showProduct&ProductID=18808. If you look at the neck strap on this jacket it is the exact shape etc as the one on my jacket . The hanger tab is also stitched through the neck seam and the US stamp is also on the right hand side of the collar. I'm not saying my jacket is their 44 contract but there are a lot of similarities. Just a thought . If only that label was more readable.

 

[nick123]

My apologies for the photo posted earlier. Looks like the last digit is in fact a "1" rather than a "3". I think that Naval contracts list incorrectly refers to the 333 contract as an AN-6552 rather than AN-J-3a.

As for your label, I can definitely see the outline of an "A". Where the 3 has worn away, there remains an imprint, which matches that of the "A".

An expert on VLJ will sort this right out! Good to see you posted on there.