Bill Kelso Custom AN-J-3 (in Victory Horsehide) Size 40

[Dr H]

Just visiting to post on behalf of Matt, who is the owner of the BK jacket, but not a member here, please direct any questions to Andy F who can respond on behalf of Bill Kelso.

Matt wished to respond to FL members who were keen to see a BK jacket on a customer. He also owns a BK Werber A-2 and I'll post these on his behalf as well.

This is a repost, verbatim from Matt's post on VLJF, 'This is a custom Bill Kelso AN-J-3. Its a size 40 with the pattern based on a G&F M-422A with sizing mods to fit my lanky frame. Measurements I sent to BK were from my refurbished G&F M422, to which I've also included some pics to show both jackets on the same lanky coat hanger.

Hide is Victory HH in dark seal, pretty much how you see the hide in the pictures is how it came out of the box. Knits are A-2 dull purple, dull brown cotton lining, and collar is Roughwear (love that pointy collar), and its extremely comfortable in the wearing.

This is my 3rd BK VHH, and the suppleness of the leather is on a par with the Werber, my first. Although it is supple it does take time and a bit of wear for the leather to relax into the shape of the wearer. If it's anything like the Werber, a weeks worth in the field carrying gear with a bit of sun and rain will have it looking even more spectacular.

Attention to detail is superb, stitching (light olive) is spot on. It's an extra 1/2 inch longer in sleeve and length otherwise all other measurements are the same as my m422. The bi-swing back functions as it should and is symmetrical - no one side is bigger or smaller than the other, nor is it too large or too small, as I've found in some repro USN jackets.

Did I say it's extremely comfortable?

Here's the pics, excuse the metal pole running through my head, I wondered why Megan was smiling, apparently she didn't have the height to get it up to ear level when framing the photo :roll: you just can't trust some people...







some details:











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Needless to say, but for the benefit of Majormajor, I'm not a shill, employee yada, yada for BK...

 

[Jiajia]

Thank you for your pics. This jacket is awesome!

 

[bretron]

Good show, Ian. This jacket deserves some love over here too! I keep coming back to it

 

[aswatland]

Well done Ian. This great jacket certainly deserves being seen by members here.

 

[schitzo]

what a beaut!

I have to say BK's victory HH looks immense. The Dark Seal on this one admittedly looks great, though from what I've seen so far I think further down the line there is a jacket in Seal with my name on it. Their Antique Russet looks really good too. Interesting times

 

[thor]

That jacket is a work of art! Beautiful hide and a great fit. Wear it in good health.

 

[bn1966]

Wow...I'm impressed...what a fantastic jacket Matt. Thanks for posting Doc

 

[EmergencyIan]

Wow. Very nice!

- Ian

 

[Smithy]

I've seen this over at VLJ but it deserves repeating here. This is a fantastic looking AN-J-3, the hide and fit are beautiful. Skip has a keeper with this one :eusa_clap

 

[Fanch]

Looks great! :thumb: IMO the AN-J-3 has the best design features of the A-2 and G-1, and it is unfortunate that the AN-J-3 didn't become the universal standard of the USAF, USN, USMC, and USCG over the next 60-70 years.

 

[Smithy]

Looks great! :thumb: IMO the AN-J-3 has the best design features of the A-2 and G-1, and it is unfortunate that the AN-J-3 didn't become the universal standard of the USAF, USN, USMC, and USCG over the next 60-70 years.

It's certainly arguably the most utilitarian US leather flight jacket design of the war. I don't have one but the more I see photos of these worn, the more I think it looks, not only a great looking bit of kit but also a really versatile and easily worn jacket.

 

[winterland1]

I am not a flight jacket guy but I can appreciate them. It looks great and fits well.

 

[Edward]

Yes, a very comfortable design and sharp looking. A few years ago I briefly owned a rare Aero take on this one. The eighties Schott style that began my interest in bomber jackets some years ago was very much inspired by this model. I think it had quite a lot of influence on the civilian market, even if it became an oddity in the military world.

 

[Brettafett]

Very, very nice. Well done BK. And thanks for posting that, been looking out for recent BK work for a while now.
Just wish the new hides would arrive sooner rather than later

 

[Justhandguns]

Looks extremely tasty! How much did they charge you? Looks to me that they still have not had it on their webpage.

 

[fukigen]

great, perfect fit.

same question as for the werber, I didn't see an anj-3 on BK website, how did you get it?

 

[aswatland]

BK have reproduced several A2 contracts recently that are not shown on their website. Their website needs updating, but more up to date information is on their Facebook pages and on VLJ.