Eastman B-3

[FW190]

Just picked-up a Duo-Tone Eastman B-3 off of Ebay for cheap! I paid U.S. $400.00, not thinking that I would be able to aquire it at that price, which was about my high bid. Lucky Me! A friend has the Mono-tone version, but I have never seen the duo-tone in person. Any opinions? His mono-tone is heads-and-shoulders above my Avirex and Schott B-3's in terms of build quality. Which version is the preferred? Was the Duo-Tone actually used in WW2? I have never seen the Duo in any war movies and was wondering about it's year of entry in to the US Air Force. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[aswatland]

Welcome to the forum. Congrats on your bargain. ELC duo tone B-3s are top quality jackets. I am sure you will enjoy it. There were three basic B3 colour schemes. 1. The pre war jackets made from hand dyed shearling and these have a reddish hew and are known by collectors as "redskins. 2. The mono tone seal brown jackets and 3. Duo tone jackets with the spray dyed seal brown body and russet facings.

I havw owned originals of all three main types and currently own types 2 and 3. Yes duo tone ones were worn extensively in the war. You can't easily tell from black and white wartime photos whether the jacket is duo tone or mono tone. Here are some pics of my two originals.

The photos show the differences between the two jackets.

Bernstein

No-name maker 42-21700p

Honey-coloured veg tanned fleece of the Bernstein

Chrome Tanned fleece of the Non-name maker

Hand dyed cuffs on the Bernstein

Machine sprayed cuffs

Bernstein spec label

21700p label