in which WW2 u.s. flight jacket did j.nicholson fLy oVer the CuCKoo's NeST?

[johnnyjohnny]

picked up my ww2 flight jacket today, too hot to wear, but still excited...

i'd never seen 'one flew over the cuckoo's nest' before, had just finished 'heartbreak ridge' and was leaving for a run as 'nest' was starting...and there comes jack in mY jacket! no doubt, it was it, front views and back shown...

so, which ww2 u.s. flight jacket did jack wear in the opening scenes of 'nest'?

... good luck

 

[BellyTank]

It's not a WW2 Flight Jacket.

B
T

 

[johnnyjohnny]

oooooooooooooPs?

still watching the movie...jack just strangled rachet...have to say it does seem indeed to be a u.s. ww2 flight jacket...and since it's a debate now, i'll reveal that jacket to be the g-2...i'd post the pix from the movie but am not on my computer and this system doesn't allow one to upload from a hard drive...might have to wait until next week to host the pix on my web site and then link to them...

however, the original question was not which 'issued' ww2 u.s. flight jacket is jack wearing, as the g-2 was never issued, but just designed by the army/navy to replace the a-2...so the 'issue' (pardon the pun) becomes whether this is a g-2...

don't see anything that isn't g-2 about it, from the barnstorm pockets in the front, no snap collar, bi-swing back, no epaulets, brown denoting likely to be goatskin or horsehide...don't see anything not g-2 about it...so i will say it is ww2 u.s., and the g-2 flight jack that jack is in, which he's in as he's strangling nurse ratchet...

do let me know where it is not a g-2 if anyone thinks not...but i do think so

johnnyjohnny

 

[PADDY]

You've just answered your own question.

As you've stated. You think it's a G2.

What you haven't said is, "do you like it?" Assuming you do, why? and if you do, then are you now going to get yourself one?

Photos always appreciated to illustrate. Thankyou.

 

[BellyTank]

G-2 ???
Question answered.
Does that happen to be USAuthentic-speak for a loose repro of a never-issued flight jacket style.
Not quite an ANJ...

So, if the Cuckoo jacket is reminding you of the "G-2" then I guess it IS NOT a WW2 flight jacket.
Problem solved.


B
T

 

[johnnyjohnny]

geeeee, two

answers for paddy and the belly man:

paddy: my original post mentioned that i just happened to see jack in that jack the same day (yesterday) that mY g-2 arrived, so, aside from the unsnapped collars, i love the style...tho, as i mentioned in another post, i did have barini leather in studio city ca add snaps, somewhat adulterating the authenticity of the jack, but i like it better that way

as for bellytanker: hate to mention semantix again but i never said which 'issued' ww2 u.s. flight jack was jack in, but what ww2 u.s. flight jacket...so whether it was issued is of no consequence, it qualifies as what my question asked for...to add some flavour, sadly enough, this here g-2 had enough gravitas for the military in ww2 that the g-2 officially ended our beloved a-2's existence until the a-2 came back in 87...the g-2 was designed on army/navy orders to be the updated replacement for the a-2, so, i'd say that qualifies as a ww-2 u.s. flight jacket...that it was never actually issued is another story (and not germane to my original post question as i omiTTed the word 'issued' knowing it never was) as the army/navy decided to go with the nylon flight jack to replace the a-2 due to the paucity of leather, and the cheaper nature of nylon...arcane history as this might seem to you dear belly, it is history nevertheless and the g-2 does fit into it...

warmly, johnnyjohnny

 

[Atticus Finch]

Hi Johnny,

McMurphy wears a cool leather jacket in Cuckoo's Nest---no doubt about it---but it's not a WWII anything. In my opinion, the best views of it are in the "basketball" scene with Chief. Clearly, it isn't a M-422. There's no mouton collar. Its not an A-2, either. It has a action back. There was never such a thing as a G-2 in WWII. So is it an ANJ-3? No, the collar is wrong and there appears to be no belt in the back.

I think it is just a cool jacket from wardrobe.

Atticus

 

[johnnyjohnny]

beLted

thanks for the post...the g-2 was indeed designed in ww2 to take the place of the a-2, and i'll be posting some of jack's jack next week once i can upload them to my website...here's a pic of the g-2 (not that big a pic, but some background), it's a cooper, i've seen it on many websites but this is the website that googled quickest:
http://www.schooluniforms.com/horleatfligj.html

and here's a bit bigger pic:
http://www.thepilotsnest.com/leatherjackets/prods/TPN-1LJ.html

jack's jack seems to fit all criteria of the g-2, which again was designed in ww2 by the army air corps and navy as a unified issue jacket, though never in fact issued.....but alas, the one missing element does seem to be the belt in the back...oooooooooooh, soooooooooo cLose!

best, johnny johnny

 

[Alan Eardley]

thanks for the post...the g-2 was indeed designed in ww2 to take the place of the a-2, jack's jack seems to fit all criteria of the g-2, which again was designed in ww2 by the army air corps and navy as a unified issue jacket, though never in fact issued.....

You'll no doubt be giving us a (believable and authoritative) reference for this statement?

A problem which must be overcome is that there was no 'G-1' until well after WW2. So, why would it be logical to call a jacket a G-2? And how would the 'G' nomenclature for a jacket that combines features of existing Army and Navy designs fit it with the late war Army-Navy 'AN-J' referencing system?

Alan

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Ahh..the Gee 2! Sorry..salespitch.

 

[BellyTank]

Ahh..the Gee 2! Sorry..salespitch.

Exactly Van.
And well said Alan, very logical.

USAufentic-speak.
Not anything WW2 about it.

At all.

And it seems to miss the style boat too.
Sorry.

B
T

 

[ldmax]

A2 Replacement

I believe the ANJ-3 was the official replacement for the A2. Sometime in 1943, the decision was made to standardize clothing across all branches of the military. The ANJ-3 was short lived in the Army Airforce (if it was ever issued at all) being replaced by the cotton shelled B10 in 1944. The G-2 (afaik) was a purely civilian creation marketed as a WWII jacket to 'wannabes' who didn't know any better.

LD

 

[johnnyjohnny]

choose your numbers, gentlemen...

suppose one can choose whatever numbers one wants, but the anj-3 is the one now (apparently spuriously) called g-2 on websites, here this 'g-2' is with it's anj-3 number, but is the same jacket i referred to as the g-2:

https://www.flightsuits.com/leather_anj3_lg.html

then, again perhaps falling prey to 'marketing' lingo, the jacket i've referred to as the g-1 is apparently properly known as USN Spec. M-422A Intermediate Flying Jacket:

http://historypreservation.com/hpassociates/detailpop.php?uniqnum=90

calling these jackets g-1 and g-2, which are now common 'marketer' usage is indeed incorrect...however, the pictures of the jackets with their proper numbers are shown in the links above...the one i called a g-1 but which is a 'm-422a' is from the 30s, culminating in 1940 as the m-422a

as one can see, the anj-3 is the same jacket minus the mouton, and is the a-2 replacement design from '43 that was not issued...

the jackets were from the dates mentioned above, though i should be slapped on the wrist or elsewhere for using the highly disdained more common but inaccurate jacket website names for these jacks

 

[The Wingnut]

USAufentic-speak.

USWings. U.S. Authentic does not sell a G-2(and likely never has). US Wings, on the other hand, is serving up the same story that JJ is.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Agreed, you see so-called G-2 jackets from US Wings, The Cockpit, Legendary USA (and Cooper, until recently) - but not US Authentic.

 

[BellyTank]

Sorry- my apologies to US'A, I meant US'W.
What a load-

B
T

 

[ldmax]

It is not merely a matter of semantics. The civilian jacket generally referred to as a G-2 and the military ANJ-3 are not the same jacket. The G-2, called a 'Raider' jacket by some, has dual zippered pockets outlined by thick leather seams. Zipper flap is behind the zipper like a G-1.
http://www.sportys.com/shopwright/images/5807l.jpg
From Sporty's website.

The ANJ-3 has pockets like an M-422 or G-1. Also the ANJ-3 is cut much more like an A-2. Zipper flap covers the zipper.
http://www.flightsuits.com/images/leather/anj3_front_lg.jpg
From Flightsuits.com.

Obviously not the same type of jacket.

LD

 

[Alan Eardley]

An-J-3a

And what about the AN-J-3a, which is a completely different jacket to the AN-J-3?

Alan

 

[sealbeachbum]

There is a supposedly issued ANJ-3 jacket in the Museum at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) that belonged to a former Deputy Executive Director for our airport.

 

[johnnyjohnny]

how many g-2s can fit on the head of a piN?

discussion is starting to sound like an issue of 'firing line' from the sixties--william f. buckley junior in a theological discussion with Madalyn Murray O'Hair...

but to carry on like a Douglas B-42 Mixmaster through flak, though like the "g-2" jacket none of the mixmasters may have ever actually been deployed...i will post several links...

first, the terms g-2 and g-1 that i started out using were the common lingo on a number of jacket websites, and hence i used them so people would know what i was talking about...when the discussion became transcendental, i began using the specific terms...g-1 came to be used in common parlance by some of these jacket companies in reference to the m-422a, the fur lined jack that had been in use in the thirties by the navy...me so sorry if i used the term that a bunch of websites used referring to the m-422a as the g-1...and so in answer to some of the prior theological discussionists here, yes, that jacket did exist in the 30s and 40s...only the name g-1 came after ww2...that jack is sold by eastman, a rather respected replicantor in the jack world, and referred to as m-422a:

http://historypreservation.com/hpass...php?uniqnum=90

as for the g-2, that has been a term commonly accepted for the anj-3...but not commonly accepted by some of the theologians here, so for them the proper term is the anj-3...now, those of you who think i'm talking about some zipper-pocketed 'raider' jacket, that is not the case...here's a link to the properly configured anj-3, that is at times commonly referred to as the g-2...g-2 because it is the same jack as the g-1 except without the fur:

https://www.flightsuits.com/leather_anj3_lg.html

the above link shows the true anj-3, which legendarily was designed to replace the a-2 but never issued...this jack is by gibson and barnes, as respected i should imagine as eastman...

now, lastly, for someone who claimed usauthentic didn't sell a g-2, i'd say they sold the anj-3, which is the proper term for the lay termed g-2...it's not in their catalog, perhaps because this anj-3 was not an issued ww2 jack...but there is a thank you note on their website from someone who purchased an anj-3 from them, to quote it:

"I just wanted to thank you for all your help. I received my "ANJ-3"jacket yesterday and it looks great and fits really well. The quality of the finished product is clearly evident. I appreciate your help and rapid service. I asked for quite a number of custom options on this jacket and they were all done perfectly. I also am quite pleased with how quickly you were able to get my jacket to me. Given the custom nature of my order I would have expected a long wait. (Remember I have been dealing with E****** up until now) I'll be back in touch for squadron patches and eventually for the B-3's we talked about. Since it was raining today I couldn't try out my new jacket in the cockpit ,however if the weather holds for the weekend I sure will give it a try. I think this will become my every day jacket. I will be sure to tell my friends ( and anyone else who will listen ) about you, your quality products and your super service."

the link to it is:

https://www.flightsuits.com/leather_anj3_lg.html

...so, one can go on and on terminally with the terminological debate, but i think i've made it clear which jacks i was talking about, translating the common lay names into the actual technical spec terms, with pics from the historically respected purveyors...and i think it shows these jacks did exist in the time periods i stated...

so i'll say sayonara to this lovely discussion, only to add that the original question was about which ww2 flight jack jack nicholson was wearing in 'cuckoo's nest'

the answer then was, it was an anj-3, referred in lay terms on certain websites as the g-2...the jacket designed to replace the a-2 but never issued...and the only difference in jack's jack is that it doesn't have the faux belt in the lower portion of the back...soooooo, technically it is not an anj-3...oh weLLLLLL

as for the collar, it is correct, though pulled out like a flower's petals by the wardrobe people on the set, or nicholson, to get whatever look he was going for...

i'm sure a buncho people will now write in and disagree with this, with spec numbers, with even eastman or gibson and barnes, or even the u.s.military, and perhaps even themselves...

as for me, i'll think of something else to post now ...

tah,
johnnyjohnny