Mighty Eighth A-2's - Pics

[Burnsie]

One day when I was moving out of the dorm at the end of the term,I saw another student wearing the coolest painted A2 I've ever seen-On the back were several bombers at shoulder level, and they were dropping sticks of bombs on a large,3-dimensional swastika laying flat at ground level near the bottom of the jacket back. The swastika was painted to resemble concrete,and there were large cracks in it.

Might be another 8th AF - sounds a bit like the insignia for the "Can Do" 305th Bomb Group - this was a armor gloved hand with a bomb smashing a concrete swastika. This was my Uncle's Bomb Group and, come to think of it, that means my Uncle and your Dad were both with the 40th Combat Wing!

 

[Burnsie]

For your further viewing enjoyment here are the remainder of the pics I took at the 8th AF museum:

And I would love to know the story behind this one - a Navy jacket apparantly worn by a B-17 crew member...display labels it an A-2 with fur collar but it's clearly Navy!

 

[Corky]

The jacket in the post is an Air Force AN-J-3...

"...I would love to know the story behind this one - a Navy jacket apparantly worn by a B-17 crew member...display labels it an A-2 with fur collar but it's clearly Navy!.."

The author of the display made a simple mistake. The jacket above is not an A-2. Nor is it a Navy jacket.

It looks like an Air Force AN-J-3, probably in steerhide or horsehide, with a fur collar.

The Air Force introduced the AN-J-3 in 1943 as a replacement for the A-2. The services had agreed to standardize their aviation clothing, and the AN-J-3 was created under the joint clothing system. The "AN" indicates that the item was standardized for use by both the Army and Navy. The "J" showed that it was a jacket, and the "3" stood for "type 3."

Air Force jackets were designated AN-J-3. The Navy version, called the AN-J-3a, was almost identical to the M-422. Quite a few original Navy AN-J-3a's can still be found, but Air Force AN-J-3's are quite rare.

The AN-J-3 was a good-looking, extremely comfortable, and functional jacket, but it never became standard issue. The Air Force switched to nylon flight jackets at the end of World War II, abandoning leather jackets until it reintroduced the A-2 in 1988.

The Air Force procured only a few AN-J-3's, but ordered them in several different versions. The AN-J-3 combined the best features of the Navy M-422A with those of the Air Force A-2. All AN-J-3's kept the M-422's action back, underarm gussets, rib-rack knit waistband, and button pockets flaps, but they replaced the mouton collar on most with a leather collar without snaps or a hook-and-eye. Obviously this one had a mouton (dyed sheepskin) collar.

Some versions of the AN-J-3 were made with epaulets and some without. Some had the exterior storm flap like the A-2 and some kept the inside storm flap like the M-422. Some had the M-422's inside chart pocket and most did not have the M-422's pencil slot on the left pocket.

Also note the Air Force patch or plaque in the lower left hand corner of the photo that reads "April-May 1945". That would reinforce the notion that (if these items were from the same original owner) this jacket was issued and worn after 1943.

 

[Burnsie]

"...I would love to know the story behind this one - a Navy jacket apparantly worn by a B-17 crew member...display labels it an A-2 with fur collar but it's clearly Navy!.."

It looks like an Air Force AN-J-3, probably in steerhide or horsehide, with a fur collar.

.

Thanks Corky - I never fail to amaze myself with how much I still have to learn!

 

[bobbyball]

Eighth Air Force – a must have!

Hi everyone,

While slightly off jacket topic, I am in the middle of a fantastic book about the Eighth. It is called:

Eighth Air Force – The American bomber crews in Britain
by Donald L. Miller (published by Aurum Press)

It is the most extensive book I have seen so far (it runs to a mighty 600 pages+ and has a very extensive bibliography.

It talks about the inception of the planning and logistics involved in bringing over the force to Britain and covers a lot of the political manouvering that went on behind closed doors. There are some nice images/maps throughout and I thoroughly recommend the book to anyone who is interested in the history of the AAF in Britain.

 

[feltfan]

Gotta love Mehitabel. I wonder if someone in his
squadron had Archie? Toujours gay, eh?

 

[SIGGY]

emblem on jacket

From the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler, GA - more posted on VLJ but thought the FL Outerwear crowd would also dig these highlights. Enjoy!

The jacket patch on left B-24 tail shape is one of the 4 sqd's from the 491st BG,appears to be 853rd or 854th Sqd.

 

[SIGGY]

jacket patch

The jacket patch on left B-24 tail shape is one of the 4 sqd's from the 491st BG,appears to be 853rd or 854th Sqd.

round red patch with palying cards is the 77th Fighter Squadron.

 

[SIGGY]

wolf riding Bomber holding bomb

round red patch with palying cards is the 77th Fighter Squadron.

The patch with wolf holding bomb riding 4 engine aircraft is the 729th Bomb sqd of 452nd BG.
patch of Wolf in uniform standing on cloud is the 571st Bomb Sqd of 390th BG.

 

[The Wolf]

Great photos.
Any A-2 jacket that has a wolf design is okay by me.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Corky]

The jacket in question might also be an ANJ-4.

"...I would love to know the story behind this one - a Navy jacket apparantly worn by a B-17 crew member...display labels it an A-2 with fur collar but it's clearly Navy!.."

The author of the display made a simple mistake. The jacket above is not an A-2. Nor is it a Navy jacket.

It looks like an Air Force AN-J-3, probably in steerhide or horsehide, with a fur collar.

The Air Force introduced the AN-J-3 in 1943 as a replacement for the A-2. The services had agreed to standardize their aviation clothing, and the AN-J-3 was created under the joint clothing system. The "AN" indicates that the item was standardized for use by both the Army and Navy. The "J" showed that it was a jacket, and the "3" stood for "type 3."

Air Force jackets were designated AN-J-3. The Navy version, called the AN-J-3a, was almost identical to the M-422. Quite a few original Navy AN-J-3a's can still be found, but Air Force AN-J-3's are quite rare.

The AN-J-3 was a good-looking, extremely comfortable, and functional jacket, but it never became standard issue. The Air Force switched to nylon flight jackets at the end of World War II, abandoning leather jackets until it reintroduced the A-2 in 1988.

The Air Force procured only a few AN-J-3's, but ordered them in several different versions. The AN-J-3 combined the best features of the Navy M-422A with those of the Air Force A-2. All AN-J-3's kept the M-422's action back, underarm gussets, rib-rack knit waistband, and button pockets flaps, but they replaced the mouton collar on most with a leather collar without snaps or a hook-and-eye. Obviously this one had a mouton (dyed sheepskin) collar.

Some versions of the AN-J-3 were made with epaulets and some without. Some had the exterior storm flap like the A-2 and some kept the inside storm flap like the M-422. Some had the M-422's inside chart pocket and most did not have the M-422's pencil slot on the left pocket.

Also note the Air Force patch or plaque in the lower left hand corner of the photo that reads "April-May 1945". That would reinforce the notion that (if these items were from the same original owner) this jacket was issued and worn after 1943.

The jacket in question might also be an ANJ-4.

See:
http://www.lostworldsinc.com/ANJ-4SheepskinLeatherFlightJacket.htm

 

[Cooperson]

Just logged on and saw these great pics.

Superb photos of original jackets, really enjoyed having a close look. Many thanks for posting them.


Cheers

Coop

 

[SamReu]

The Mighty 8th

I was on vacation last month at Tybee Island, Ga., which is about 25 miles east of Pooler. One rainy morning I packed the boys in the car and we visited the museum. It is a fascinating place.

If you tire of looking at the jackets and other apparel, there's always the on-site B-17, which is under renovation. Or you can try your hand at blasting some ME-109s out of the sky in one of the museum's interactive displays.

My 8-year-old, I'm, proud to say, knocked out five.

 

[James Miller]

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing those wonderful pictures. I enjoy seeing those old jackets.
I also enjoy trying to re-create some of the squadron patches and nose art. Again thank you.:eusa_clap