My latest A-2

[BilleeW]

This is a Goodwear Type A-2 Drawing No. 30-1415 J.A. Dubow MFG CO. Chicago, ILL. Horshide,Size 46. Has a 74th FS Patch hand painted to match the last photo an actual picture of a real patch from WWII. Ths CBI shoulder patch is the real deal bought from a personal friend of Robert Scott Jr.

 

[El Marro]

Congratulations BilleeW!
Looks like a very nice jacket indeed. I would love to see some more photos of it.

 

[seres]

I like that painted patch... looks exactly like the original. Any more photos would be appreciated!

 

[MC]

Great looking jacket! Goodwear leather is legit. Got one as well, and the quality is out of this world.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nick123]

Killer. But aren't the patch and the name strip supposed to be on the other side?

 

[BilleeW]

Patches worn on both sides , no always rules in WWII many pilots had the patch, if it had a figure with a head, it was to be facing inward to the body. Thanx for comments

 

[BilleeW]

Congratulations BilleeW!
Looks like a very nice jacket indeed. I would love to see some more photos of it.

 

[BilleeW]

few more looks thanx to likes !

 

[seres]

....if it had a figure with a head, it was to be facing inward to the body...

I've heard that from other sources as well. One explanation given was that a head facing outward indicates retreat???

 

[BilleeW]

yes correct, i agree with comments . TY for adding to the discussion.

 

[Sloan1874]

Beautiful jacket. I pulled my Good Wear Dubow out of storage at the start of the month, just to make sure that it had come through the winter un-nibbled, and was struck by how great it looked.

 

[Big J]

Nice jacket!

Patch placement always gives me headaches. Even though there were rules about these things, they seem to have been regularly abused, but within limits.
For example, post war squadron patches should have been on the right sleeve. This means that many WWII designs would have had 'rear facing imagery. To get around this, some Korean War era squadrons put their patches on the left breast, but more usually (until late 70's) you can see squadron patches 'relocated' from the right sleeve to the right breast.
Eventually, some squadrons (555th for example) flipped the image so that it was 'forward facing' when worn on the right sleeve (I imagine the 555ths change came after the Vietnam war; officers in the squadron were much more 'professional' in their attitude in the late Vietnam era, and 555th pilots probably got exasperated at being forced to wear their squadron patch on the right sleeve looking 'backwards').
The most reliable source for post war jacket patch placement is the mountain of official SAC crew photos, where everyone wears all their patches in the officially prescribed locations.
However, I have never seen a photo of a vintage flight jacket with the name patch on the right breast. There are a wild variety of name patches, and many jackets that never had name patches, but I've never seen one on the right breast.
If you have a photo of a jacket like that, I'd love to see it.

 

[BilleeW]

Nice jacket!

Patch placement always gives me headaches. Even though there were rules about these things, they seem to have been regularly abused, but within limits.
For example, post war squadron patches should have been on the right sleeve. This means that many WWII designs would have had 'rear facing imagery. To get around this, some Korean War era squadrons put their patches on the left breast, but more usually (until late 70's) you can see squadron patches 'relocated' from the right sleeve to the right breast.
Eventually, some squadrons (555th for example) flipped the image so that it was 'forward facing' when worn on the right sleeve (I imagine the 555ths change came after the Vietnam war; officers in the squadron were much more 'professional' in their attitude in the late Vietnam era, and 555th pilots probably got exasperated at being forced to wear their squadron patch on the right sleeve looking 'backwards').
The most reliable source for post war jacket patch placement is the mountain of official SAC crew photos, where everyone wears all their patches in the officially prescribed locations.
However, I have never seen a photo of a vintage flight jacket with the name patch on the right breast. There are a wild variety of name patches, and many jackets that never had name patches, but I've never seen one on the right breast.
If you have a photo of a jacket like that, I'd love to see it.

This is just one of many i've seen !! Captain T. Angel 23rd FG. NO rules , always up to pilot WWII...

 

[Big J]

Thank you for the photo, that's really interesting.
Have you got any photos of name tags on the right breast?

 

[Hide'n'seek]

This is just one of many i've seen !! Captain T. Angel 23rd FG. NO rules , always up to pilot WWII...

Yes squadron patches were often on the right chest but name tags are always on the left, I can not think of any name tags I have seen on the right, it just looks a little odd. Even when a single squadron patch is used and placed on right name tag is always on left.