'Orphan' A-2 jackets

[H.Johnson]

I'd like to start a discussion of early examples of reproduction A-2 jackets. Often forgotten, unregarded, even despised...and yet, for me at least, historically interesting and fascinating. Lets draw abitrary lines between 1978(the first Avirex production) and (say) 1988.

From today's perspective, it is easy to take a derisory attitude to jackets made in the late 1970s or 1980s. Nowadays, the reproduction industry has moved on in terms of easier sourcing of materials and increased knowledge through research, so we now have reproductions that are difficult to indistinguish from originals. We also have websites and CDs to educate and inform us, a number of relatively well-informed publications (OK, many are in Japanese) and on-line shopping. Now, authentic is easy.

It hasn't always been like this. In the late 1970s the idea of a reproduction A-2 seemed revolutionary and obtaining one (in Britain, anyway) was difficult. I remember these days, and I can remember the excitement I felt when I first saw an Avirex A-2. Yes, I know, people are fall about laughing, but in 1978 Jeff Clyman's products were breathtakingly 'state of the art'. Ken Calder, who used to publish a (hardly impartial) guide to the reproduction A-2 market used to recommend readers to seize a 1978 Avirex 'if you can find one'. Well, I could, I did (in the early 1980s) and I love it still (my son wears it). It has faults in terms of 'authenticity' (whatever that means), but its overall 'look and feel' is more 'soulful' in my opinion than many recent 'dead-nuts' reproductions.

I've owned or own early examples by Eastman (when they operated out of a terraced house in Plymouth), Aero (red lining and Connolly leather), Lost Worlds and others, but my favourite early reproduction jacket without doubt is a Sefton. Ken used to rate Sefton as among the best-made reproductions in his guide and I can see why. If you have ever held and examined one of Steve Silburn's reproduction Wareings Type B helmets you will be amazed. I first availed myself of his services when he made two wrecked Ir__n jackets into one very good one. His workmanship is, in a word, immaculate. In the terms of 'what to look for' in my clothing technology text books - e.g. linearity and regularity of sticthes, tightness and even-ness of seams etc.) his work is the best I have ever seen 'in the flesh'*.

Well, for years I have wanted an early production Sefton A-2 in plain horsehide and couldn't find one. They were produced for a very limited time and a peculiar arrangement with an artist at that time meant that many had 'jacket art' applied to them from new. Most of his later production was cowhide (i admit that it is hard to tell the difference). Now I have one, and one of the very early ones, plain and in horse. It is literally in 'as new condition' and the price was right. For it, I broke a rule that I was not going to acquire another A-2, and it's worth it. Forget about 'authenticity' - this is a beautifully made jacket that stands up in its own right against anything that has been produced since. Just my opnion

If anyone else has an interest in early reproduction A-2s, I would welcome a reasoned and informed discussion - please, no unthinking and offhand 'POS' dismissals.

* I have seen photographs of John Chapman's recent work which may be as good but is, of course, much more recent.

 

[kinabalu222]

Ah yes...I've been wanting to share the story of my first repro. I recently finally took the plunge and got my ELC A2 Pearl Harbor and as much as I love that jacket, I will always have a soft spot for my first; an Avirex A2 I bought at the Cockpit store in Beverly Hills California back in 1985, the store is now closed. Now that I own a high quality repro, I realised how well made the Avirex jacket is for the money; the knitted cuffs are actually sturdier and better made than Eastman's, abeit not historically accurate I'm sure. And the leather was super soft, almost like calf skin or leather on a pair of nice winter gloves, too soft in fact as it tore easily. The biggest flaws were the side entry hand warmer pockets, two-piece back and the lack of a throat hook.

I've been through everything with this jacket; college, all my flight training as I obtained all of my ratings, a marriage, and five moves, ending up here in Hong Kong. I slept in it, worked on my cars and airplanes in it, left it on a coat stand in the summer where the sun got to it, and other abuses. The nicks were courtesy of my cat. I've added and removed patches over time, and you can see shadows of old patches. Ended up with the flying tigers motiff you see here. The blood chit, AAF shoulder patch and flying tigers chest patch was purchased from The Cockpit. The name strip and China-Burma-India shoulder patch I made and painted myself. All patches and the chit was hand sown on by yours truly, straight through the lining! Oh well, what did I know being 20?

I love this jacket, in some ways it will always mean more to me than the new Eastman just because of how long I've had it and what I've been through in it. I think I paid $200 for it 23 years ago when I was 20, I'll be 43 this coming Sunday.

 

[auxair]

kinabalu:

Your wonderful picture certainly brought back fond memories from yesteryear. I had the same Avirex jacket you have which I acquire from a jean/"bomber jacket" shop in Greenwich Village, NYC (but not the Cockpit shop on Broadway), back in 1986 for, oh yes, about USD200 (minus the fancy hand made insignia, of course). Supple like glove, almost orange in colour with "flaky" surface. Not quite expecting the popularity of repro A-2s nowadays, I donated it as a lucky draw prize at an Air Cadet Ball in the early 1990's.

I recently took the plunge and am still waiting for my Aero Anniversary A-2 from Mark, have been waiting eagerly for 10 weeks.

Yes, as you can tell from the pic, I am living in Hong Kong too.

 

[H.Johnson]

Thanks, guys. It's a big world and a small one at the same time!

Your Avirex jackets are so different from mine (dark hard horsehide, collar like a Perry, WW2 era Talon zipper frm new) but coincidentally I also work in Hong Kong (well, Kowloon) from time to time.

 

[kinabalu222]

kinabalu:

Your wonderful picture certainly brought back fond memories from yesteryear. I had the same Avirex jacket you have which I acquire from a jean/"bomber jacket" shop in Greenwich Village, NYC (but not the Cockpit shop on Broadway), back in 1986 for, oh yes, about USD200 (minus the fancy hand made insignia, of course). Supple like glove, almost orange in colour with "flaky" surface. Not quite expecting the popularity of repro A-2s nowadays, I donated it as a lucky draw prize at an Air Cadet Ball in the early 1990's.

I recent took the plunge and am still waiting for my Aero Anniversary A-2 from Mark, have been waiting eagerly for 10 weeks.

Yes, as you can tell from the pic, I am living in Hong Kong too.

Wow, that's too funny! I take it you are with the HK auxiliary Air Service? I am in aviation as well.

 

[kinabalu222]

Thanks, guys. It's a big world and a small one at the same time!

Your Avirex jackets are so different from mine (dark hard horsehide, collar like a Perry, WW2 era Talon zipper frm new) but coincidentally I also work in Hong Kong (well, Kowloon) from time to time.

Small world indeed, next time you are in town, you, auxair and I should get together LOL...

 

[auxair]

Wow, that's too funny! I take it you are with the HK auxiliary Air Service? I am in aviation as well.

Yeah, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force/ Government Flying Service Auxiliary Section from 1988 to now. Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps from 1988 to now. You must be flying for the airlines (Kota Kinabalu one of your destinations?).

 

[kinabalu222]

Yeah, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force/ Government Flying Service Auxiliary Section from 1988 to now. Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps from 1988 to now. You must be flying for the airlines (Kota Kinabalu one of your destinations?).

Sorry to mix up the names of the service, at least I didn't have "Royal" in there right? Actually I work for an executive jet manufacturer (the aircraft parked next to your hangar down the street at HKBAC), I'm originally from Malaysian Borneo but immigrated to the States in 83 when I was 17.

We should meet, ABACE if not sooner. You can email me at gardenia8@aol.com. Off to bed now!

 

[Kid Mac]

My orphan A-2, my very first A-2, was an LLBean A-2 (don't laugh) from back when they were still made in America. It does have non-standard hand warmer pockets and an inside pocket, but otherwise it is a pretty good repro. Nice goatskin, collar stand, single piece back, two piece sleeves, a Scoville zipper, and Scoville snaps.

I've had it since I was a young pup, and it has stood me well. I'm wearing it, yep still fits, in my avatar -- with my real young pup, Barney. It's a great beater jacket for hiking in the woods.

Cheers, Mac

 

[rgraham]

My orphan A-2, my very first A-2, was an LLBean A-2 (don't laugh) from back when they were still made in America. It does have non-standard hand warmer pockets and an inside pocket, but otherwise it is a pretty good repro. Nice goatskin, collar stand, single piece back, two piece sleeves, a Scoville zipper, and Scoville snaps.

I've had it since I was a young pup, and it has stood me well. I'm wearing it, yep still fits, in my avatar -- with my real young pup, Barney. It's a great beater jacket for hiking in the woods.

Cheers, Mac

That was my first A-2 as well. A great jacket, and still in excellent shape. I however am not, and it seems to have shrunk while hanging in the closet.

 

[Fletch]

Still have (but never wear) my first A-2, a Schott "1987-01" in chromed chocolate goatskin with super-thick acrylic knits. Cost $229 new in 1992. Actual measure size 46, extra-short body, extra-long sleeves.

I suspect this was not a milspec contract, because the pockets (tho without handwarmers) are seriously close together - barely an inch either side of the zip flap - and the collar slopes down so radically in front that you can wear it latched with a tie and still see the knot.

The Schott is without patches or painting, altho for a while I wore this patch from the 1940 World's Fair on one shoulder:

It inspired occasional fond reminiscences from New Yorkers and no recognition whatsoever from anyone else.

 

[jeep44]

I have one of the early Avirex A2s, that I bought sometime about '79 or '80. I was (and still am) quite pleased with how closely it matches up with my father's original A2-every detail was the same, and the lining was just the right material and color,too. It is a proper A2, with no handwarmer pockets or whatever. After all these years the cuffs and waistband are a bit raggedy, but I still like wearing it. For a while, I had grown out of it, but eventually lost enough weight to wear it again.

 

[auxair]

Sorry to mix up the names of the service, at least I didn't have "Royal" in there right? Actually I work for an executive jet manufacturer (the aircraft parked next to your hangar down the street at HKBAC), I'm originally from Malaysian Borneo but immigrated to the States in 83 when I was 17.

We should meet, ABACE if not sooner. You can email me at gardenia8@aol.com. Off to bed now!

Wilco - small world indeed, you just work next door in "Madonna's place"

We should certainly meet.

 

[H.Johnson]

Yes, my experience with an early Avirex mirrors this. I compared mine to a Perry Sportswear jacket and the resemblance was significant. Was your father's jacket a Perry, by any chance?

My son has pretty much wrecked mine skateboarding, but it's no doubt saved his skin on numerous occasions. In now looks like its been through WW2 several times over!

There is a lot of confusion over the dating of early Avirex jackets. The first commercial batch had a label with a 1978 date on it, and they used the same label for years.

I have one of the early Avirex A2s, that I bought sometime about '79 or '80. I was (and still am) quite pleased with how closely it matches up with my father's original A2-every detail was the same, and the lining was just the right material and color,too. It is a proper A2, with no handwarmer pockets or whatever. After all these years the cuffs and waistband are a bit raggedy, but I still like wearing it. For a while, I had grown out of it, but eventually lost enough weight to wear it again.

 

[Interbak]

My old standby is from Flight Apparel Industries. I got it used for $80.00 and it's my favorite A-2. I don't know the exact year of production, but the company closed in '86 so it's sometime in the early '80's. It has a couple of accuracy flaws, like the only having single stitching along the epps instead of double, but it's well made, has great knits, and the color is a perfect mid-brown. I have several other A-2's including an Aero, but this one is just comfortable, compared to the others it just doesn't seem to try too hard to be perfect, it seems more real. Nothing wrong with the oldies!

 

[SamReu]

Spokes Man

Some readers may recall that I have mentioned my first A-2 on this site before. It was (and is) a Golden Bear. I picked it up at a mall leather store 27 years ago. It cost $200, which was a stunning sum for a young man whose annual salary was about $10,000. I plunked down a couple of twenties and put it on layaway, getting it out just in time for a cold North Carolina winter.
The jacket has side-entry pockets, which is its most glaring difference from the original flight jacket. But I didn't know that at the time, and I wore that jacket everywhere -- to work, on dates, on assignments and on all sorts of trips. A leather jacket, you know, doesn't mind getting tossed in the trunk, or stuffed in an overhead bin. Mine suffered all those indignities, and more.
The greatest insult it endures these days is neglect. It's hanging in the attic, where I hope one of my sons one day will discover it and say, "The Old Man isn't wearing it, so I might as well."

 

[jeep44]

Yes, my experience with an early Avirex mirrors this. I compared mine to a Perry Sportswear jacket and the resemblance was significant. Was your father's jacket a Perry, by any chance?

My son has pretty much wrecked mine skateboarding, but it's no doubt saved his skin on numerous occasions. In now looks like its been through WW2 several times over!

There is a lot of confusion over the dating of early Avirex jackets. The first commercial batch had a label with a 1978 date on it, and they used the same label for years.

I have no idea who made my father's A2-it had a liner (and probably a label,too), but when I was wearing it back in the early '70s at college, the lining just became so tattered that I ripped it all out and wore it like that. It is an oddball A2, in that it has a seam across the back from arm to arm. Experts have told me that this cannot be an issue A2, but my Dad, who is happily still enjoying life in Florida, just scoffs at this foolishness, especially as I have photos of him wearing it in front of his B17 in 1944.

 

[Hamsterjeep]

Early Reproductions

My old standby is from Flight Apparel Industries. I got it used for $80.00 and it's my favorite A-2. I don't know the exact year of production, but the company closed in '86 so it's sometime in the early '80's. It has a couple of accuracy flaws, like the only having single stitching along the epps instead of double, but it's well made, has great knits, and the color is a perfect mid-brown. I have several other A-2's including an Aero, but this one is just comfortable, compared to the others it just doesn't seem to try too hard to be perfect, it seems more real. Nothing wrong with the oldies!

Most of the folks on the various forums seem to forget that 30 or so years ago there were no decent reproduction A-2's available, and today we are lucky to have such a variety to choose from.
My first jacket was a Schott I-S-674-M-S bomber jacket that I got for Christmas in 1976, and it was the closest thing to an A-2 thatI or my parents could find. I still have it although it is now 4 sizes too small for me. Looking at it now, it is more of a mall type bomber jacket, very heavy- something more at home with the motorcycle crowd. The next best jacket I could find was a Flight Apparell Industries A-2, and it was as close as you could come to an authentic A-2 for the period. They made it in cowhide and goat, the latter being much better than the former. The owner of the company was killed in a plane crash, and the company went out of business. I still have that jacket as well. They also mabd a very nice Navy version G-1, and I believe they had a military contract too. Avirex made the 1978-01 jackets which were very nice for the period, these being before the "Cockpit" ones' with the 8X10" label inside. I've bought and sold several of these jackets on eBay because they can be had for under $100 quite frequently. They are actually very well made jackets, that hold up well, and they actually fit quite nicely. Most people off the street wouldn't know the difference between an Avirex or a top of the line RMNZ, Eastman , Aero or Goodwear- except that they would fall over if you told them what you paid for the high end stuff. Currently I have Eastman, Aero and Flight Suits/G&B, and my best jacket I wear almost exclusively is a G&B Historic Goatskin, and after hard wear the past few years, it's looking better with age. This jacket is on a Flight Jacket CD as one of the featured reproductions.
However, the BEST, and I mean BEST jacket I own, is a .....
SEFTON.
I found this on eBay in mint condition in the correct size, and by far it is the nicest jacket out of my collection. I liked it so much, this was the jacket chosen to have WWII artwork painted on the back. It remains the best and most favorite in my collection.
-Brian

 

[H.Johnson]

This is cool...Out of the closet and loving it!

...we are discussing the sort of jackets that would be scoffed at by 'purists' on many forums (and in some threads on this forum, I think). We all have to start with jackets somewhere and in those days you couldn't log on to teh site, add to the cart and type in your credit card details!

I was prompted by this thread to look in my son's closet for the 1970s Avirex I gave him (when I mistakenly decided that only originals were worth wearing)
and found another Avirex that I had forgotten about! I find it harder to date this one (all the early labels say '1978') but I think it's from the early or middle 80s. It's in goatskin and has a YKK zip (the 1970s horsehide one has a 1940s Talon with a rectangular puller) and is a slightly less trim cut than the earlier jackets. A nice jacket - I just may steal it back.

I was reminded of another 'orphan brand' of which I once owned an example - Protech. These were made (in Massachusetts, IIRC) by the son of famed US WW2 ace and Eagle Squadron member Colonel Jim Goodson. Mine was the limited edition that came with a certificate signed by Col. Goodson saying that it was 'just the same' as the one he wore in WW2. I bought it in the US and wore it through customs...allegedly.

The colonel must have been misremembering, because it wasn't that much like a WW2 jacket. However, it must have been appealing because I was wearing it at a hotrod show in 1987 (I remember because I 'trophied') when the wife of a guy in the music industry spotted it and coveted it. He offered me substantially more than I paid for it and I couldn't resist. I used the money to buy an original Dubow. The way I feel now, I would kind-of like the Portech back...

 

[Bilbe]

My first A-2 is up for sale

First of all, I want to say this thread is quite inspirational. The photos are beautiful. My neighbor is selling my first A-2 on eBay for me. It's an early 80s, horsehide Averix A-2.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150317461459&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

It was a special order at the time (it was the only way I could get the horsehide) and is a great jacket. I wore it almost every day for 15 or so years until I settled into my new and slightly larger body size. After 10 years of optimistically believing that I will loose enough weight to fit back into it, I have decided to sell it. Please have a look at the auction. Thanks.

I'm planning on putting the money toward a new, roomier A-2, so I guess I'll have to figure out which one to get.