S. H Knopf Mfg., Co. A2

[aswatland]

Here are some pictures of the second Knopf A2 in my collection. It is the first one I have owned which is all original. The contract was issued on 18th May 1942 and was for 10,000 jackets, making it one of the smaller Wartime contracts. The horsehide retains all its original finish, which is essentially mid brown, with some russet sections. The lining is complete with little wear. An interesting feature of this contract is the brown painted backs to the nickel collar ring snaps. This jacket has an M-41 Talon zipper, but the M-40 Conmar was also used in the contract. The size tag has been cut off, but it is a 44 and a very comfortable fit too! Notice the off set nomenclature label, which was a machinist error.

 

[aswatland]

 

[Skyhawk]

Wow looking good! Glad to see you are getting along with the Knoff and the fit is great! Truly an amazing piece. Happy I got a chance to own it for a short time. I didn't wear it while I had it. I'm a size 40-42. Enjoy!

 

[nick123]

Love that mixed grain.

 

[wild_balls]

Beautiful jacket, and a great fit! Didn't the last contract of the Bronco contract also have the painted snaps?

Cheers Joakim

 

[aswatland]

Beautiful jacket, and a great fit! Didn't the last contract of the Bronco contract also have the painted snaps?

Cheers Joakim

Thanks and yes the last contract Bronco from 1944 did indeed have painted snaps.

 

[Sloan1874]

Another beaut, Andrew. It's amazing how off-centre the hanger loop can be. The stitch holes on the Cable I owned for a while were ludicrously out of line, but are a true sign of the 'just get these things out there' origins of the A-2.

 

[aswatland]

Interestingly Craig both Knopf and Cable were based in Boston and their respective A2s were very similar in many respects.

 

[willyto]

Another beaut, Andrew. It's amazing how off-centre the hanger loop can be. The stitch holes on the Cable I owned for a while were ludicrously out of line, but are a true sign of the 'just get these things out there' origins of the A-2.

Most of us would get really picky with such details nowadays (borderline OCD) but it's nice to see that they didn't really care for that detail back then. Who would be crazy enough to care about his jacket label when the enemy is trying to shot you down while flying as a fighter pilot or bomber crew.

We can look for perfection now because we are sitting in our safe homes and our jackets are not made in a factory line that needs to produce thousands of them for the war effort.

 

[aswatland]

Aircrew would have been happy just to have an A2 in 1942 when this one was made. The off set label may have concerned an AN inspector, but they only sampled batches and I suspect this one was not examined in the factory.