Milu said:
Nice post! And I totally agree.
I can't comment as to who made the Top Gun jackets, but elsewhere someone said they're Avirex. And Maverick's jacket in the movie did have a chit of sorts, but it was for a Pacific Theater deployment, with (I fuzzily recall) Japanese and South Korean flags on it, among others. It was a pretty heavily patched jacket. But it's funny to us that the guy called this an A-2, when it's so obviously a G1 (naval aviator = naval jacket, fuzzy collar being the obvious giveaway).
You're right, that Avirex was one of the original contractors when the Air Force decided to reissue A-2s to pilot officers. But the mil spec then was only inspired by, but not the same as, the wartime spec.
As to the Flying Tigers, they came from all branches of the service (Pappy Boyington, for instance, was an ex-marine). By law, they had to resign their U.S. military commissions since we were not officially at war with Japan (they had to go work as "aircraft consultants") in China. But almost all of them wore M-422a jackets which had been purchased by the Nationalist Chinese government and issued as part of their kit. Take a look at period photos of the AVG, and you'll see this is true. (It's important not to confuse AVG images with later photos that do show a lot of guys in A2s. These are usually of the 23rd Fighter Group, 14th Air Force and often misidentified as Flying Tigers since the 14th adopted the flying cat logo when the AVG was dissolved and officially absorbed by the USAAF. Keep in mind the AVG was only operational as a combat unit for about seven months, while the 14th Air Force was in China from mid-1942 until after VJ Day.)
As to Avirex jackets, I have to agree with you about the earlier ones. Collectively, Avirex quality is all over the map. The earlier ones I've seen are actually pretty decent attempts--color-correct cotton (or poly-cotton?)linings, hanger loop (but only sewn through the liner, not the back), seal brown leather, but with synthetic cuffs. Decent hides, too, but with spotty quality control like mismatched epaulets, etc. Can't hide the cut, though, which places the shoulders, um, off the shoulder. Too bad, but...to the average Joe an early Avirex jacket is pretty close, and very affordable. The later Avirex from the '80s, with the "escape map" linings and pseudo-armyspeak labels deserve to be laughed at, and it only went downhill from there.
Oh, weird piece of leather jacket trivia: The year Top Gun came out was the only time G1 jacket sales outstripped the A-2--hardly a coincidence.
That's my two cents. That's my voice being added to the chorus.
