Type A-1 Trousers...Yep, Trousers...from 1931

[Fletch]

Apologies for posting below-the-waist outerwear - but here is a rarity among rarities. A pair of Switlik Parachute A-1 trousers in sheep-lined horsehide, the companion to the pure-unobtanium B-1 jacket.

I think these were made only by the one contractor, and only in 1931 and 1932, until the blanket lined B-2 jacket and A-2 trou were substituted.

Notice the Drawing No. 31-2411. The B-2 jacket was Dwg. 31-2412, and perhaps the B-1 was as well - the differences were just the lining and the neck closures.

These went for just $450 on eBay early last year. If they'd been the jacket, what do you bet ten times more in this condition...

 

[Foster]

Magnificent! $450 sounds like a excellent price for the lucky bidder.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

they looks, unsurprisingly, just like Irvin trousers.

 

[JanSolo]

Great pictures, thanks for posting!! I really like those pocket flaps. Reminds me of this one (Buzz Rickson B-2):

I wonder why nobody wants to make a B-1 or B-2. I know about the Lost Worlds, Real McCoys und Buzz Ricksons but still those tow jackets don't seem to be popular. Maybe it's because they haven't seen much of the war...

 

[Dr H]

From that comparison with the original (and allowing for 80 years of ageing of course), even one of the best of the repros (BR) hasn't really cracked the mellow brown tones.

 

[Fletch]

I wonder why nobody wants to make a B-1 or B-2. I know about the Lost Worlds, Real McCoys und Buzz Ricksons but still those tow jackets don't seem to be popular. Maybe it's because they haven't seen much of the war...

That's a big part of it. Make no mistake, the men who wore these were damned brave. A pic from 1932 shows 4 test pilots in B-2s - 2 of them were dead by 1935. But the mystique is of heroism. No Mighty Eighth, no Battle of Britain, no battle of anywhere, no heroes, no interest.

Another thing: these suits were built like tanks! Double-needle french seams everywhere. I just got a Buzz B-2 that's tight on me. I'm asking around about having it knocked off in my size. 2 builders have said they couldn't do it - not even as a one-off.

 

[JanSolo]

Another thing: these suits were built like tanks! Double-needle french seams everywhere.

Cool!!

Yes, my BR is well put together too, although you have to be careful with the Hookless zip...very easy to misalign.
I would really like to see a B-1 or B-2 from Eastman, Goodwear or Aero.

Here's the BR B-2:

PS: Fletch, I can't see the picture you posted. It seems to be private.

 

[Fletch]

John Chapman said that to get it right, he'd have to price it too high to move more than 4 or 5 a year. Aero was going to build a one-off, but they dropped even that idea. And Eastman sells Buzz - so much for them.

I love my Buzz. It just Does. Not. Fit.

 

[JanSolo]

It just Does. Not. Fit.

Oh dear! That's bad news. What size is it? And what's the biggest size Buzz make? 44 or 46? I feel that my jacket is very generously sized for a Japanese jacket.
Why don't you sell it via Classifieds or Ebay and try to get a bigger one or the LW or McCoys version in a better size?

 

[Fletch]

I just got rid of an LW because it was too heavy and stiff. And nobody who bought one of these a size too big would trade. It would be perfectly comfortable for them.

Here's the pic of the Wright Field pilots from 1932. Pete Hill, 2d from right, was killed in the crash of the prototype B-17 in 1935. Bert Woodring, far right, died when his P-30 attack plane blew up in midair in 1933.

 

[Edward]

I wonder why nobody wants to make a B-1 or B-2. I know about the Lost Worlds, Real McCoys und Buzz Ricksons but still those tow jackets don't seem to be popular. Maybe it's because they haven't seen much of the war...

I've long believed it to be the romanticism / fetishisation of WW2 in popular culture that dictates which jacket types are so much more popular than others, yes. If the B10 had come in a decade earlier, few indeed would care about the A2. Crying shame Aero won't do a B2. I'd love one.