Wearing of the A2 jacket during WWII on/off base

[rocketeer]

I can't find a topic on the net without extensive searching, maybe someone else can help me out here with some information on service wearing of the A2.
1st
I was asked this question at a military re enactment gathering.
Was the A2 restricted to wearing on base only? Is this correct and simply re enactors artistic licence that these were worn at dances off base. I have read a few memoirs of aircrew from the times and most dressed to impress the ladies. Even on base dances most would wear their uniform. And god help the airman at the dance trying to bulls*t the girls about his rank, most knew every rank badge and bar from ground crew to a general.
2nd question.
American officers had most of their uniforms tailored to fit and had to pay for them, themselves. Were enlisted men allowed tailored uniforms as I read of an enlisted man whom was a tailor in civilian life altering other mens clothing but being restricted in this practice to officers only?
Cheers, Johnny Tee

 

[dinomartino1]

It was always common practice in the navy, army and marines for enlisted men to have their uniforms tailored, even denim fatigues. Sailors and soldiers with sewing skills would make extra cash by altering uniforms and amongst the bars, brothels and tattoo parlours in the areas that servicemen frequented there where always shops selling uniforms and doing alterations.

 

[dinomartino1]

Army Regulations 600-40
"Personnel, Wearing of the Service Uniform" (28 August 1941); War Department.

Flight clothing such as the A-2 jacket was not authorized to be worn off the camp or post unless required for flight duty.
What the regulations said and what happened in real life was of course a different matter, if you where a pilot flying thunderbolts off a captured airstrip in France I don't think anybody was going to bothered if you got in a jeep and drove to the local village wearing an A2 on and nobody was going to tell Patton or Macarthur they were breaking regulations by wearing flight jackets.

 

[dinomartino1]

d) Commanding officers of Army Air Forces stations may authorize the wear at their stations of the uniform prescribed for flying missions by enlisted men of the Army Air Forces when their duty is such that they may he called upon at any moment to engage in flying duty.

(d) Commanding officers of Army Air Forces stations may authorize the wear at their stations of the uniform prescribed for flying missions by enlisted men of the Army Air Forces when their duty is such that they may be called upon at any moment to engage in flying duty but such authorization will not allow the uniform for flying missions to be worn outside the limits of their posts, camps, or stations unless on duty which requires it.

 

[dinomartino1]

A littlt bit off topic but interesting, from the army times Feb.

your-uniform-wish-list-8-changes-soldiers-want-now

Your uniform wish list: 8 changes soldiers want now
But what other uniform changes do soldiers want? What do you think Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey should put at the top of his uniform to-do list?
Well, we asked, and you answered.
Here’s a look at some of your top requests. And we even ran them by Dailey, who wants to hear more from soldiers.
3. Bring back the World War II ‘pinks and greens.’

The distinctive World War II "pinks and greens" uniform seems to be popular with today's soldiers.

The old school uniforms appear to be popular among soldiers.
"I think the Army should have a khaki working uniform for officers and [noncommissioned officers] in office positions," one soldier wrote. "Think World War II Army."
Some soldiers said the uniforms recapture a so-called "golden era."
"I nominate World War II pinks and greens-style uniforms to make a return," another soldier wrote. "It’s classy as hell, has a solid historical look, and you can tell the person wearing it is in the Army."
Sgt. 1st Class Frank Cortez agrees.
"Bring back the [Eisenhower] dress coats, service cap instead of berets," he said.
SMA responds: When it comes to pinks and greens, Dailey, who previously floated the idea of bringing back a version of the Ike jacket, wants to know what soldiers think about the World War II uniform before moving forward with anything.

 

[rocketeer]

All interesting stuff, many thanks.
Not being a re enactor poses a few questions as I got into these jackets etc before there really was any kind of 40s WWII era stuff going on.
Another couple of questions that cropped up were about the so called "50 Mission crusher". Is this another misconception as I don't ever recall any stories of a special service cap being issued for doing 50 missions, if you were lucky to survive 50 missions that is. From photo's I have seen most crush caps are simply standard hats with the wire stiffener taken out so as to fit headphones, how stiff the cap was made in the first place I would think would be down to the manufacturer.
And of course there is the red silk lining of the A2 for an 'Ace'. Another fact or fable? I don't like to tell enthusiasts what is and what isn't correct , but as I usually wear my original some folks think I am an expert though I am simply an enthusiast whom has owned one a long time. I have seen a lot of original A2s for sale both on the net and at events, usually a re lined jacket sells for a significant amount less £££ than a similar condition jacket with it original lining.
Any thoughts?

 

[dinomartino1]

Your right about the caps.

United States Army Aviators' Clothing, 1917-1945
By C.G. Sweeting
"Another special embellishment worn on the A-2 jacket was a special red lining that was installed, instead of the normal light brown lining, for aces of the 56th and 479th Fighter Groups flying out of England during the war. Aces in these units also wore red linings in their regular uniforms."

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Vi.../Display/Article/196175/col-hubert-hub-zemke/

From the USAF museum
This A-2 flight jacket was issued to the donor, Col. Hubert "Hub" Zemke, when assigned to his first active duty unit, the 8th Pursuit Group at Langley Field, Va., in 1937. He wore it while demonstrating the P-40 in England and the Soviet Union in the spring and summer of 1941. Zemke also wore it when his unit, the 56th Fighter Group, went to Europe in December 1942. The red lining is not an original feature of the A-2 jacket. The 56th had a tradition that when a pilot became an ace, he could have red lining sewn into his flight jacket; Zemke was credited with 17-3/4 victories (the fraction resulted from sharing credit for a single kill with other pilots).

 

[Deacon211]

Hey Rocketeer,

What Dino posted is about the right of it. Consider that the current practice of even wearing your utilities out in public as you may see today is only about 25 years old I'd say. Before that, if you were seen in public you were wearing some level of dress uniform. Whether that was the short sleeved khaki shirt or the full coat and tie was dictated by the local area commander and based on the climate.

In the Marines at least, there is still even a "sleeves rolled up" day in the spring and the opposite in the fall perhaps accompanied by the switch from woodland to desert camouflage uniforms.

The A-2 (like the G-1) is/was flying gear and it was not intended to wear off base. I suspect what Dino said is right about this as well. If you were in the middle of Nowheresville, France and you went to go pick up some fresh eggs for the mess from the locals I suspect no one cared.

However, I think you were asking for "Tower Flower" duty for a month if you were sporting about London or Paris in your A-2.

As for the 50 mission crush, I think you are exactly right. It was just the nickname given to the hats of the old hands in the squadron who had removed their stiffener for comfort and essentially turned their wheel cap into a beret. Other services and other specialties had their own symbols for being an "Old Salt".

Lastly, as to alterations, there probably were (as there are now) guidelines as to the proper fit of the uniform; sometimes seldom followed by the quartermaster.

Whether authorized or not, servicemen have always been pretty entrepreneurial in secretly making their clothes look good.

Wearing the old style BDUs, I knew more than one sergeant that would have a local tailor cut the gussets out of the pockets so that they we're perfectly flat and chop the sleeves down so that there was only one fold in the sleeve roll.

These ruined the uniform for its intended purpose. But it sure looked good at inspection!


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