Why do A2's not have leather facings alongside the zip?

[Seb Lucas]

Just curious. Was it to make them lighter?

 

[aswatland]

Unlike many shearling jackets they don't need the extra reinforcement to prevent tearing. The leather shell of an A2 is quite strong enough to support the zipper without reinforcement. Plus of course reinforcement would add to the cost in the war.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

for the blindingly spectacular reason that it wasn't specified in the pattern.

bk

 

[Seb Lucas]

for the blindingly spectacular reason that it wasn't specified in the pattern.

bk

Sure Baron, that's clear. But WHY not?

 

[aswatland]

Sure Baron, that's clear. But WHY not?

For the reasons I gave above. Quite simply leather reinforcing strips were unnecessary and that's why they were not in the 1931 Spec.

 

[Doctor Strange]

My G&B Civil A-2 has facings, but I think that's essentially to support the handwarmer and wallet pocket bag attachments so they don't stress the lining.

Spec A-2 jackets - until the sacrilegious current spec that includes handwarmer and interior pockets, anyway - don't have them, because, as already stated, they aren't necessary. And they're an unwanted construction complexity, like the collar stand that mostly disappears once the war starts and the production crunch accelerates.

 

[aswatland]

It looks like the question has been fully answered now and time to move on!

 

[Lone_Ranger]

My G&B Civil A-2 has facings, but I think that's essentially to support the handwarmer and wallet pocket bag attachments so they don't stress the lining.

Spec A-2 jackets - until the sacrilegious current spec that includes handwarmer and interior pockets, anyway - don't have them, because, as already stated, they aren't necessary. And they're an unwanted construction complexity, like the collar stand that mostly disappears once the war starts and the production crunch accelerates.

Just for curiosity, I think I know what a collar stand is, but what exactly is it's purpose? And if it was a necessary design feature, how are they able to just drop it, for the sake of speeding up the manufacturing process?

 

[Doctor Strange]

I don't think the collar stand was formally required per the original A-2 spec, and there was some variation between manufacturers on whether it was used or not. Some who initially included them stopped during the war to speed production and save material. I think the majority of surviving original A-2 jackets don't have them, but their collars manage to stand and lay just fine without 'em.

Lots more info here - http://www.acmedepot.com/a2jacket/a2detail.html

 

[aswatland]

All the pre-war contracts and the following wartime contracts had collar stands-Rough Wear, Perry, Werber, Cooper, and two no-name contracts,
W535ac23383 (made by Fried Ostermann) and the 1756 contract (similar to Perry Sportswear A2s).

 

[Fletch]

The Werber 33-1729 had a leather facing, as does ELC's repro.

Details of other '30s A-2s are, of course, classified.

 

[aswatland]

Quite right, on the male side only.

 

[Fletch]

Now...how many of us referring to the 1931 spec drawing have ever seen it? I haven't.

 

[Kt Templar]

For those not that familar with the collar, when you say no collar stand does the collar attach to the directly to the body with no stand, or does it gust mean the stand is not re-inforced with a strip of leather?

 

[aswatland]

For those not that familar with the collar, when you say no collar stand does the collar attach to the directly to the body with no stand, or does it gust mean the stand is not re-inforced with a strip of leather?

An A2 without a collar stand had the collar stitched directly to the yoke of the jacket.

 

[Kt Templar]

I see what you mean, I just dug out my US Wings and Cooper jackets. Both do not have collar stands. The Cooper has a faux collar stand stitch that goes from the inside of the collar to the outside whilst the Wings just has stitching on the outside. This leaves the inner part of the collar (the part that touches your neck) with no stitching.

 

[garzo]

I was under the impression that the leather facings, which appeared later in the USN jackets, were simply a design detail that appeared as the jackets developed and evolved -- a new upgrade in the later models.