Spec. 94-3040 Jackets, Flying Type A-2

2BM2K said:

Fascinating stuff about the early A2 contracts and a good idea about having a thread to try and ID the button A2's from original photo's.

The only bits of the jigsaw missing are the original horsehde specification and the jacket drawing.

US Army specification 9-77 Leather, Horsehide

Air Corps drawing 30-1415 Flying Jacket, Type A-2

If these could be found then that would be amazing.

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I'm already searching for the drawing 30-1415, along with some other items. I can add the 9-77 spec to the list.

It may take awhile. Trying to get the original A-2 spec 94-3040 took months and it had to be de-classified too. Nonetheless, whatever I find I'll post it here first.

Its almost comical that the specs for a flight jacket made in 1938 were still classified in this day and age.
I cant possibly imagine why they were classified in the first place.

Thanks 33-1729 and congrats.
This is one of the greatest contributions ever. Would love to see the Drawing.

Blimey, 33, you've been a busy man. Your hard work is much appreciated. A Goldsmith A-2 has got to be the Holy Grail of flight jackets! Somebody somewhere might have one in their attic!

Second others 33-1729! Your hard work and solid research is an amazing contribution to this forum.

I agree 100% with the above. Amazing research! Thanks for posting here.

Great to see some renewed vigor in a thread and some awesome "new" information!

Same here...Great research and info.......Thank you

Just an update. I'm still looking for a the drawings et al, but nothing yet.

a friggnmazn!

Speaking of horse hide tanning, I know they used chrome but what about aniline?

On the original A-2 spec 94-3040, signed on May 9, 1931 & approved on Jul 25, 1932, the reference horsehide leather spec was not included (scan below). Just the ones on shipment and how to mark shipments (23-54 & 100-2).





The reference to the horse hide specs, along with the ones on the silk lining, were intentionally struck out as shown on this paper copy, dated Oct 20, 1931. It also references two different "Leather, Horsehide" specs, 12015B & 9-77 under the strike-outs. (Production A-2 linings were never made of silk by the original maker.)




In Aug 18, 1932 a request was already made to investigate leather other than horse hide. Given the difficulty in changing specs, the horse hide spec reference may have been intentionally struck out of the original spec to enable quicker substitutions.






In Gary Eastman's excellent reference book "Type A-2 Flight Jacket Identification Manual" he shows a Feb 25, 1941 letter about chrome tanned pony hide spec 9-94 that superseded No. 12030 on page 32. This means four different horsehide leather specs were used by early 1941. So what you got may depend upon when it was produced. Still looking for the original horse hide specs. Anyone have them? One of them?

I can't add much on the chrome versus aniline tanning in relation specifically to A-2s but I can say that chrome tanning in relation to flying kit had a long history. The RFC specified chrome tanned leather on their issue flying coats and the companies offering flying coats for private purchase (which was where most officers obtained their flying kit up until 1918) such as Burberry were in chrome tanned leather as well.

Wow! Really digging this research on the original specs. It appears that silk linings were removed very early on, but what about the very first ones made? I wonder if some had silk linings back in the early 30's.

Also makes me wonder if those 25 Goldsmith & Sons are kicking around somewhere, maybe unlabeled and unrecognized. Can you imagine one sitting in a small vintage clothing store, or on ebay sold as a unlabeled vintage A-2. Are there any photos or drawings of the Goldsmith jackets or the labels?

Can you imagine walking into a vintage clothing store and seeing a beat up A-2 with a Goldsmith & Sons Co label?

Insta-purchase!!

Skyhawk said:

Wow! Really digging this research on the original specs. It appears that silk linings were removed very early on, but what about the very first ones made? I wonder if some had silk linings back in the early 30's.

Also makes me wonder if those 25 Goldsmith & Sons are kicking around somewhere, maybe unlabeled and unrecognized. Can you imagine one sitting in a small vintage clothing store, or on ebay sold as a unlabeled vintage A-2. Are there any photos or drawings of the Goldsmith jackets or the labels?

Can you imagine walking into a vintage clothing store and seeing a beat up A-2 with a Goldsmith & Sons Co label?

Insta-purchase!!

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It's not "that silk linings were removed very early on", but they were NEVER used on the production A-2's by the original maker.

Please let us know if you find a Goldsmith & Sons A-2. That has got to be the top of everyone's list by now.

Wow. Crazy stuff! Great research! I wonder if any of the unseen contracts had white labels?
Dave

B-Man2 said:

Its almost comical that the specs for a flight jacket made in 1938 were still classified in this day and age.
I cant possibly imagine why they were classified in the first place.

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Dude! Are you trying to get us shut down?! I just heard a drone go by and it might have been black!

Great detective work - yes I'd be interested to see the drawings and if they state a names/s as to who actually designed the A2?

Gary Eastman reference book is excellent but there are mistakes.

The documentation is interesting as are the ones from the test depatments.

Changes to a leather spec. are denoted by a suffix A, B, C etc.

The horse hide leather specification has two different ref. numbers; Gov. spec. 12051-D and also US Army spec 9-77B.
Same spec. , different numbers.

In equestrian terminology a Pony is a Horse of limited statue, typically less than 14.5 hands. For example Dartmoor Pony, Shetland Pony.
Thus the spec 12030 is for Pony hide not Horse hide.
Also, on page 33 there is a test document for Horse hide referencing spec 9-77-B. This document post dates the Pony spec.

33-1729 said:

It's not "that silk linings were removed very early on", but they were NEVER used on the production A-2's by the original maker.

Please let us know if you find a Goldsmith & Sons A-2. That has got to be the top of everyone's list by now.

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I wonder what happened to Goldsmith & Sons? Presumably they had a company archive that either became part of another company, or their records are somewhere that might give a hint if what they produced in that 25, or point to what happened to them?

stanier said:

I wonder what happened to Goldsmith & Sons? Presumably they had a company archive that either became part of another company, or their records are somewhere that might give a hint if what they produced in that 25, or point to what happened to them?

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http://www.vintagebaseballgloveforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5522

Philip Goldsmith was an Austrian immigrant to the United States in 1861. In 1869 He and his wife moved to Covington KY., just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, OH. In Covington he opened the city’s first 25-cent store. He bought toy dolls from Wolf Fletcher, owner of a small manufacturing and repair shop in Covington. In 1875 Goldsmith closed his business and became partners with Fletcher in his manufacturing operation. During slack times after Christmas Fletcher was in the habit of hand making baseballs from left over materials to make ends meet. They patented a baseball winding machine in 1876 and began to expand their sporting goods business.

Their partnership ended in 1878 with each starting their own competing businesses just blocks apart. Goldsmith continued to make toy dolls, baseballs and other athletic goods and became highly successful. His business went through a few name changes and locations in Covington, but were known as P.Goldsmith & Co. by 1890. Philip’s sons, Oscar and Alfred became partners in the business in 1893 and a year later Philip met an untimely death by drowning . The sons carried on with the sporting goods side of the business and eliminated the toy doll manufacturing. Alfred soon sold his partnership interest to another brother, Edgar. Their youngest brother, Hugo became a partner in 1906. The business name was changed to P. Goldsmith's Sons Co. and they moved to a larger facility across the river in Cincinnati.

Hugo turned out to be a manufacturing genius over the years with many patents to his credit. He stabilized a notoriously seasonal industry by carrying 700 different sports products for every season and sport He increased employee efficiency by establishing incentive programs. In the throes of the Great Depression, he bought out two struggling sporting goods companies, Draper Maynard and Crawford, McGregor & Canby Co. which became MacGregor Golf Co.

Through all this his businesses thrived. The last of the original founders, Hugo Goldsmith died in 1952 leaving the company to a nephew. Lacking Hugo Goldsmith’s passion and leadership, the company was sold to Brunswick in 1958.