Memphis Belle crewman in Irvin

[John Lever]

Michael asked me to post this

 

[stevetfire]

Great picture, to me it conveys the relief of surviving another raid , so easy to forget how young they were even they look old beyond their years..... If that Irvin could tell a story ....
Cheers John/Michael

 

[2BM2K]

Excellent photo. Is the chap on the left wearing an Irvin?

 

[Dr H]

Is that a wired Irvin?

 

[Otter]

Crewman on the right must be the ball gunner!

 

[John Lever]

Is that a wired Irvin?

Looks like it, short arms though.

 

[Roughwear]

IAC wired jacket which appears to be a size too small! It is not uncommon to see pictures of USAAF bomber crew wearing Irvins in the UK.

 

[Bombing IP]

This Memphis Belle was not the first plane to complete 25 missions ,it was the Hells Angels !

BIP

 

[B-Man2]

Pilot and Co-pilot both appear to be wearing RAF Mosquito boots.

 

[coanda]

Pilot and Co-pilot both appear to be wearing RAF Mosquito boots.

Hi Burt
The boots are 40 Pattern RAF flying boots,
Cheers
Rick

 

[Roughwear]

This Memphis Belle was not the first plane to complete 25 missions ,it was the Hells Angels !

BIP

Correct, but the Bell got the publicity!

 

[archbury918]

Yes, Hell's Angels was first, but the names of the competing a/c was also a publicity decision.
Wyler wryly joked that he had plenty of film of the 303rd bomber should the Belle not return.
If only to uncover that film today!

btw,The photo is taken before the crew departed to the States for their publicity tour. Also that is the bombardier wearing the Irvin and the boots are actually '41 pattern. It is hard to see the ankle straps.
I dug up the photo for a friend that wanted a clear pic of the squadron patch that the crew wore. Seems there are several variations of it.