Rare 1947 Air Force Parka

[a2jacketpatches]

A fairly rare bird, or at least not very common. It was a little tricky looking this one up and I couldn't find out much about it. At first I thought to be a common Korean War era parka, a type encountered often without a liner. I left it because I was convinced that's what it was. But this liner stuck in my head, the first I've seen. So it bugged me so much over a pizza that I had to go back and grab the jacket and liner for ten bucks. From what I read, the liner is fiberglass and my itchy hands would agree. One of my first scores up here in Big Bear Mountain. I found a 1937 copy of Mein Kampf and an M1928 Haversack as well this morning. Any additional info on this would be appreciated.

 

[watchmanjimg]

Yes, that's the Air Force version of the 1947-pattern parka-type overcoat. These were worn in Korea although not as common as the M48 and M51 versions. I'm curious where you read the liner is fiberglass as I believe they're double-faced wool pile. In any case it was a good find at $10. I have two in my collection, one of which retains the web belt that slides into the tunnel loops as seen in your pics.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

I mixed up the fiberglass liner with an experimental model, sort of a quilted looking thing in white.