Reed N-3A

[Atticus]

My Reed N-3A just arived. Its actually pretty darn good condition. Better than I thought it would be, for sure. Mouton is still soft and so is the ruff. The jacket's shell has no holes and minimal fading. The pocket snaps all work and the pockets don't have holes. Got a nice old Crown zipper. I've never owned a jacket with one of those before. But no USAF roundrel...dang it. My N-2A doesn't have one either. Oh well.

So here's the tag. Can someone help me date this old jacket?

AF

 

[deeb7]

The contract is FY 1951 ... Full Gear notes synthetic or real trim fur.

 

[Atticus]

Thank you, David. Yeah, I'm pretty sure the hood is lined with mouton. There's a small (1 inch) tear in the lining and the sheep skin is visible below the fur. But I'm also sure the ruff is synthetic. I lifted one corner of the ruff outside of the stitching...and the material holding the hair is some sort of cloth with an obvious weave. It almost looks like carpet backing. Its the same material that's on my N-2A and I had decided long ago that it was man-made.

Thanks again!

AF

 

[Weasel_Loader]

Nice grab. The Reeds are nice with the crown zippers. Yes, Reed did have two versions. The ones with real coyote fur are somewhat difficult to find. There was one that closed last month for $336 (size Medium).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/14066123655...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_1215

Even more rare are the Monarch contracts or Aviators Clothing. The rarest of all has to be the Aviators Clothing version with N-3 colored mouton on the inside of the hood. I have only seen one N-2A come up for sale with this mouton.

Almost forgot, I believe none of the Reeds came with AF decal.

Sometimes I wish I kept my Aviators Clothing N-2A since it was in great shape, but it just doesn't get cold enough to wear it here.

You got a nice collection of nylon building up now Geoff.

 

[Weasel_Loader]

Thought you'd get a kick out of this one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/22094047262...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_622wt_1215

Should I tell this seller, it's not rare and has had hood fur replaced?

 

[Weasel_Loader]

Here was a Monarch that sold recently.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/30064883799...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_6704wt_982

 

[Weasel_Loader]

Okay, last one. Promise :lol:

Reed with coyote.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12083676521...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_600wt_1215

One more Reed.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/28079454623...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_2227wt_1280

 

[Atticus]

Hi Danny! This is the first flight jacket that I've bought in a long time. I've been buying field jackets and deck jackets, instead. And hats. I've bought some Stetsons recently.

I bought this jacket even though I wasn't looking for one. Just ran across it and put a half-hearted snipe on the auction. It closed just a few dollars lower than my snipe. The auction photos were terrible...I couldn't even read the tag...so I didn't expect too much. I really think if the seller had used some better photos, I would have been outbid. Anyhow, what showed up was well worth the money, especially since older N-jacket prices seem to have increased so much recently.

I'll probably only get to wear it only a few days a year. Or maybe I'll just man-up and wear it whenever...like my district court homies. They wear their N-jackets no matter the temperature. Heck, if they didn't, where would they cary their guns and knives and dope?

AF

 

[Peter Graham]

That's really tidy Geoff. For some reason I'm not struck on the blue L-2A's or B-15's but the N jackets look great in blue. As I've said before, wish I'd picked one up before prices went through the roof.

 

[Tim P]

If you fancy trading it for a reed N3 in the same size and shape let me know..