Acceptance Stamps

I’d asked earlier if anyone knew when the Army-Navy (“AN”) acceptance stamp was first used and I hadn’t gotten any answers, so I went about trying to find something. Apparently, the AN stamp first saw use on Army flying jackets in the middle of 1941 when the Air Corps became the AAF. Prior to that, acceptance stamps consisted of an “A” with district and inspector’s marks inside. Take a look at the attached chart and you’ll see those 2 acceptance stamps (along with AC and AAF rejection stamps— I can think of more than one modern maker I’d like to send the latter to…).

There’s one maker out there who did his homework and nailed this detail. You guessed it, John Chapman. One picture shows the stamp in JC’s Roughwear 18091. The 18091 contract was issued in March 1941, and sometime after that the jackets were made, then inspected. Most likely, the bulk of those jackets weren’t inspected for use until after June 1941, hence the”AN” acceptance stamp. Another photo shows JC’s 1939 Werber and on it we see the pre-June 1941 Air Corps “A” acceptance stamp. That’s a really nice touch.

All that said however, I’d like to hear more thoughts on the use of the AAF winged star stamp. I’ve read what I could find here and nothing I found is definitive. It’s clearly established that the winged star insignia wasn’t adopted until Hap Arnold did so in 1942, and some on the Forum have speculated that such a stamp wasn’t used until the 1943 order was issued to clearly mark the jackets with AAF identification stamps and decals. If that’s true, then perhaps no modern maker has that one right. Has anyone found anything new on the AAF stamp use? I for one would love to hear it, as well as any further speculation by our resident experts.

Interesting information - thanks for sharing!

Well done, my man. There were variations in size and format to the later a stamps. For instance, I recall seeing very small a stamps on doniger a-2s. I surmise that due to location of the factory, and the fact that doniger had only one contract, all of them which were stamped (not all of jackets in a run were stamped), were stamped with the same small an stamp.

While the following doesn't answer any pertinent questions about the winged- star insignia other than to provide the exact date of adoption, it's nonetheless interesting. Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force Historical Support Division:

"The shoulder sleeve insignia worn by all personnel of the Army Air Forces (AAF) wherever stationed was approved on 23 February 1942. The patch was designed by Mr. James T. Rawls, an artist and a member of General Arnold's staff. He made many designs, most incorporating pilot wings, but Arnold rejected them all. Rawls, dejected by his lack of success, was then shown a picture of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill giving his well-known "V for Victory" sign. Rawls made a quick sketch bending the wings up, and Arnold said, "That's just what I wanted." Arnold, incidentally, is said to have designed the first Air Force pilot wings in 1917 when he was a major."