“A Better Fighting Garment…” 3.0 - The Guide to U.S. Navy Intermediate Leather Flight Jackets

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AN-6552 MONARCH MFG. CO. MILWAUKEE CONTRACT N288s-32358​

Contract Dates: Awarded May 1945, completed October 1945 (WSC 2133)
Cost of the Contract: $234,000 (WSC 2133)
Comments on the leather or mouton:
Liner: brown
Thread: medium brown
Zipper(s): blackened Talon
Knits: purple single-ply rib-rack knits
General Comments:
Identifying/Distinguishing Details:

• Monarch details
  • Seam running down back of liner - Monarch is the only manufacturer to do this.
  • Wind flap ends about 1 inch short of bottom of jacket (GW)
  • Tall pockets with well-scalloped flaps
  • Front panels wrap around the back, where they are sewn under the panels of the bi-swing back.
• Inside pocket built into the leather facings, unlike earlier Monarchs.
• Single-stitched back-belt, much like other makers, but unlike Monarch’s earlier contracts.
• black US stencil

Monarch 32358 Ex. No. 1:

Monarch 32358 Ex. No. 2:

 

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AN-J-3A WILLIS AND GEIGER INC. N288s-35805​

Contract Dates: Must be awarded May 1945 as N288s prefix was not used after that date
Cost of the Contract:
Comments on the leather or mouton: made in both goatskin and horsehide, and is the only Navy jacket contract known to have used horsehide.
Liner: brown or even purple .
Thread: medium brown
Zipper(s): blackened brass Talon
Knits: brown or rust red (like an Aero A-2) single-ply rib-rack knits
General Comments:
Identifying/Distinguishing Details:

• Manufactured at least partly in horsehide.
• W&G details:
  • W&G was famous for having a rather boxy fit on all their Navy jacket contracts.
  • inside pocket surrounded by leather facings
  • nice gentle scalloping on the pocket flaps with rounded pocket corners (JC CD > USN > M-422A > W&G)
  • Large zipper box (JC CD > USN > M-422A > W&G)
  • John Chapman observes that W&G jackets can often be seen with mis-matched jacket panels (JC CD > USN > M-422A > W&G)
  • Front panels wrap around the back, where they are sewn under the panels of the bi-swing back.
• Horizontal stitching on the back of the collar - W&G only started adding this during the AN-J-3A series.
• White U.S. stencil. Aota-san has claimed that “the last two orders…[for AN-J-3As] are marked ‘USN’” (FG 122). This would mean that both this contract and L.W. Foster’s lone AN-J-3A contract had USN stencils. While we have seen a number of Foster AN-J-3As with the USN stencil, all of jackets we have seen from W&G’s last contract have had the U.S. stencil.

W&G 35805 Ex. No. 1:

W&G 35805 Ex. No. 2:

 

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AN-J-3A L.W.FOSTER SPORTSWEAR CO.INC. CONT. N383s1035​

Contract Dates: Awarded April or May 1949 (N383S contracts were first noted in the May 1949 Federal Register)
Cost of the Contract:
Comments on the leather or mouton:
Liner: often brown or more often salmon
Thread: medium to dark brown
Zipper(s): blackened brass Conmar “conmatic” zipper
Knits: muted brown single-ply rib-rack knits
General Comments:

• Jackets weren’t made under the 55-J-14 Spec until the amended 10-May-1949 Spec. L.W. Foster’s contract occurred just before the specification was amended, but we don’t know the reason for the contract being made as an AN-J-3A.
• This is an unusual contract. In most respects it resembles Foster’s later 55-J-14 contracts, except for a number of holdovers from the AN-J-3A series:
  • Frequent salmon lining
  • Occasional appearance of “U.S.” stencils
  • The blackened brass Conmar “conmatic” zipper had been used by other AN-J-3A jackets and would continue to be used on the 55-J-14 contracts, but only by L.W. Foster, so far as we have been able to ascertain.
  • Simple button design, like a few previous M-422, M-422A and AN-J-3A contracts.

Identifying/Distinguishing Details:

• Simple button design without ridge running around the edge - as near as we can tell, L.W. Foster only had these buttons for their AN-J-3A contract.
• White block letter U.S. or U.S.N. stencil
• Otherwise, standard L.W. Foster first pattern details:
  • The number one identifying detail is a line of stitching distinguishing the pencil pocket, similar to G&F’s early jackets. Both pockets are the same width, however. L.W. Foster is the only maker that did this.
  • Nicely scalloped pockets
  • Big in the shoulders, tight around the waist.
  • The back panel is much wider than earlier contractors
  • Small collar
  • Simple throat latch

Foster AN-J-3A Ex. No. 1:

 

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Foster AN-J-3A Ex. No. 2:

 

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55-J-14 [31-Oct-1947*] - New Name, New War, Same Trusty Old Jacket​

* On October 31, 1947, the 55-J-14 specification superseded spec. AN-J-3A. The new specification called for a shearling collar, but no known contracts were ever awarded based on it. On May 10, 1949 it was amended and the amended specification called for a mouton collar. All known 55-J-14 jackets are based upon the later 1949 specification.

Many write-ups on the 55-J-14 can inadvertently leave readers confused about the relationship of this specification to earlier flight jackets. Since the last Navy jacket prior to the 55-J-14 that most repro makers offer is the M-422a, novices can be forgiven for supposing that there were no jackets in between, and that the Navy had not been producing jackets for close to a decade. In fact, the last AN-J-3A contract was issued in the same fiscal year as the first 55-J-14 jackets.

The 55-J-14 had six manufacturers: Aviators Clothing Co. (formerly the well-known Air Force contractor, Aero Leather Clothing), L.W. Foster Sportswear, A. Pritzker & Sons, Star Sportswear, Burjac Sportswear (formerly Edmund T. Church Co.), and the (now incredibly rare) B.-G. Inc. Of these, the Aviators Clothing Co. jackets have proven extremely prone to red rot (Sheeley, 27 Sep. '22), and collectors are advised to be careful when buying a jacket of this contract.

55-J-14 jackets have been characterized as shorter than previous specifications, tighter in the gut, and with longer sleeves. This is an accurate description of the Foster contracts, but, Star and B.-G. Inc. had short sleeves, relative to their torsos, and the Aviators Clothing Co. torso is rather blousy. Given that Foster received just under half of the 55-J-14 contracts, however, it’s easy to see how the 55-J-14 got this misleading reputation. There aren’t any real consistent trends when it comes to the patterning of the 55-J-14s any more than there were for the M-422A or the AN-J-3A. Each manufacturer had its own interpretation.

The zippers are darkened to match the color of the leather as described in the Section C-1k, Spec 55-J-14 excerpt below, followed by the referenced Drawing AN229. Note these items speak of form, fit, and function and not for any specific zipper manufacturer.

 

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The Navy Class number, an arbitrary number used to indicate what the part is and what it is used for, was changed by this time for flight jackets from 37 to 55 (Class 55 - Jacket - 14). On the label it states (AER) and per the April 1949 “Glossary of US Naval Abbreviations” AER means Aeronautics (BuAer = Bureau of Aeronautics). As we mentioned in our post on the AN-J-3A, the Navy typically used the Spec. No. on flight clothing labels, and added “G-1” beginning with this contract to help the user identify the item (as with many other items).

Besides the major Navy bureaus there were purchasing offices and base installations that also procured clothing. such as “N383s” for the Aviation Supply Office in Philadelphia, PA. Per the 55-J-14 specification, nylon thread was used for the jacket and cotton thread for the buttons.

Note the absence of L.W. Foster contract N383s-96273 below. It was not a legitimate military issue and was removed from the list (three MIL-J-7823 jackets have contract numbers preceding this number, making a 55-J-14 contract of 96273 impossible). From the last AN-J-3a contract through the 55-J-14 the number of Naval Aviators across the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard grew from a low of 446 in 1948 to a peak of 1,691 in 1950 during the Korean War.