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

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MIL-J-7823 CAGLECO SPORTSWEAR CONTRACT N383-28657A​

Contract Dates: contract dates unknown, but awarded sometime between 1951 and 1958
Cost of the Contract: unknown
Comments on the leather or mouton:
Lining color: brown
Thread: medium brown
Zipper(s): nickel Conmar zipper
Knits: brown single-ply rib-rack knits
General Comments:
Identifying/Distinguishing Details:

• Cagleco details:
  • Small shoulders
  • collars are large and splay out when worn
  • pockets are large and placed close to zip
  • angular windflap
  • high stitch count
• White USN stencil

Cagleco N383-28657A Ex. No. 1, unknown origin:

 

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MIL-J-7823 CAGLECO SPORTSWEAR CONTRACT N383-39321A​

Contract Dates: contract dates unknown, but awarded sometime between 1951 and 1958
Cost of the Contract: unknown
Comments on the leather or mouton:
Lining color: warm brown
Thread: medium brown
Zipper(s): Conmar zipper with blackened slider and nickel zipper chain
Knits: muted brown single-ply rib-rack knits
General Comments:
Identifying/Distinguishing Details:

• Cagleco details:
  • Small shoulders
  • collars are large and splay out when worn
  • pockets are large and placed close to zip
  • angular windflap
  • high stitch count
• White USN stencil

Cagleco N383-39321A Ex. No. 1, photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera:

 

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Cagleco N383-39321A Ex. No. 2, photos courtesy of @Stony:

 

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MIL-J-7823 CAGLECO SPORTSWEAR N383-48082A​

Contract Dates: contract dates unknown, but awarded sometime between 1951 and 1958
Cost of the Contract: unknown
Comments on the leather or mouton:
Lining color: brown
Thread: medium brown
Zipper(s): Conmar zipper with blackened slider and nickel zipper chain
Knits: muted brown single-ply rib-rack knits
General Comments:
Identifying/Distinguishing Details:

• Cagleco details:
  • Small shoulders
  • collars are large and splay out when worn
  • pockets are large and placed close to zip
  • angular windflap
  • high stitch count
• White USN stencil

Cagleco N383-48082A, unknown origin:

 

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MIL-J-7823 CAGLECO SPORTSWEAR QM(CTM)-144-O.I.-2515-E-57​

Contract Dates: contract dates unknown, but awarded sometime between 1951 and 1958
Cost of the Contract: unknown
Comments on the leather or mouton:
Lining color: brown
Thread: medium brown
Zipper(s): Conmar zipper with blackened slider and nickel zipper chain
Knits: brown single-ply rib-rack knits
General Comments:
Identifying/Distinguishing Details:

• Cagleco details:
  • Small shoulders
  • collars are large and splay out when worn
  • pockets are large and placed close to zip
  • angular windflap
  • high stitch count
• mouton frequently a dark shade

Cagleco 2515-E-57 Ex. No. 1, unknown origin:

 

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MIL-J-7823 L.W. FOSTER SPORTSWEAR CO., INC. CONTRACT DA-36-243-QM(CTM)2312​

Contract Dates: 28-Apr-1958
Quantities: 37,712 jackets
Comments on the leather or mouton:
Lining color: warm brown
Thread: medium brown
Zipper(s): Conmar zipper with blackened slider and nickel zipper chain
Knits: brown single-ply rib-rack knits
General Comments:

• Subject of a lawsuit between manufacturer and government (contract termination dismissed by Board of Contract Appeals with expected jacket quantity met).

Identifying/Distinguishing Details:

• L.W. Foster second pattern details:
  • Pocket flaps are roughly rectangular with a rounded bottom edge, in contrast to the triangular pocket flaps of Foster’s earlier pattern
  • Wide back like earlier Fosters
  • rounded windflap
  • small collar
• perforated USN stencil in the wind flap with the letters oriented perpendicular to the zipper.

Foster 2312 Ex. No. 1, photos courtesy of @CK90:

 

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Foster 2312 Ex. No. 2, photos courtesy of John Chapman:

 

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Foster 2312 Ex. No. 2, continued, photos courtesy of John Chapman:

 

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MIL-J-7823 RALPH EDWARDS SPORTSWEAR CONTRACT QM.(CTM)-2313​

Contract Dates: contract dates unknown, but awarded sometime between April and November of 1958
Cost of the Contract: unknown
Comments on the leather or mouton:
Lining color: warm brown
Thread: dark brown
Zipper(s): Conmar zipper with blackened slider and nickel zipper chain
Knits: dark brown single-ply rib-rack knits
General Comments: Company formerly known as “Cagleco”
Identifying/Distinguishing Details:

• Ralph Edwards (formerly Cagleco) details:
  • Small shoulders
  • collars are large and splay out when worn
  • pockets are large and placed close to zip
  • angular windflap
• high stitch count
• mouton frequently a dark shade

Ralph Edwards 7823 Ex. No. 1, photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera:

 

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MIL-J-7823 L.W.FOSTER SPORTSWEAR CO., INC CONTRACT DA-36-243-QM(CTM)2134​

Contract Dates: May 1958
Cost of the Contract:
Quantity: 11,159 jackets (out of 16,328 committed before contract terminated (termination ultimately sustained via Board Of Contract Appeals)
Comments on the leather or mouton:
Lining color: brown
Thread: medium brown
Zipper(s): Conmar zipper with blackened slider and nickel zipper chain
Knits: warm brown single-ply rib-rack knits
General Comments:

• Contract date four weeks after QM(CTM)2312 1958, delivered in 1959
• Subject of a lawsuit between manufacturer and government.

Identifying/Distinguishing Details:

• L.W. Foster second pattern details:
  • Pocket flaps are roughly rectangular with a rounded bottom edge, in contrast to the triangular pocket flaps of Foster’s earlier pattern
  • Wide back like earlier Fosters
  • rounded windflap
  • small collar
• perforated USN stencil in the wind flap with the letters oriented perpendicular to the zipper.

, photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera:
Foster 2134 Ex. No. 1, photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera:

 

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Foster 2134 Ex. No. 1, continued, photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera:

Foster 2134 Ex. No. 2, photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera:

 

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Foster 2134 Ex. No. 2, continued, photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera:

 

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MIL-J-7823A (AER) [28-Nov-1958]​

The MIL-DIL-7823A Specification superseded MIL-J-7823 on 28-Nov-1958 and was never amended.

A noticeable difference is the change from a no.5 blackened Conmar main zipper to a no.10 blackened Talon ‘rectangle’ zipper part-way through 7823A production. All later G-1 specifications use a no.10 zipper (either a ‘paperclip’ style Scovill or Conmar No.10). Additionally, following from the trend set by late 50s 7823s, all G-1 jackets from the 7823A onwards will bear rounded pocket flaps (a simplification of the previously (but more ornate) scalloped or triangular pocket flaps).

 

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The contract number is read as “QM” for “Quartermaster”, “CTM” for “Contract”, then Contract Number, “C” for “Clothing”, and the last two digits are for the year, such as “60” for “1960”. Nylon thread is used for the jacket and polypropylene thread for the buttons

Notice the Navy changed how it called jackets over the years, such as placing 37J1 for 37J1a on the label or M-422 in the Supply catalog instead of M-422a. Spec. MIL-J-7823A superseded MIL-J-7823 in 1958, but nearly two years later the first two jacket contracts, by California Sportswear and Breier, used labels with the “parent” spec number MIL-J- 7823 on the first two contracts instead of MIL-J-7823A. This isn’t unexpected as using the “parent” specification number is an extremely common way for government and industry to identify and locate the most recent spec versus having to track all of the possible updates. They eventually went to the more accurate MIL-J-7823A label, as seen on the last two contracts by Ralph Edwards and Irvin B. Foster, a successor company of L.W. Foster.

 

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7823A Ex. No. 1 - California Sportswear - photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera:

 

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7823A Ex. No. 2 - Breier of Amsterdam - photos courtesy of John Chapman.

 

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7823A Ex. No. 3 - Ralph Edwards Sportswear - photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera:

 

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7823A Ex. No. 4 - Irvin B. Foster - photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera:

 

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MIL-J-7823B [7-Oct-1960]​

The MIL-DIL-7823B Specification superseded MIL-J-7823A on 7-Oct-1960. On the label it states WEP for Weapons (BuWeps = Bureau of Weapons).

From the 7823B onwards, all G-1 flight jackets have a no.10 ‘paperclip’ style zip (blackened for the 7823B and brass for the C onwards). This replaced the rectangular Talon zipper of 7823A. The 7823B is otherwise almost identical to its predecessor. One noteworthy difference, however, is that the zipper tape on the Irvin B. Foster jackets from this series is frequently placed an inch or two (2-5 cm) above the bottom of the zipper box, instead of being flush with the bottom of the wind flap.

This MIL-J-7823B was owned by President Kennedy and sold for $250,075 on 14 Oct 2020.

 

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In the contract number "DSA" refers to the "Defense Supply Agency", "1" is a classification code related to clothing in this case, and the two digits near the end are the year, such as "61" for 1961. Nylon thread is used for the jacket and polypropylene thread for the buttons.