B-Man2
Well-Known Member
Hey Guys .. 
How often have we’d played the “Name The A2” game lately ? Not too frequently right? , but a number of years ago, back when I was a newbie, the seasoned guys on VLJ played the game a whole lot more than we do today . Of course vintage jackets were more prevalent back then and a lot of the old timers had great collections, which they posited photos of and discussed the nuances of each maker and contract . Whenever someone challenged them by posting an unknown maker A2, they were damn good at the game and nailed the jacket down in one or two posts . Being a newbie, I was always pretty impressed and wondered how in the hell they did that . What made them so damned good, that they could spot a jacket by a particular maker and in some instances even pick the right contract from that maker. Keep in mind that there was no A2 Manual by Gary Eastman yet. This was 2008- 2009 and he was still in the process of doing his research for his book which wouldn’t be published until 2012 . Now don’t get me wrong , the information was out there, but if you wanted to be knowledgeable in learning about and identifying A2 jackets, you had to do your own research , read a lot , and search the web. One of the Internet resources many of us used was AcmeDepot.com , “ The Type A2 Flight Jacket” by Marc Weinshenker
It provided many of us with what we thought at the time, was some spot on information about the A2 jacket .
As the years passed I came to realize that there was no hidden formula, no secret documents available just a keen interest in the hobby and reading all you could find, that made those guys so good at this hobby . Those guys knew the subtleties of whether the epaulettes of each contract sat on the shoulder seam , in front of it , or behind it . They knew which contracts had collar stands and which didn’t , and they knew the cut and shape of the pockets and the flaps of each maker and contract . All from memory . These guys were good and many of them are still with us today. I hope they don’t mind if I single them out and say thanks, because while they never knew it, these guys were my mentors here, and I read and learned everything I could from guys like Vic (Silver Surfer) Grant , George Hzu, John Chapman,
Andrew Swatland and Ken from Aero .
Thanks to all of them . So with this in mind I thought it would be nice to sort of pay it forward and share some of what I’ve learned with some of the newer guys here today . OK disclaimer time . Let me say that while I’ve learned a lot , I’m am in no way in the league of some of the guys I mentioned . I’m not an expert , just a hobby enthusiast like most of you however, I’ll try and share what little I know on jacket identification with you guys .
My Op/Plan is to post some photos of original jackets I’m fortunate enough to own and to discuss the properties of the jacket , the contract and the maker. I’ll break it up and do one jacket a week, so hopefully it won’t be too boring . So with that, let’s get into our first jacket and try to nail down some characteristics, which you will remember the next time you see a similar jacket and help you to identify it as a Aero Leather
Company 15142P A2 jacket .
One of the very first things that stands out on all Aero jackets is the square cut , sharp cornered pockets on the jacket . Many of the other makers pockets have a bit of a rounded look to them , but Aeros are square and sharp.
Additionally the pocket flap is wide and covers up about the upper 1/3 of the pocket. You’ll notice that on this jacket the left pocket flap edge has a bit of an angle cut while the right flap is cut straighter. That’s one of the traits of wartime production , always remember your jacket was made by the cheapest bidder.
The next thing you’ll notice is that the earlier Aeros made from about 1937-1939 all used small ball stud United Carr snaps on the collars and pocket flaps . Around 1940-1941 Aero changed to large ring ball United Carr stud snaps like the ones pictured above and continued using these until the end of production of the Aero A2 in 1942.
The next thing you should know is that starting in October of 1941 Aero dumped the collar stand on their jackets . So any Aero A2 made from 1937 to 1940 will have a collar stand . That’s the first three contracts .
After 1940 the last three contracts do not have collar stands . Why is this important ? Well if you happen to find an Aero with a collar stand then it’s an early model Aero . Also if someone is trying to sell you an Aero and telling you it’s an early model but it doesn’t have a collar stand ......well that dog just ain’t gonna hunt !
Another trait of all Aero jackets is the position of the Epaulettes in relationship to the shoulder seams on the jacket . Another tell tale sign is that all Aeros have their epaulettes in front of the shoulder seam with the back edge of the epaulette right up to the shoulder seam . As shown below .
Well .. I hit the send sign and I wasn’t finished so I’ll continue this with another post below . Sorry
How often have we’d played the “Name The A2” game lately ? Not too frequently right? , but a number of years ago, back when I was a newbie, the seasoned guys on VLJ played the game a whole lot more than we do today . Of course vintage jackets were more prevalent back then and a lot of the old timers had great collections, which they posited photos of and discussed the nuances of each maker and contract . Whenever someone challenged them by posting an unknown maker A2, they were damn good at the game and nailed the jacket down in one or two posts . Being a newbie, I was always pretty impressed and wondered how in the hell they did that . What made them so damned good, that they could spot a jacket by a particular maker and in some instances even pick the right contract from that maker. Keep in mind that there was no A2 Manual by Gary Eastman yet. This was 2008- 2009 and he was still in the process of doing his research for his book which wouldn’t be published until 2012 . Now don’t get me wrong , the information was out there, but if you wanted to be knowledgeable in learning about and identifying A2 jackets, you had to do your own research , read a lot , and search the web. One of the Internet resources many of us used was AcmeDepot.com , “ The Type A2 Flight Jacket” by Marc Weinshenker
It provided many of us with what we thought at the time, was some spot on information about the A2 jacket .
As the years passed I came to realize that there was no hidden formula, no secret documents available just a keen interest in the hobby and reading all you could find, that made those guys so good at this hobby . Those guys knew the subtleties of whether the epaulettes of each contract sat on the shoulder seam , in front of it , or behind it . They knew which contracts had collar stands and which didn’t , and they knew the cut and shape of the pockets and the flaps of each maker and contract . All from memory . These guys were good and many of them are still with us today. I hope they don’t mind if I single them out and say thanks, because while they never knew it, these guys were my mentors here, and I read and learned everything I could from guys like Vic (Silver Surfer) Grant , George Hzu, John Chapman,
Andrew Swatland and Ken from Aero .
Thanks to all of them . So with this in mind I thought it would be nice to sort of pay it forward and share some of what I’ve learned with some of the newer guys here today . OK disclaimer time . Let me say that while I’ve learned a lot , I’m am in no way in the league of some of the guys I mentioned . I’m not an expert , just a hobby enthusiast like most of you however, I’ll try and share what little I know on jacket identification with you guys .
My Op/Plan is to post some photos of original jackets I’m fortunate enough to own and to discuss the properties of the jacket , the contract and the maker. I’ll break it up and do one jacket a week, so hopefully it won’t be too boring . So with that, let’s get into our first jacket and try to nail down some characteristics, which you will remember the next time you see a similar jacket and help you to identify it as a Aero Leather
Company 15142P A2 jacket .
One of the very first things that stands out on all Aero jackets is the square cut , sharp cornered pockets on the jacket . Many of the other makers pockets have a bit of a rounded look to them , but Aeros are square and sharp.
Additionally the pocket flap is wide and covers up about the upper 1/3 of the pocket. You’ll notice that on this jacket the left pocket flap edge has a bit of an angle cut while the right flap is cut straighter. That’s one of the traits of wartime production , always remember your jacket was made by the cheapest bidder.
The next thing you’ll notice is that the earlier Aeros made from about 1937-1939 all used small ball stud United Carr snaps on the collars and pocket flaps . Around 1940-1941 Aero changed to large ring ball United Carr stud snaps like the ones pictured above and continued using these until the end of production of the Aero A2 in 1942.
The next thing you should know is that starting in October of 1941 Aero dumped the collar stand on their jackets . So any Aero A2 made from 1937 to 1940 will have a collar stand . That’s the first three contracts .
After 1940 the last three contracts do not have collar stands . Why is this important ? Well if you happen to find an Aero with a collar stand then it’s an early model Aero . Also if someone is trying to sell you an Aero and telling you it’s an early model but it doesn’t have a collar stand ......well that dog just ain’t gonna hunt !
Another trait of all Aero jackets is the position of the Epaulettes in relationship to the shoulder seams on the jacket . Another tell tale sign is that all Aeros have their epaulettes in front of the shoulder seam with the back edge of the epaulette right up to the shoulder seam . As shown below .
Well .. I hit the send sign and I wasn’t finished so I’ll continue this with another post below . Sorry
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