A-2 Zippers

[alcon]

From what I've read, A-2 zippers were mostly made in brass, white metal, nickel plate. Was there a transition from brass to other metals because of the need of brass for the "war effort?" Also, can one assume that jackets found with brass zips were the earliest examples? Thanks!

 

[dmar836]

I certainly wouldn't assume that. Many of the early jackets, even since prewar, had the deco-box Talons, etc. Just from what I've seen, it's the opposite. That's not intuitive but most of the later cloth jackets had brass. Some contracts of A-2s ran with a certain zip most of the time - like Perrys with the brass Conmar. It's a good thought but I'm not sure I've noticed much metal saving effort in the zips. After all, flight jackets WERE part of the war effort.
Dave

 

[Roughwear]

I certainly wouldn't assume that. Many of the early jackets, even since prewar, had the deco-box Talons, etc. Just from what I've seen, it's the opposite. That's not intuitive but most of the later cloth jackets had brass. Some contracts of A-2s ran with a certain zip most of the time - like Perrys with the brass Conmar. It's a good thought but I'm not sure I've noticed much metal saving effort in the zips. After all, flight jackets WERE part of the war effort.
Dave

This is all true. Most wartime zips used on A2s were not made of brass, but nickel (such as on many Talons)or alloy (on many Crowns).