Glider315
New Member
Hey all,
I'm brand new to this forum, so hello!
I recently purchased an A2 (some of you may have seen it online) that I wanted to show a little love to, since it's rough. I'm kind of stumped so I figured I'd defer to the experts. From a little detective work, I can determine a few things:
It's either been reissued at least once, or the owner swapped out patches. There's thread holes below where a squadron patch was, as well as multiple name tag spots.
There's outlines of where patches were on the sleeves, I'm going to say CBI and maybe 5th. I know Pacific A2's were for some reason more likely to have sleeve patches, and the shape of the CBI is a clue.
The liner has been replaced. It has a seam running down the middle, and no indication there was ever a factory tag (as well as no hanging tab).
The zipper has been replaced. Pretty sure even without the pull that is a 50's Talon, which also leads me to believe this was worn in the Korean War period. Probably around the same time the liner was replaced.
There are thread holes where rank insignia used to be, most likely LT.
It's likely a re-dye judging from the different color of where the squadron patch was.
The throat latch may have been replaced?
I'm still not 100% convinced this isn't a civilian A2 worn by a service member, again during Korea. But I'm not entirely sure since everything else indicates an issue A2.
I'm including a bunch of pictures for reference. Any help is greatly appreciated! I wanted to buy this for the mystery as well as the opportunity to get my hands dirty with a rough jacket for at least a partial restoration. Thanks!
I'm brand new to this forum, so hello!
I recently purchased an A2 (some of you may have seen it online) that I wanted to show a little love to, since it's rough. I'm kind of stumped so I figured I'd defer to the experts. From a little detective work, I can determine a few things:
It's either been reissued at least once, or the owner swapped out patches. There's thread holes below where a squadron patch was, as well as multiple name tag spots.
There's outlines of where patches were on the sleeves, I'm going to say CBI and maybe 5th. I know Pacific A2's were for some reason more likely to have sleeve patches, and the shape of the CBI is a clue.
The liner has been replaced. It has a seam running down the middle, and no indication there was ever a factory tag (as well as no hanging tab).
The zipper has been replaced. Pretty sure even without the pull that is a 50's Talon, which also leads me to believe this was worn in the Korean War period. Probably around the same time the liner was replaced.
There are thread holes where rank insignia used to be, most likely LT.
It's likely a re-dye judging from the different color of where the squadron patch was.
The throat latch may have been replaced?
I'm still not 100% convinced this isn't a civilian A2 worn by a service member, again during Korea. But I'm not entirely sure since everything else indicates an issue A2.
I'm including a bunch of pictures for reference. Any help is greatly appreciated! I wanted to buy this for the mystery as well as the opportunity to get my hands dirty with a rough jacket for at least a partial restoration. Thanks!
