Lt. Col. Henry H. Arnold

[oose]

Hi all,

one shot for you of Lt. Col. Hap Arnold on Feb. 16, 1935.

yours stu

 

[Weasel_Loader]

I LOVE pre-war photos!!! Not sure if it's the flight jackets or the cool aircraft at the time with chrome props.

 

[Peter Graham]

I should know, but what is that jacket ? Looks like an Irvin but it's not.

 

[zoomer]

I assumed it was the first generation B-3. It looks pretty bare-bones - no reinforcement patching anywhere, only one collar strap, and it looks like it might have a bellows back!

 

[deeb7]

I should know, but what is that jacket ? Looks like an Irvin but it's not.

My guess is that it's a very early, or prototype B-3 ... the full belt, and missing pocket, being features carried over from the B-2.

* edit ... sorry Zoomer, it's supposed to warn me when there's been an earlier post. The horsehide reinforcement was on version 2, so I'm assuming this is version 1.

 

[Swing]

Great photo! Yes, that's an early B-3. I believe they were patterned like that until 1937.

~Swing

 

[zoomer]

So is that a bellows back? Look at the shoulder pleat...

IIRC from the old DejaNews jacket group from '99-'00, there was only ONE undyed original B-3 known to survive. Its owner, a motorcyclist, wore it to shreds and kept only one sleeve.

The trouser pockets and waist belt are obviously roughout - presumably horse?

 

[Roughwear]

The jacket certainly shares characteristics with both the B3 and the Irvin. The trousers are remarkably similar to Irvin trousers, even down to the placement of the pockets. BTW does anyone have any idea who might have made this suit?

 

[Swing]

So is that a bellows back? Look at the shoulder pleat...

IIRC from the old DejaNews jacket group from '99-'00, there was only ONE undyed original B-3 known to survive. Its owner, a motorcyclist, wore it to shreds and kept only one sleeve.

The trouser pockets and waist belt are obviously roughout - presumably horse?

IIRC, there was an early B-3 and its trousers on sale on ebay within the past couple years. They weren't in the greatest of shape, and I remember they didn't sell for anywhere near as much as I expected them to.

I'll have to dig it up, but in Suit Up! or Combat Flying Clothing there's a photo of three aviators in front of an early B-17, all three of them in sheepskin jackets and pants. Two were early B-3s IIRC, and the third was the style we're more familiar with. All three jackets and pants were dyed.

Don't know if the early B-3 had a pleated back. From that photo of Hap it appears it does.

~Swing

 

[Atticus]

My father's best friend in high school was Macon Snowden. During the Depression, Macon's family lived three doors down from my grandparents in Beaufort, North Carolina. After graduation, Macon followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Ernie, and got an appointment to the Naval Academy. And like Ernie, Macon became a Naval Avaitior. Throughout the years following WWII, Dad and Macon remained close, even though Macon stayed in the Navy, eventually becoming the Captain of the carrier Guadalcanal. In fact, Mom, Dad and I went to Norfolk to watch Macon take command of that fine ship.

But what has all this got to do with Hap Arnold?

Well....one day I was surfing the net looking for jacket pictures when I found what I thought was a photograph of Macon during WWII. What caught my eye was the Snowden family resemblance. If you've seen one Beaufort Snowden, you've seen them all. But it wasn't Macon. It was his older brother Ernie. And it was also Hap Arnold's son-in-law. Yep, Hap Arnold's daughter married and spent her entire life with a poor kid from Beaufort, North Carolina....Ernie Snowden.

AF

 

[deeb7]

BTW does anyone have any idea who might have made this suit?

Werber would be a likely candidate ... they are known to have made the non-coated, version 1, A-3 trousers.

 

[Andrew]

Someone should have told him to fix his fly before immortalization...

Regarding manufacturer- here's an idea from way left of field- perhaps it was made by Leslie Leroy Irvin pre-patenting the "Irvin" in the UK in 1933. There are similarities and he was American. The patent drgs I have for the Irvin actually look more like a B-2. Not a serious assertion BTW...

 

[zoomer]

This could easily have been a one-off or prototype made just for Arnold and/or a few other high ranking airmen - from which the B-3 contract might have derived, with changes based on their suggestions. Anything was possible then if there was money for it, and there was always money for a prototype flightsuit or two. (Aircraft were another matter.)

 

[zoomer]

Anybody know about a Type B-5 winter flight helmet?
bellsaviationmuseum.org has this picture (not for sale of course). Undyed, like Hap's suit, with phones installed which AFAICT from a quick google, post-date 1943.

 

[deeb7]

Anybody know about a Type B-5 winter flight helmet?
bellsaviationmuseum.org has this picture (not for sale of course). Undyed, like Hap's suit, with phones installed which AFAICT from a quick google, post-date 1943.

Flight helmets were sometimes modified, here's a good site for info ...

http://www.alliedflightgear.com/USAAF%2 ... lmets.html