New A-2 Contract Discovered! 1942 V505

[33-1729]

After VLJ member @dinomartino1 found reference to the Australian 1943 V505 survivors I hired a researcher to dig through the National Archives of Australia for the supporting paperwork (link below). In Business Paper No. 8695 for the 1943 contract of 3,132 jackets they mentioned "This firm is the previous supplier of this item and has given satisfactory service", but we were unable to find supporting paperwork for an earlier contract. While looking for US Navy jacket sticky items I stumbled over a 1942 V505 jacket in the Japanese mono magazine (2021.03.16) Very similar construction details to the 1943 V505 with cowhide and cotton broadcloth lining. With the Goldsmith 31-1897 and Werber 32-6225 from the declassified 94-3040 documents this makes the third jacket for me - Cool.

Ref. https://www.monomagazine.com/3942

1943 V505 Documents:

1943 Australian "V505" Flight Jacket

We are making progress on the records search at the National Archives of Australia for the flying jackets contract reference located by dinomartino1, though a bit slower than originally expected. To quote a recent note from the researcher I hired "I thought the search would be fairly...

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

Updated A-2 Contract List:

 

[mulceber]

Incredible work, @33-1729 - this'll be going into the guide later today!

 

[B-Man2]

Awesome Job!!
Thank you .

 

[CBI]

congrats on the discovery!

 

[Pilot]

Great research work, thanks for sharing.
Congrats.
I believe there were already some posts on this subject in 2010.

V505 Australian-made A2

You rarely see these Australian made A2s come up for sale. So is it really made from Kangaroo hide? It looks like goatskin, but as I have never owned a jacket made from Kangaroo hide I really don't know. http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-WWII-THEATER-M ... 255fd31265

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

 

[Pa12]

Who’s getting jc to make the first one? Surely some fans from down under.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Very impressive @33-1729 !

 

[John Lever]

Would this be the only contract not made in the USA ?

 

[B-Man2]

So …. Is it made from Kangaroo ?

 

[33-1729]

Would this be the only contract not made in the USA ?

As far as I know Simpsons Gloves Pty. Ltd. is the only foreign A-2 manufacturer and with two contracts. I haven't seen or heard of any other foreign A-2 survivors. And to be honest, when I first saw a 1943 V505 jacket I wasn't convinced it was legitimate until I saw the paper trail evidence.