Nice period photos of A-2's

[Edward]

Guy with pipe has a private purchase jacket

 

[B-Man2]

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“Show and Tell” At the B-17 team meeting.

 

[Flightengineer]

And the guy who teaches the lesson with the machine gun has the longest cuffs on A2 I've ever seen.

 

[Smithy]

And the guy who teaches the lesson with the machine gun has the longest cuffs on A2 I've ever seen.

One of the things you start to notice more if you start looking for it is how period photos from the period demonstrably show that not all wartime A-2 knits were these "short" versions that we think they all were. Secondary problem here is wool shrinks over time - don't worry not over a few years so relax about your A-2's knits ;-) but over decades it does due to the drying out of the fibres, so originals with original knits don't necessarily have the same length they had when issued.

I'm probably going off on a slight tangent but Burt and Jan and I were talking about this kind of issue the other day, about the fact that how originals appear now isn't how they appeared or behaved when new.

The epiphany moment for me was a few years back when I was at the museum with the technical curator and we were looking at an original A-2 jacket. He knew I was a fan of flight jackets and I said something like, "it's great to handle an original from that time, it's like a time machine", whereupon he said to me, "you do know that this isn't how this jacket would have looked, draped and felt back in the war? It is like it is now because of 70 years of ageing and storage conditions. It would have looked and felt quite different back then."

 

[Maverickson]

Guy with pipe has a private purchase jacket

Yes, I recognize that design. It was probably made by California Sportswear.

Cheers, Dave

 

[Greg Gale]

 

[Edward]

1945 Seething, England

 

[falcon_ib]

ATC's 6th Transport Squadron, at the squadron bar at Chabua Airfield, Assam, India, 1943

 

[Grant]

Puppy, monkey, A-2's, B-3, a bike and B-17. What more could you ask for in one photo.

 

[Edward]

Puppy, monkey, A-2's, B-3, a bike and B-17. What more could you ask for in one photo.

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Best group photo yet! puppy monkey baby!

 

[ausreenactor]

I thought a dancing bear? More of a Russian thing I suppose.

 

[London Cabbie]

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ATC's 6th Transport Squadron, at the squadron bar at Chabua Airfield, Assam, India, 1943

Is that a C2 cardigan far right...?

 

[Brettafett]

Some P-61 love...

 

[Edward]

 

[B-Man2]

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Great photo. He looks to be about 19 years old and is having a tough time fitting into his oversized jacket , but I bet this guy was probably in charge of a B-17 bomber and its entire crew and has a set of huevos on him that would do any of us proud.

 

[YoungMedic]

Great photo. He looks to be about 19 years old and is having a tough time fitting into his oversized jacket , but I bet this guy was probably in charge of a B-17 bomber and its entire crew and has a set of huevos on him that would do any of us proud.

I was thinking 17 Burt , and maybe a size 36 at best Not in the trouser department anyway.

 

[ausreenactor]

Trying to work out that visor cap. English made perhaps? Looks a little different to the standard US issue items.

 

[Kermit3D]

 

[Kermit3D]

 

[Kermit3D]