Original Reed Products Inc N-2 Jacket

[917_k]

As some of you know from my previous posts, I love the early US Air Force nylon flight jackets from the late 40s-50s. To me they’re some of the most interesting jackets, being issued for a relatively short period of time, during the opening stages of the Cold War and early jet age. It’s an era when the Air Force began to forge a distinct identity and when it developed some truly iconic clothing, easily on par with the wartime leathers.

So, with that in mind, here’s a recent acquisition and something I’ve been looking for for a while. The N-2 heavy flying jacket with attached hood was issued in the late 40s, in the olive drab colour of all nylon flight clothing of this time. It actually forms a complete cold weather flight suit, with matching
D-1 trousers, which basically look indentical to A-11 trousers. The N-2 would of course go on to become the N-2A, in blue and finally N-2B in sage green.

Like a lot of this early kit, it was issued under Air Force contract AF33(038), which I believe was a wartime contract, that was carried forward by the Air Force. These are very rare jackets now, particularly in this condition, so this is very much a keeper in the collection.

And with some other early OD flight equipment: D-1 cap and N-1 mittens.

 

[bn1966]

Stunning jacket..love these

 

[mulceber]

Great jacket, @917_k. I always look forward to your posts about your collection, even though post-war jackets are something I know rather little about.

 

[B-Man2]

Great post ….. definitely an area that has not been a focus of my hard drive over the last few years . I need to pay closer attention .
Thanks for posting .

 

[917_k]

Thanks guys. Hope to share some more post war stuff. It obviously doesn’t quite get the attention of the wartime kit and isn’t perhaps as well known, but they sure made some cool looking jackets in the 50s.

Going through some photos earlier I found a shot as well of the D-1 trousers I also have in my collection. These are quite rare and whilst clearly not as desirable as the jacket (not really practical wearing this trousers), they’re an interesting item and basically identical to A-11B trousers.

 

[MaydayWei]

@917_k, you are damn right! The 50s was a great time for style. Would imagine that it would be exactly the same for the flight kit too!
Thanks very much for sharing such great pictures of this rare bird.
Nylon jackets don’t fit my body type. But I would love to see you and some fit pics!

 

[JasonK]

Hello, I just inherited one of these. Thanks for all of the information here. I know nothing about it and really can't find much else. Is this one valuable to a collector or something for eBay? Here's a fre pictures. Thanks again! JASON

 

[JasonK]

Listed it on ebay.

 

[B-Man2]

Listed it on ebay.

Good luck with your sale ..

 

[Dany McDonald]

If it was a medium I would have try to buy from you....

But GLWTS.

Dany

 

[JasonK]

If it was a medium I would have try to buy from you....

But GLWTS.

Dany

It just so happens to be a medium. Heres a few pics. How would you rate its condition? . READY TO SHIP btw LOL

 

[JasonK]

If it was a medium I would have try to buy from you....

But GLWTS.

Dany

One more photo.

 

[B-Man2]

Nice condition from what the photos show. Needs some work .

 

[Spitfireace]

there we go gents

 

[Dany McDonald]

How did I miss this... man I really need a vacation... I just saw the images of the large one that's imbedded in the post... And totally missed yours.

Well I think it's not that great, because of the missing fur and the buttons loops that are just gone. Soiling on the Nylon will probably clean well though.
Respectfully and frankly it is a nice N-2 to restore and it needs it. Just look at the original poster N-2 and compare.

Let me think about it and I will PM you.

Thank you,

Dany

 

[JasonK]

How did I miss this... man I really need a vacation... I just saw the images of the large one that's imbedded in the post... And totally missed yours.

Well I think it's not that great, because of the missing fur and the buttons loops that are just gone. Soiling on the Nylon will probably clean well though.
Respectfully and frankly it is a nice N-2 to restore and it needs it. Just look at the original poster N-2 and compare.

Let me think about it and I will PM you.

Thank you,

Dany

I completely agree. My first thought was "perfect condition!" but, then the excitement of finding it passed and I got to really looking it over and see it with my "real eyes". LOL

This was worn hard and over the years was forgotten in some back closet. I knew the owner personally before he passed away 3 years ago. Very nice man with tons of stories. I miss him. I wish I had a photo of him wearing it.

I really appreciate the feedback. You guys here are my only resource for information now that he's gone. I'd love to see this get brought back to glory!

JASON

 

[JasonK]

Nice condition from what the photos show. Needs some work .

Thanks! Totally agree. Took me a while to figure it all out.

 

[ausreenactor]

Listed it on ebay.

You did sell it? Did you get a good price. Looked like a really solid example. Not too common either.

 

[JasonK]

You did sell it? Did you get a good price. Looked like a really solid example. Not too common either.

Not yet. Still listed on ebay but, I'm not sure if it's the right platform for it.