Robert Morgan Jacket in "Memphis Belle"

[ZuZu]

Robert Morgan who was the pilot of the "Memphis Belle" seems to have had many A-2s- at least 1 Dubow
but also (as I have always suspected) a small Aero which he wore a few times in the famous film and outakes. I was watching Reel 29 and around 5 minutes in they show him face close flying the plane. I noticed that
#1- the zipper tape on his jacket does not go all the way to the neck seam (like a Dubow).
#2- there doesn't seem to be a snap cover in the lining where one should be if the jacket was a Dubow,
#3- the end of the windflap is angled and rounded- very un-Dubowlike.

I often wondered why the jacket he wears in the film seems so dark compared to many stills I've seen. The one he wears in the famous still photos is definitely a Dubow:

A jacket he wears later in the war (B-29 pilot?) is a big A-2 very different from Memphis Belle jackets he wore.

 

[ZuZu]

It's not clear in this photo but if you watch the film you see that the zipper tape is rather narrow and doesn't go all the way up:

It's a hypothesis anyway...

 

[ZuZu]

My TV shows an Aero-like lining color and possibly no snap:

 

[Nickb123]

Robert Morgan who was the pilot of the "Memphis Belle" seems to have had many A-2s- at least 1 Dubow
but also (as I have always suspected) a small Aero which he wore a few times in the famous film and outakes. I was watching Reel 29 and around 5 minutes in they show him face close flying the plane. I noticed that
#1- the zipper tape on his jacket does not go all the way to the neck seam (like a Dubow).
#2- there doesn't seem to be a snap cover in the lining where one should be if the jacket was a Dubow,
#3- the end of the windflap is angled and rounded- very un-Dubowlike.

View attachment 112337

I often wondered why the jacket he wears in the film seems so dark compared to many stills I've seen. The one he wears in the famous still photos is definitely a Dubow:

View attachment 112339

A jacket he wears later in the war (B-29 pilot?) is a big A-2 very different from Memphis Belle jackets he wore.

View attachment 112341

Guessing my head off: the bottom looks like a 16160.

 

[ZuZu]

Guessing my head off: the bottom looks like a 16160.

Yes possibly. Some kind of Aero? It was late in the war so I don't know about 16160.

 

[Brettafett]

I recall reading in one of my WW2 bios, where the guy had to hand in his A-2 (that he loved, I think he described it as soft and comfortable) along with the rest of his gear, at the end of his tour.
And then on his next tour, he received another A-2 that was stiff and uncomfortable.

Just shows, not all guys snuck their jacket home.

 

[YoungMedic]

I recall reading in one of my WW2 bios, where the guy had to hand in his A-2 (that he loved, I think he described it as soft and comfortable) along with the rest of his gear, at the end of his tour.
And then on his next tour, he received another A-2 that was stiff and uncomfortable.

Just shows, not all guys snuck their jacket home.

That was my thought as well, just part of the quartermaster exchange / gear cycles

 

[Silver Surfer]

the aero 16160 had a collar stand. the jacket in the pix does not, though the jacket in the pix could vey well be an aero from a later contract, imo

 

[ZuZu]

the aero 16160 had a collar stand. the jacket in the pix does not, though the jacket in the pix could vey well be an aero from a later contract, imo

Yeah- It's not a 16160. It's a later contract and in parts of the film looks dark.

 

[ZuZu]

Morgan's jacket in the scene where he's meeting bigwigs in front of his plane is definitely a Dubow. It has the wide eps, correct Dubow collar shape, snaps set high up in collar and that russety lightish color of many Dubows. So- Aero in the flying scene- Dubow in other scenes:

 

[ZuZu]

More later- I'm working my way through the outtakes...

 

[B-Man2]

More later- I'm working my way through the outtakes...

Zu
You have a unique ability to pick up on the most subtle of characteristics on each contract . Nicely done .

 

[Greg Gale]

About his early jacket: the picket flaps don't look scalloped enough for it to be a Dubow. The rest of the jacket does look like one, though.

 

[ZuZu]

About his early jacket: the picket flaps don't look scalloped enough for it to be a Dubow. The rest of the jacket does look like one, though.

I agree the flaps look a bit plain for a Dubow although there are examples of this. An original I had had subdued flaps"

Other examples: (one scalloped, one not)

and here a very similar flap:

and again my original:

 

[MauldinFan]

I had a long discussion with COL Morgan a few years before he passed. It didn't occur to me to ask how many A2s he had from WW2 but he did tell me he had the A2 he wore in the documentary and the warbond tour.
Since his passing, I've wondered whatever happened to his estate items like that. I hope they're in a good museum.

 

[ZuZu]

6 wives? whooooo boy! And none was the "Memphis Belle"

Never happened...

 

[ZuZu]

More on Morgan's jackets. In the scene where he is briefing his men before the famous last flight he is definitely wearing a dark brown (OK OK -SEAL!) jacket. In the outtakes film you can see it contrasted with what is a light colored jacket (probably a Dubow). The knits on his jacket are dark brown and short- not long like the jacket he wears at one of the award ceremonies. I personally think it's probably a dark Aero- very small like the Dubow he wears later. He liked the "WW2 fit"!

It has a stiff high sitting collar and it's seal. I think it's the same jacket he wears flying the plane which I started out this post with.