The Aero 15142P Seventy Eight Years Later.

[B-Man2]

I am wondering when they started and ended production on the 50,000 jacket conrtact. (purely speculating) April 1 - Aug 1 would be 122 ish days = roughly 400 jackets per day. So were they turning out 100 per day or 1,000 ? It would be a testament to the quality control and construction standards of the original jackets to know what the turnout rate was like

Tim
The best I can come up with regarding the time lines for the completion of the 15142P contract is; the contract was the 6th contract awarded to Aero on March 28th of 1942. The 7th and final contract awarded to Aero was on May 25th of 1942 and was the 18775P contract for another 50,000 jackets . So a reasonable assumption is, your answer is the time line between March 28th and May 25th of 1942.
Cheers

 

[WBOONE]

I have a Original in that contract also..its a great jacket. I remember one difference was that X on the epulate box stitching on a original almost disappears into the end of the epulate by the shoulder whereas on the Aero repo the X is set dead center. Goodyear and Eastman repos replicate the stitching as seen on a Original. You can see that difference on the pics posted here.

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

The one thing I'd love to replicate properly is the typical heavy crease on the collar that virtually all WW2 Aeros have. it MUST be a packing issue twixt factory and depot, looks good though
Time for the hot water?

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

I am wondering when they started and ended production on the 50,000 jacket conrtact. (purely speculating) April 1 - Aug 1 would be 122 ish days = roughly 400 jackets per day. So were they turning out 100 per day or 1,000 ? It would be a testament to the quality control and construction standards of the original jackets to know what the turnout rate was like

They were going out at around an hour a machinist

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Surprised the labels on the repro don't really match the original? The label basically 'drives' the homage to the contract....

Thats what happens when we let an "outsider" assist with the operation
John Chapman supplied the labels as part of the licencse deal....................and I thought I could trust him.

Seriously, it's the angle of the pic or a very old (Aero , Scotland) label

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

I have a Original in that contract also..its a great jacket. I remember one difference was that X on the epulate box stitching on a original almost disappears into the end of the epulate by the shoulder whereas on the Aero repo the X is set dead center. Goodyear and Eastman repos replicate the stitching as seen on a Original. You can see that difference on the pics posted here.

Sloppy work on the part of the girl on epaulettes, production line work back then of cource, although not all Aero A-2s werel like that,
I keep telling our machinists, "It doesn't matter what QC says, the folks on VLJ really don't like a neatly sewn X stitch".....................back to the drawing board

 

[Nickb123]

Never noticed that the ARMY on both on the labels weren’t fully underlined until now.

 

[YoungMedic]

They were going out at around an hour a machinist

Was that how they estimated a turnout rate? If you had 50 machinists you could roughly do 400 jackets in 8 hrworking day?

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

A quick machinist today could make a decent A-2 in 2 hours, less to WW2 quality sewing, Productio line (well organised) could easily bring that down to around an hour an operater.
35 decent machinists ..............andf there were a lot around the NYC clothing district in those days.....working a 12 hour shift and you've got the 400 a day

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Was that how they estimated a turnout rate? If you had 50 machinists you could roughly do 400 jackets in 8 hrworking day?

If you can be bothered to search VLJ I worked it out re price and average wages in 1942 to come to much the same conclusion, one per hour pre operator

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

just gotta, Burt. an issue I have with the aero repros vs originals, and its small at that, is that they make the leather bottom front zipper tab too short. this then makes the waistband too short, giving the repro aeros an overly boxy look.

Sorry but that's absolute bollocks (gonads for youse across the water) get your calipers out.................and your specs

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Sorry but that's absolute bollocks (gonads for youse across the water) get your calipers out.................and your specs

My own original Now sold, original knits

 

[YoungMedic]

If you can be bothered to search VLJ I worked it out re price and average wages in 1942 to come to much the same conclusion, one per hour pre operator

Never a bother, I was mostly wondering if that was an estimation or an accepted practice that companies used to determine that they could make the bid in the allotted time. I'm satisfied with your experience and professional estimation

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

It must have been easier to recruit experienced machinists in those days
Also it take very little time to learn one specific job, zipper, collar, pockets etc so it doesn't take much time to set up production for one single product, even when orders jumped from a few thousand to 50000 in a relatively short time.........................and, of course, there was a War on, that would have sharpened the mind and the output
When we manufactured for LVC it was astonishing how much quicker everyone got working on the one style, day in day out for months on end

 

[WBOONE]

A quick machinist today could make a decent A-2 in 2 hours, less to WW2 quality sewing, Productio line (well organised) could easily bring that down to around an hour an operater.
35 decent machinists ..............andf there were a lot around the NYC clothing district in those days.....working a 12 hour shift and you've got the 400 a day

I tend to agree. It probably was not a design specification

 

[B-Man2]

Since some of you posted questions or responses regarding the epaulets on the original vs repro jackets , here’s a couple of photos to compare and aid the discussions .

 

[B-Man2]

Likewise a close up comparison of the two labels .
REPRODUCTION

ORIGINAL

 

[WBOONE]

Looking at the epaulets on my original the "X" stitching on the right shoulder is -almost- centered, while the X stitching on the left is much more off centered like the original above. i think it's reasonable to assume it's just a happenstance thing rather than intentional, so i don"t think that detracts from the authenticity of the repo.

 

[WBOONE]

Also i did notice that on the Goodwear site, the only A2 that has the off centered X stitching is on his Aero 18775 russet and seal contracts so he seems to be replicating it

 

[Saint-ex]

Aero epaulets "X" switching have been a hot topic a while here...

Ken, so John was providing the wrong labels, but he's not responsible for its positioning 1 inch too high and the seams of the hanger that doesn't look like the original ?