scwells
Well-Known Member
Yes, I have conditioned the leather. I also had the liner and mouton replaced.
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The big WHY? Reasons you're into jackets...
- Thread starter Enigma1938
- Start date
Shanghai-Mayne
Well-Known Member
I like to watch his interviews, it is most interesting thing on internet.
MauldinFan
Well-Known Member
As the old folks always said, "He came by it honestly"
Here I am on the left, probably around 1977 or 1978 at Natural Bridge, Florida. I grew up doing civil war re-enactments with the family (my brother is in the center, and Dad- who passed away in June- is to the right).
So wearing old style uniforms were normal to me as early as 5, as we did Revolutionary War stuff during the bicentennial.
In the 80s, my brother decided to go Air Force ROTC, and he got the Cockpit catalogs. I used to drool over all the neat stuff that was in those, in a time when you never saw anything else like in the mainstream. Not too long ago I got an Avirex A2 that fits for not much money. I like wearing it every now and then...
Around the same time, I found a WW2 class A enlisted uniform in excellent condition, which fit me like a glove (I was very thin back then). From deciding I wanted the tie and shoes to go with it, the combat uniforms came next, then the small arms.
As I grew up very close by to the remains of a WW2 fighter training field, I started collecting stuff from there. It didn't take long until I wanted into the AAF stuff. This was right at the height of the Japanese buying all the original jackets they could, I managed to find several from people who'd rather take a financial hit but keep them in the US. Most didn't fit, but several did.
I then got into doing AAF living history.
In the late 90s, almost pushing the cutoff age (I got pinned on as a 1LT on my 30th birthday), I decided to do it for real and became an Army officer. Sadly, some folks aren't built for the running and after suffering consecutive stress fractures for a long timeframe, I called it quits after a few years.
But before I left for active duty, I had a massive selloff for my WW2 stuff I didn't think I'd wanna lug around the world. All my original A2s got sold off then.
I'm in my 50s now, and mostly just do war correspondent impressions and displays but still have all the good AAF stuff that fits me...
Here I am on the left, probably around 1977 or 1978 at Natural Bridge, Florida. I grew up doing civil war re-enactments with the family (my brother is in the center, and Dad- who passed away in June- is to the right).
So wearing old style uniforms were normal to me as early as 5, as we did Revolutionary War stuff during the bicentennial.
In the 80s, my brother decided to go Air Force ROTC, and he got the Cockpit catalogs. I used to drool over all the neat stuff that was in those, in a time when you never saw anything else like in the mainstream. Not too long ago I got an Avirex A2 that fits for not much money. I like wearing it every now and then...
Around the same time, I found a WW2 class A enlisted uniform in excellent condition, which fit me like a glove (I was very thin back then). From deciding I wanted the tie and shoes to go with it, the combat uniforms came next, then the small arms.
As I grew up very close by to the remains of a WW2 fighter training field, I started collecting stuff from there. It didn't take long until I wanted into the AAF stuff. This was right at the height of the Japanese buying all the original jackets they could, I managed to find several from people who'd rather take a financial hit but keep them in the US. Most didn't fit, but several did.
I then got into doing AAF living history.
In the late 90s, almost pushing the cutoff age (I got pinned on as a 1LT on my 30th birthday), I decided to do it for real and became an Army officer. Sadly, some folks aren't built for the running and after suffering consecutive stress fractures for a long timeframe, I called it quits after a few years.
But before I left for active duty, I had a massive selloff for my WW2 stuff I didn't think I'd wanna lug around the world. All my original A2s got sold off then.
I'm in my 50s now, and mostly just do war correspondent impressions and displays but still have all the good AAF stuff that fits me...
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FlakMagnet
Well-Known Member
For me, it all began with my coveting of Christian Bale's flight jacket in Empire of the Sun when I watched it for the first time as a young fella. Went full retard after learning about all the different kinds of flight gear pilots wore. I bought my first repop A2 in my late 20s (a seal brown, cow skin deBrabander A2 that squeaked like hell), and it all went down hill from there.
here's the original jacket "Jim" wore in the movie. https://propstore.com/product/empire-of-the-sun-1987/jims-christian-bale-brown-leather-jacket/
here's the original jacket "Jim" wore in the movie. https://propstore.com/product/empire-of-the-sun-1987/jims-christian-bale-brown-leather-jacket/
Shanghai-Mayne
Well-Known Member
His jacket 
, I was exciting ,when I saw that ‘flying tiger’ jacket, many years later I found out it’s an inaccurate copy.
, I was exciting ,when I saw that ‘flying tiger’ jacket, many years later I found out it’s an inaccurate copy.
busdrivermike
Well-Known Member
Movies and television essentially , like these and various other
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My Dad was a Glider mechanic and Crew chief on the WACO CG4A Gliders with the 59th Troop carrier squadron. They were stationed at Barkston Heath and participated in D-Day and Market Garden. I saw a picture of him in his A-2 thought he looked cool so bought my first one 40 years ago buying and selling A-2's as a hobby up until the last 5 years. To me it is an iconic jacket as well as the Irvin that represents the Greatest Generation of the United States and Britain, what is more cool looking than a British Pilot stepping into a Spitfire, Mosquito, or Lancaster wearing his Irvin and if you look at all the various commercial copies of the A-2 and Irvin over the years even until today, it says something good about all the men and women who served our countries during WWII even if the buyer doesn't know it. I take issue with a very recent post. The member stated he really didnt care for the A-2 which is ok " as we say here in Texas different strokes for different folks so if you dont like the boots dont were them" metiforically speaking " and he thought old men looked silly wearing the A-2. Well I have a question for this member, at what age should I have stopped wearing an A-2 ? I am 77 years old and besides looking cool the jacket represents a tribute to those brave folks who have gone before us and to my Dad. I have to add my Dad was just a little upset that I enlisted in the U.S. Army instead of the Air Force. Should have listened to my Dad.
Smithy
Well-Known Member
Easy.
The WWI (coats) and WWII (jackets) are because of the history and how bloody cool those chaps were, and because a few in my family were those guys. The rest of it is a combination of James Dean, Indiana Jones, rock 'n roll, punk rock and all the rest of those blokes who ran around in jackets and coats doing cool and sometimes dangerous things.
Nothing more, nothing less.
It's a silly old hobby when you think about it but no more silly than a lot of niche and specialised hobbies.
That said, the great paradox and one which we seldom speak of here is that we wear these things because of their inherent and/or perceived coolness but in truth fussing over them like we do and belonging to a forum to talk about them is probably the anthesis of the "cool" attitude we attribute to them. How many WWII fighter pilots, how many of those wearers of jackets that we think are cool would have belonged to a forum talking about them. Yeah, like Steve McQueen would have joined VLJ!
We probably like to think we're cool because of our jackets but we're really a bunch of nerds
The WWI (coats) and WWII (jackets) are because of the history and how bloody cool those chaps were, and because a few in my family were those guys. The rest of it is a combination of James Dean, Indiana Jones, rock 'n roll, punk rock and all the rest of those blokes who ran around in jackets and coats doing cool and sometimes dangerous things.
Nothing more, nothing less.
It's a silly old hobby when you think about it but no more silly than a lot of niche and specialised hobbies.
That said, the great paradox and one which we seldom speak of here is that we wear these things because of their inherent and/or perceived coolness but in truth fussing over them like we do and belonging to a forum to talk about them is probably the anthesis of the "cool" attitude we attribute to them. How many WWII fighter pilots, how many of those wearers of jackets that we think are cool would have belonged to a forum talking about them. Yeah, like Steve McQueen would have joined VLJ!
We probably like to think we're cool because of our jackets but we're really a bunch of nerds
P-47 thunderbolt
Well-Known Member
Well...it started with this and spiralled
B-Man2
Well-Known Member
So what I always wondered about this photo is
What pilot ever bailed out of his plane and took his kit bag with him ?
P-47 thunderbolt
Well-Known Member
Yeah I have wondered that myself.So what I always wondered about this photo is
What pilot ever bailed out of his plane and took his kit bag with him ?
View attachment 125135
Also, most of the A2 jackets would have been taken as trophies by the Germans as well I guess
Chandler
Well-Known Member
Was there any point during the war that the USAF sent a POW's belongings over to him?So what I always wondered about this photo is
What pilot ever bailed out of his plane and took his kit bag with him ?
View attachment 125135
Longshot, I know. Then again... was he carrying that baseball mitt in the cockpit?
Good luck charm?
Chandler
Well-Known Member
Sefton had his (and a B-3) in Stalag 17.
B-Man2
Well-Known Member
Sefton had his (and a B-3) in Stalag 17.
I know that the Red Cross sent recreational packages over to the US POWs but I couldn’t tell you if it included baseball gloves and the like .Was there any point during the war that the USAF sent a POW's belongings over to him?
Longshot, I know. Then again... was he carrying that baseball mitt in the cockpit?
Good luck charm?
Chandler
Well-Known Member
Not to mention (and I've posed this question before), what's that chain hanging from Virgil's mitt? Has anyone made it out?
Hello everyone. New member here
Regarding OP’s question of why i collect. As a child i remember having a child size flight suit with a bunch of cool patches on it and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world. Fast forward to 2003 and i was getting ready to leave college the next year and wanted to figure out how i was going to make money. I joined the navy as a naval flight officer. Reported to OCS in Pensacola in fall 2004 and did flight school there in 2005. During our initial ground training we got our flight suits (flashback to childhood) and we got our G-1s. Pharr DSCP. I was in love at first sight. I wore it everywhere! I still have it and love it. I even put my old command patches that i could find in leather. Going to wear it this morning
Regarding OP’s question of why i collect. As a child i remember having a child size flight suit with a bunch of cool patches on it and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world. Fast forward to 2003 and i was getting ready to leave college the next year and wanted to figure out how i was going to make money. I joined the navy as a naval flight officer. Reported to OCS in Pensacola in fall 2004 and did flight school there in 2005. During our initial ground training we got our flight suits (flashback to childhood) and we got our G-1s. Pharr DSCP. I was in love at first sight. I wore it everywhere! I still have it and love it. I even put my old command patches that i could find in leather. Going to wear it this morning
New to the group. My interest in flight jackets started as a kid in the 60’s with Vietnam in the news, a big brother in the Air Force that brought me back a classic flight jacket, and lots of WW2 movies. Then came Indiana Jones and I soon bought my first leather bomber. Just got my first A2 this summer, and found the group this week. Looking forward to learning more and going deeper!
