Discussion “A Better Fighting Garment…” - A Beginner’s Guide to the US Navy’s WWII-era and later Intermediate Flight Jackets

[B-Man2]

This is one of the most outstanding informational threads on USN jackets ever posted on this forum. I don’t know how it’s decided upon, but IMO I think the “powers to be” should make this into a “Sticky” for ease of access . Otherwise overtime this info will just fade away into the VLJ archives.

 

[mulceber]

Otherwise overtime this info will just fade away into the VLJ archives.

With the occasional person resurrecting it to say "wow, I just discovered this thread - why isn't it stickied?!"

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Mind you Jan once we've bored our readers into submission here they'll plead for anything to keep us out of mischief

 

[mulceber]

Minor update to the AN-J-3 post:

Willis & Geiger AN-J-3, courtesy of @Stony
This jacket seems to be proof that a few AN-J-3 jackets found their way into the hands of Navy pilots, because this jacket has a Navy unit patch.

Patch on this jacket as compared to the unit patch of VC-32

 

[Brettafett]

Guys, once again, thanks for taking the time to consolidate all this info in one place.
Really appreciate the time and effort. WELL DONE!

Note: This may still come up, so apologies in advance. There was some misunderstandings in the past regs linings also. That M series jackets used 'red' and latter G series used brown linings.
As can be clearly seen above, M series jackets can be found in varying shades of BOTH red and brown (Switlik and W&G for example).
[latter G series jackets used only brown. I stand to be corrected]

 

[Smithy]

I've like Steve and have never had an interest in USN jackets but this has perked my ears up.

Terrific thread and as Burt says, it should be stickied or stickified or whatever you call it.

Thanks guys!

 

[Lord Flashheart]

SUPERCEDED BY 2.0
4. AN6552 [1943] “ … a better fighting garment ...”?

The quote above, and in the title of this thread, is mischievously drawn from remarks within the 1943 AAF Authority mentioned by Jan.

After the aborted experiment that was the AN-6552 AN-J-3, the Navy’s AN-6552 label was a return to form, albeit with a couple of upgrades: in order to reduce reflectivity at night and thereby increase a downed pilot’s chances of escape, the AN-6552 was furnished with blackened no. 5 zippers, where nickel had previously been the norm. Much of the blackening agent would wear off after months of use, but traces of it remain on originals. Likewise, whereas most earlier Navy jackets had been stitched using cotton thread, with the AN-6552, nylon, which was stronger, became the norm. Even here, there were exceptions: Monarch continued using cotton. Both of these changes had already appeared in the few test jackets that were produced for the AN-J-3, but it was with the AN-6552 that they made their way into issued flight jackets. Third, since this was at least technically a joint service jacket, as Moore points out, the “USN” stencil used on M-422A and later G-1 jackets is replaced with a “US” stencil [in white or yellow].

The AN-6552 began production in 1943. Contracts were awarded to five companies: American Sportswear, Bogen & Tanenbaum, Monarch, Willis & Geiger, and H&L Block.” Moore notes, that “[w]hile H&L Block made a good number of M-422A jackets, it is thought that they made very few AN-6552 jackets”; thus making the H&L Block AN-6552s amongst the rarest of an already scarce group of jackets.

There is some uncertainty about the duration of contracts bearing this label. Moore states that the AN-6552 was only issued for about 6 months. During WWII, however, the fiscal year was from 1 July to 30 June and Full Gear lists the AN-6552 contracts as starting in fiscal year 1944 and ending in 1945. This would suggest that production began sometime in the second half of 1943 and ended mid-way through 1944 or even later.

This is not the only uncertainty. As noted above in relation to AN-J-3, the War Department’s authorization for a change of status of equipment in May 1943 refers to AN-6552. The Remarks on the authority refer to a Specification AN-J-3 and a drawing AN-6552. This remark has divided opinion amongst the authors of this thread and raises a point of controversy which would need much more research than is relevant to a beginners guide. We cannot be certain that this Army Air Forces document represents the BuAero position and that AN-6552 was a BuAero drawing number. It is an intriguing possibility that some of the confusion around the relationship between AN-J-3, AN-6552 and AN-J-3A might have arisen if AN-6552 was a BuAero drawing and references to a specification and a drawing number have been used interchangeably. Without further research though it’s not possible to do more than speculate.

SPECIFICATION: AN-6552	Contract dates	Comments/ [source]
AN-6552 AMERICAN SPORTSWEAR CO. CONTRACT NO.N288s-28627
AN-6552 AMERICAN SPORTSWEAR CO. CONTRACT NO.N288s-24332
AN 6552-42 BOGEN & TENENBAUM CONTRACT NO. N 288s32281
AN 6552-40 BOGEN & TENENBAUM Contract No. N 288s24333
AN 6552-40 WILLIS AND GEIGER INC. CONTRACT -N288s28628	Awarded 1/43, completed 5/43?	This date is open to question bearing in mind the fiscal year detail above
AN 6552-38 WILLIS AND GEIGER INC. CONTRACT -N288s32357	Awarded 5/43, completed 10/43?	This date is open to question bearing in mind the fiscal year detail above
AN 6552 H.& L.BLOCK CONTRACT NO.N288s-20559
AN 6552 MONARCH MFG. CO. MILWAUKEE CONTRACT No.N288s-32358

Willis & Geiger AN 6552-38 Contract N288s32357, courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera

 

[Lord Flashheart]

AMERICAN SPORTSWEAR CO. AN-6552 CONTRACT NO.N288s-28627. Unknown source.

 

[Spitfireace]

You don't get to see too many of those brass Talons.

 

[Flightengineer]

Incredibly huge work with great photos, thanks a lot

 

[mulceber]

SUPERSEDED BY 2.0
5. AN-J-3A [1943-1945]

In late 1943, the AN-J-3A was introduced to join the AN-6552, and despite the difference in name, it very much is a part of the same series as its predecessor. While there are some differences between individual contracts of AN-6552 and AN-J-3A (Monarch, for example, had a smaller wind flap on the AN-J-3A than on their AN-6552), we have been unable to find any hard and fast differences between the AN-6552 and the AN-J-3A. It may well be that this is another instance of a very minute change, such as an edit to contracting language, resulting in a whole new designation. As Dave Sheeley has noted earlier in this thread, Willis & Geiger's last contract deviated markedly from other AN-J-3A contracts, and from W&G's own previous Navy jacket contracts, both in its use of horsehide and in the construction: the placement of the side-seam is further forward than on most previous Navy jackets, and the pleats are constructed differently. It may well be that the Navy was already by this point looking forward to the future and trying out new ideas to be implemented in the post-war world. This further illustrates our point from earlier about how the specifications label has little bearing on design details. Despite the differences in materials and design, it was still an AN-J-3A.

The AN-J-3A was the last intermediate flight jacket that the BuAero would implement in World War 2, and its production can be traced from very late 1943 through the middle of 1945. Going into this project, we were under the impression that five companies were contracted for this jacket type: Burjac Sportswear, L.W. Foster, Monarch, Arnoff, and Willis & Geiger. Both the VLJ’s own Jorge and John Chapman, however, are in possession of AN-J-3A jackets made by a sixth company, Gordon & Ferguson, so we have added them to the table below as well. All original AN-J-3As that we have seen had a "U.S." stencil on the back collar, although it appears that there may have been some that had a "U.S.N." stencil.

SPECIFICATION AN-J-3A	Contract dates	Comments
BURJAC SPORTSWEAR INC. CONTRACT #N288s-24369		Manufacturer formerly known as "Edmund T. Church Co."
BURJAC SPORTSWEAR INC. CONTRACT #N288s-24368		Manufacturer formerly known as "Edmund T. Church Co."
L.W.FOSTER SPORTSWEAR CO.INC. CONT. NO. N383s1035
MONARCH MFG.CO. MILWAUKEE CONTRACT NO. N288s-20570	Awarded 2/44, completed 8/44
ARNOFF MFG. COMPANY CONTRACT NO. N288xsa 24248	Awarded 6/44, completed 11/44
MONARCH MFG. CO. MILWAUKEE CONTRACT NO. N288xsa-28665	Awarded 1/45, completed 5/45
WILLIS AND GEIGER INC. CONTRACT-N288s-35805		Manufactured in horsehide [Sheeley]
GORDON & FERGUSON CO. CONTRACT NO. N288s - 32277

Arnoff AN-J-3A, photos courtesy of John Chapman

 

[Nickb123]

Here’s a Willis & Geiger AN-6552 contract 32357

4. AN6552 [1943] “ … a better fighting garment ...”?

The quote above, and in the title of this thread, is mischievously drawn from remarks within the 1943 AAF Authority mentioned by Jan.

After the aborted experiment that was the AN-6552 AN-J-3, the Navy’s AN-6552 label was a return to form, albeit with a couple of upgrades: in order to reduce reflectivity at night and thereby increase a downed pilot’s chances of escape, the AN-6552 was furnished with blackened no. 5 zippers, where nickel had previously been the norm. Much of the blackening agent would wear off after months of use, but traces of it remain on originals. Likewise, whereas most earlier Navy jackets had been stitched using cotton thread, with the AN-6552, nylon, which was stronger, became the norm. Even here, there were exceptions: Monarch continued using cotton. Both of these changes had already appeared in the few test jackets that were produced for the AN-J-3, but it was with the AN-6552 that they made their way into issued flight jackets. Third, since this was at least technically a joint service jacket, as Moore points out, the “USN” stencil used on M-422A and later G-1 jackets is replaced with a “US” stencil [in white or yellow].

The AN-6552 began production in 1943. Contracts were awarded to five companies: American Sportswear, Bogen & Tanenbaum, Monarch, Willis & Geiger, and H&L Block.” Moore notes, that “[w]hile H&L Block made a good number of M-422A jackets, it is thought that they made very few AN-6552 jackets”; thus making the H&L Block AN-6552s amongst the rarest of an already scarce group of jackets.

There is some uncertainty about the duration of contracts bearing this label. Moore states that the AN-6552 was only issued for about 6 months. During WWII, however, the fiscal year was from 1 July to 30 June and Full Gear lists the AN-6552 contracts as starting in fiscal year 1944 and ending in 1945. This would suggest that production began sometime in the second half of 1943 and ended mid-way through 1944 or even later.

This is not the only uncertainty. As noted above in relation to AN-J-3, the War Department’s authorization for a change of status of equipment in May 1943 refers to AN-6552. The Remarks on the authority refer to a Specification AN-J-3 and a drawing AN-6552. This remark has divided opinion amongst the authors of this thread and raises a point of controversy which would need much more research than is relevant to a beginners guide. We cannot be certain that this Army Air Forces document represents the BuAero position and that AN-6552 was a BuAero drawing number. It is an intriguing possibility that some of the confusion around the relationship between AN-J-3, AN-6552 and AN-J-3A might have arisen if AN-6552 was a BuAero drawing and references to a specification and a drawing number have been used interchangeably. Without further research though it’s not possible to do more than speculate.

SPECIFICATION: AN-6552	Contract dates	Comments/ [source]
AN-6552 AMERICAN SPORTSWEAR CO. CONTRACT NO.N288s-28627
AN-6552 AMERICAN SPORTSWEAR CO. CONTRACT NO.N288s-24332
AN 6552-42 BOGEN & TENENBAUM CONTRACT NO. N 288s32281
AN 6552-40 BOGEN & TENENBAUM Contract No. N 288s24333
AN 6552-40 WILLIS AND GEIGER INC. CONTRACT -N288s28628	Awarded 1/43, completed 5/43?	This date is open to question bearing in mind the fiscal year detail above
AN 6552-38 WILLIS AND GEIGER INC. CONTRACT -N288s32357	Awarded 5/43, completed 10/43?	This date is question bearing in mind the fiscal year detail above
AN 6552 H.& L.BLOCK CONTRACT NO.N288s-20559
AN 6552 MONARCH MFG. CO. MILWAUKEE CONTRACT No.N288s-32358

Willis & Geiger AN 6552-38 Contract N288s32357, courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera

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[mulceber]

L.W. Foster AN-J-3A, photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera

 

[mulceber]

Gordon & Ferguson AN-J-3A, photos courtesy of @Jorgeenriqueaguilera and John Chapman:

Willis & Geiger (Horsehide!) AN-J-3A, photo courtesy of Dave Sheeley (@Maverickson )
I know Dave is hard at work reproducing this jacket, so I suspect we'll be seeing many more details about this unusual contract in the near future.

 

[mulceber]

...And after that Marathon, the five of us are going to take a break. We'll be picking up this thread in the new year to take us through the G-1 series. In the meantime, I for one am going to be hitting the books to learn as much as I can about the 55J14 and 7823 series.

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

[tda003]

Enjoy your well-deserved rest. I cannot thank you enough for this thread.

 

[MikeyB-17]

Herculean effort Boys. Very well done, and huge thanks.

 

[Brettafett]

Thanks again chaps. Its threads like and those who post them, that make this forum such a treasure-trove... Much appreciated.

 

[Mr. Mike]

Indeed one of the most valuable threads of this forum. Simply astonishing how much effort, dedication and know how went into this collection. Thanks so much gentlemen for this one stop shop of insights to cut through the jungle of Navy treasures.

Have a great and relaxing holiday season!

 

[PaulHarvey]

I’m a new forum member and this thread is invaluable, thank you for all your hard work. Happy New Year!