A2s without Collar Stands - when first seen?

[269sqnhudson]

Has anyone taken the time to look into when A2s without collar stands were first seen in action, particularly in 8th or 9th AF units flying from the UK? I figured early 1943 but it's a guess and wondered if anyone had done some work on this.

Thanks
Tom

 

[269sqnhudson]

LIFE magazine October 1942, anyone any earlier?

http://life.time.com/history/world-war-ii-color-photos-of-u-s-bombers-and-crews-in-england-1942/#2

 

[kiltie]

I didn't think the United States had much of a presence over there - relatively speaking - before that time anyway. Even in Oct. 42, comparatively few. So I'd venture a guess that the fella in that picture is wearing whatever kit any of the first (mass) arrivals were likely to have.

If I may, I'd like to piggyback this question with another -

Did the place where one trained or where a squadron was assembled - what part of the US - have any bearing on what brand of jacket you might receive? i.e. If you trained in Alabama was it more likely you'd end up with a Rough Wear, California, an Aero, etc...? Was there any rhyme or reason to region and supply?

 

[Roughwear]

The first contract without a collar stand was the Aero 21996. This contract for 25,000 A2s was placed on 14th October 1941 with production running in to the Spring of 1942. These jackets are likely to have first been issued to airmen undertaking training in the US and gradually appeared in the various theatres of conflict from December 1941, with the majority being issued in the first few months of 1942.

 

[unclegrumpy]

Did the place where one trained or where a squadron was assembled - what part of the US - have any bearing on what brand of jacket you might receive? i.e. If you trained in Alabama was it more likely you'd end up with a Rough Wear, California, an Aero, etc...?

No, in WWII jackets were sourced through the Army Quartermaster system.

Generally speaking, items went from the manufactures to the large QM depots, with Philadelphia being the largest. From there, items might be inventoried, resorted or repackaged, and then sent to regional depots, and then to the QM detachments at the bases or units. Depending on the time period and item, sometimes things might skip some of these steps, but they still would go through the QM hands.

One other thing to factor in with clothing items, is sometimes a contract might be for a full range of sizes and sometimes not. For example, I have seen boot contracts that were for 5000 pairs of just one size. It was probably cheaper to do it that way, and then blend that contact in to the inventory the QM already had. I have not studied the A-2 contacts, but I would not be surprised if what they comprised of varied as well.