I know he passed away June 23, 2015 in San Antonio, Texas. He was also a docent at the Air Force Museum in Dayton. Here is a link to a picture of him from the 1956 cruise book from the USS Randolph. https://www.navysite.de/cruisebooks/cv15-56/166.htm
This might be of interest... History 13. May 1949 VC-33 Established at NAS 2. July 1956 VC-33 Redesignated VA(AW)-33 30. July 1959 VA(AW)-33 Redesignated VAW-33 1. February 1968 VAW-33 Redesignated VAQ-33 1. October 1993 VAQ-33 Disestablished at NAS Key West FL Tailcodes 1949 - 1956 SS 1956 - 1993 GD .... .... Planes: F3D-2 1952 - 1953 1955 - 1966 AD-5N (EA-1F) 1955 - 1973 AD-5W (EA-1E) 1973 - 1990 EA-4F, J 1975 - 1985 EF-4, EF-4J 1970 - 1989 KA-3B 1985 - 1990 EA-7L
Embroidered USN on the collar, never seen that before. Are all B-G Inc. G-1s like that? Pretty special jacket. Regards,
Yep I've seen the painted ones, I even own one. I have to stop looking at pictures on my phone, clearly looks painted on the laptop. Carry on. Regards,
Stony, I'm nearly positive that your fine looking 55J14 B-G INC jacket was built with vegetable tanned hide. More over, with it's beautifully developed grain & above all wear that results in revealing nice undertones all lending to such a great looking appearance. Almost unheard by it's 1950 production date. Built at a time in which most all other USN type jacket makers had completely switched to building jackets using the more modern chrome tanning methods. On the other hand & as evidenced with the last (to see my other two go here http://www.vintageleatherjackets.org/threads/m422-best-manufacturer.20885/page-8 ) of my three B-G jackets, not all 55J14 B-G INC jackets were built using vegetable tanned hides. That particular B-G INC jacket of mine and like all jackets made with chrome tanned hides it does not patina. Rather the pigment simply wears off. Thereafter revealing a run down looking denuded light brownish to an off white under coat. All what can eventually be expected to see with an every day modern well worn jacket built using chrome tanned hides. B-G INC Size 40 Or 42 by Maverickson posted Aug 9, 2018 at 9:35 AM To my knowledge B-G INC jackets were one of the last USN jacket makers who utilized vegetable tanned hide. But would welcome seeing another true mil spec 55J14 or for that matter later model that was also built using that time honored hide. Cheers, Dave
Thanks for the info Dave, it's much appreciated. Maybe some day we can meet and I'll show it to you in the flesh. Cheers, Stony