BATS IN THE BELFRY PART TWO

[Anonymous]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130846132025?ss ... 1423.l2649 Just thought I would give the seller a heads up on this jacket, they were not having it. So I showed them two other examples on ebay of FAI jackets, they said the two jackets did not have the American flag either on the label or sewn in a different position, and that their jacket was the same as discribed in Wikipedia. So I did my thing and gave up on the low information seller.

 

[PaulGT3]

Maybe if we all emailed the seller.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

I emailed saying that he might get a hundred bucks for the repro described incorrectly, and that I was just informing so he didn't wast his time and money trying to get too much for it.

 

[B-Man2]

This is the guy's first listing. He has 0 feedback.
After he sells this jacket he may have minus 0 feedback!

 

[Silver Surfer]

must be the loopy season. or maybe early spring thaw, and the squirrels are out.

 

[sideshowjoe]

I also emailed this seller with a link to a TFL post regarding the history of FAI.
I was gentle with him-we will see if he responds.
Regards,
Joe

 

[joeson]

Grandpa must have been a time traveler.

 

[Jeff M]

If you read the description carefully, he never says the jacket is from WW2.
He notes it is a WW2 "type" jacket, and that it was given to him by his grandfather, who was in WW2. Not that his grandfather WORE it in WW2.

Tricky little description.

 

[Jeff M]

Sent the seller a message asking when the jacket was made, was it manufactured during WW2?
His reply;

"hello.yes,the jacket is actually from WW2.i would like to give you some info on it for proof
also the jacket was passed down in my family.replicas only go up to size 42,as pilots then had to be short.any jacket you see with a size over 42 is fake.....here is the info.as well as when it was made (the rough time frame)......

On April 27, 1943, Type A-2 was declared Limited Standard, meaning that only replacements for in-service units could be ordered. New units would now be supplied with cloth-shelled jackets such as Types B-10 and B-15.
The U.S. Army Air Forces Class 13 Catalog listed the garment as "Jacket, Flying, Type A-2," with Spec. No. 94-3040. It describes the jacket's construction as "seal brown horsehide leather, knitted wristlets and waistband (skirt)." Broadly similar in construction to the A-1, it replaced the A-1's buttoned front and pocket flaps with a zipper and hidden snap fasteners (although some very early A-2's retained the pocket buttons). The A-1's stand-up knitted collar, which buttoned closed, was supplanted in the A-2 by a shirt-style leather collar, with hidden snaps at the points and a hook-and-eye latch at the throat. Stitched-down shoulder straps were also added to the design. Sizes were listed as ranging in even numbers from 32 through 54."

 

[PaulGT3]

"anything over 42 is a Fake"

Wow we need this kind of expert on our forum, I am glad we only had short guys as pilots.

I guarantee you Tom Landry and Cal Worthington were not 42 size men both flew B-17

 

[Peter Graham]

Don't fret guys. No one will buy it, and if they do then they deserve it.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Just emailed the seller one more time. Most people see a spec label and it tells them this is an official jacket, and that tells them to look up A2 and believe whatever it says. So he at least deserves this -

"All of the guys that are contacting you belong to a long time forum concerning The WW2 Milspec A2 Flight Jacket, All of the contracts, details, etc. Your latest explanation about size 42 and how to spot a reproduction is being ridiculed as I write this and you are now the focus of an ongoing joke. These guys live this stuff, I've been in the business for over 15 years myself and have seen this reproduction A2 maker several times, most recently passing one up in a thrift store for 30 bucks. They are just trying to help as I am. You've got a better chance of reaching 900 bucks by sitting in front of a grocery store holding a can for a few days."

 

[Anonymous]

Just raised the BIN to 1000, what a dick.

 

[Jeff M]

Just raised the BIN to 1000, what a dick.

:lol:
Well, the guy has bal*s, that's for sure.

 

[Silver Surfer]

16 of em

 

[PaulGT3]

Here is the Wiki page talking about the generalities of the A2 made until 1943:

Sizes were listed as ranging in even numbers from 32 through 54.

 

[johnwayne]

Incredible, how gut wrenching that many of us own fake 44" and above jackets!
Maybe point him towards Mark's Acme Depot site - mind you I'm not sure even that would convince the deluded soul so why waste the time and energy!!

Cheers
Wayne

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Incredible, how gut wrenching that many of us own fake 44" and above jackets!
Maybe point him towards Mark's Acme Depot site - mind you I'm not sure even that would convince the deluded soul so why waste the time and energy!!

Cheers
Wayne

Ya could spend all day every day pin pointing inaccurately described jackets, patches, equipment, and fakes of all kinds. But you're right who's got the time and energy? I only bother when it's brought to my attention here in case the guy is just making a mistake and sometimes that is the case. You'd think the guy would at least be shamed into fixing things once he knows a bunch of guys are on to him.

 

[Jeff M]

I've contacted eBay sellers maybe 5 or 6 times about mis-identified items.
Had some folks thank me for pointing them in the right direction and change their auction descriptions.
Had others tell me not to contact them again and continue with the misleading auction.
This guy never got back to me after I directed him to some books about vintage A2 jackets, this forum, Goodwear web page and a page discussing the maker of his jacket.
The guy is looking for a sucker.
Oh well.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

There is a way to report as misrepresented. Perhaps we should start doing that in bulk to see what happens. Especially when a seller is blatantly ignoring good information. I've done it and nothing changed, but maybe if Ebay gets bombarded with reports it would make a difference. All for the good of the hobby because I'm sure some new guys get burned, turned off, and never look back because of clowns like this. I will report this item right now, maybe a few of you guys could do the same as an experiment to see what happens. Report item is on the right side just a little scroll down.

Edit

Just did so under copyright and trade mark category, follow it through, everything seems appropriate as a report. Then leave a comment, here's mine-

Seller was informed by several experts that this item is a replica.It is misrepresented entirely.