Coming Soon - Watch the Skies (or the VLJ, as it were)

[Skyhawk]

One thing that would take it to the next level is to find and include the original A-2 Drawings. These have never been found and I have a feeling they are in the National Archives in the USAC stuff. I know others have searched the USAAF stuff in the archives, but the A-2 was created during the USAC years in the 1930's. They probably won't be with the USAAF stuff.

 

[mulceber]

Yeah, I dimly recall @33-1729 also said that the original drawings have never emerged. It really would be a treasure if discovered. Re: the Goldsmith, we've taken a conservative approach there. We have Clearance of Specification 94-3040, which mentions it, we know how many there were, and we have a photo of Hap that is *probably* the Goldsmith for reasons that we get into in the document, but our knowledge on this contract is unfortunately sparse. If you've seen some documents that we haven't, we'd love to see them, but we're trying to be very careful about what we say in this piece. We avoid the word "probably" like the plague.

 

[33-1729]

I didn't find the original 30-1415 drawing and thought it was very strange to not be with the other declassified A-2 documents, but I later learned the USAF tore the place (well, lots of places) apart looking for it when the went to reissue the A-2 and couldn't find it either. Hence, Willis & Geiger Outfitters worked with Avirex on the re-spec/drawing of the A-2 in 1988 for the Air Force as Avirex made several hundred jackets in 1987 for the USAF 40th anniversary. I saw a copy of the reissue 30-1415 drawing on one of the re-issue contractor sites, but didn't download it because it was so thin (oops). Attached is a copy of the commercial version of the reissue A-2 spec, A-A-55265, and a drawing is at the end. A little less detailed than I remember, but not by that much.

Also, @dinomartino1 made a nice post on the A-2 reissue at the link below.

How modern A-2s where reinstated by the USAF

How modern A-2s where reinstated by the USAF. Extract from the Airforce magazine Sept 1 1993 Although the A-2 was not issued after the Korean War, it remained a symbol of USAAF’s war years in the minds of those who served. It was revived in the 1980s when Project Warrior was established to...

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

EDIT: I also contacted I. Spiewak & Sons, Inc., since they're still in business, as they would have had a copy of the original Drawing 30-1415 when making them during WW II, but (paraphrasing) . . . it was a long time ago, we don't know if we have any of those records, and we're not certain where to look. They were very nice and tried, so I couldn't ask for more.

 

[ButteMT61]

I can't wait! Thank you guys for doing this. Count me in!

 

[2BM2K]

I didn't find the original 30-1415 drawing and thought it was very strange to not be with the other declassified A-2 documents, but I later learned the USAF tore the place (well, lots of places) apart looking for it when the went to reissue the A-2 and couldn't find it either. Hence, Willis & Geiger Outfitters worked with Avirex on the re-spec/drawing of the A-2 in 1988 for the Air Force as Avirex made several hundred jackets in 1987 for the USAF 40th anniversary. I saw a copy of the reissue 30-1415 drawing on one of the re-issue contractor sites, but didn't download it because it was so thin (oops). Attached is a copy of the commercial version of the reissue A-2 spec, A-A-55265, and a drawing is at the end. A little less detailed than I remember, but not by that much.

Also, @dinomartino1 made a nice post on the A-2 reissue at the link below.

How modern A-2s where reinstated by the USAF

How modern A-2s where reinstated by the USAF. Extract from the Airforce magazine Sept 1 1993 Although the A-2 was not issued after the Korean War, it remained a symbol of USAAF’s war years in the minds of those who served. It was revived in the 1980s when Project Warrior was established to...

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

EDIT: I also contacted I. Spiewak & Sons, Inc., since they're still in business, as they would have had a copy of the original Drawing 30-1415 when making them during WW II, but (paraphrasing) . . . it was a long time ago, we don't know if we have any of those records, and we're not certain where to look. They were very nice and tried, so I couldn't ask for more.

There is one place that the Air Force probably did not look and that is Australia.

It is a remote possibility that drawing 30-1415 was sent to Australia for the production of the V505 jacket.

If the drawing does turn up it will be from an odd place.

 

[2BM2K]

The other missing documentary information are details for the prototype jacket, such as contract number,
who made it and how many.

In theory these should be found in the 1929-1930 fiscal year returns of the Defence Department or Air Corp.

 

[AeroLeatherBeaconNY]

View attachment 155443

So, as some of you may have suspected from the multiple hints that have been dropped over the last couple weeks (ok, that last one might just be a case of Jeff being Jeff), work is under way on a companion piece to "A Better Fighting Garment...", this time about the A-2 Jacket. We have put together a fantastic team, including @33-1729, @ZuZu, and @Lord Flashheart, and I am beyond excited by how it's coming together. Our aim is to build upon the successes of Eastman's A-2 Guide (now sadly out of print and becoming difficult to find) and present the most comprehensive and authoritative piece on the A-2 Jacket available anywhere. At present we are very close to being done, and we hope to get started rolling it out at some point in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peak of one of the entries:

I am VERY INTERESTED in learning more about your project regarding A2 jackets particularly relating to Aero Leather Beacon NY ( or its spinoff companies) I would love to connect and discuss more. many thanks for your time!

In addition to the history of Aero leather I am also trying to learn more about how to differentiate an original A2 jacket from the reproductions.

I am located in Beacon NY i’m happy to check any records or do searches for you here if needed.

 

[33-1729]

I am VERY INTERESTED in learning more about your project regarding A2 jackets particularly relating to Aero Leather Beacon NY ( or its spinoff companies) I would love to connect and discuss more. many thanks for your time!

In addition to the history of Aero leather I am also trying to learn more about how to differentiate an original A2 jacket from the reproductions.

I am located in Beacon NY i’m happy to check any records or do searches for you here if needed.

Read the entire thread where you posted the same above for more info on their histories (The Mysterious Aero ...).

The document to be posted really focuses on the jackets themselves. A bit of history is added for continuity and clarity, but it's not the main focus.