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Flight jackets and Hollywood

oose

Active Member
Hi all,

As were about to get the next generation of flight jackets from Hollywood 'Red tails' etc, here is a few classic shots.

PEN1801.jpg


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yours stu
 

Steve Canyon

Well-Known Member
Recently saw the Technicolor THUNDER BIRDS (1942). With a lot of original B3's; however with fantasy A2's (epaulets with a button on 1 site).
Preston Foster wears a fantasy brown leather flight jacket with no knit, and a lot of pockets with zippers.

thunderbirds1942lc.jpg



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MikeyB-17

Well-Known Member
Is that a 'field modified' A-2 with fur collar that Bogie's wearing? Can see a throat latch there, otherwise it's hard to tell. All looks like an issue job apart from the collar. Also note how high the waist is on those trousers (sorry, pants!)
 

Chandler

Well-Known Member
Haven't done any digging on the subject, but last night's latest CBS addition to the Jesse Stone series (Thin Ice), with Tom Selleck, showed Stone wearing a pretty nice A-2 repro -- hide and construction anyway, the fit was just a little big on Selleck. Looked like a collar stand construction by the way the collar fell.

Anyone else catch it?

Chandler
 

Mac

Member
Chandler,

I also noticed Tom's A-2 in Thin Ice. I also thought it was a pretty nice repro. Noticed appropriate collar hook and it looked like it had a collar stand. I did think the hide, what I could see, was appropriately thin. Hard to tell the hide color given scene's lighting. I thought it leaned toward seal, a chocolate seal or dark russet.

It did look a little big, but Tom is a big guy. Fit might have looked better if jacket was zipped. Another Jesse Stone movie is in production, so maybe we'll see more of the jacket.

Cheers,
Mac
 

MikeyB-17

Well-Known Member
Bogie's squadron patch is that of the 7th Fighter Squadron, the 'Screaming Demons', who flew P-38's, P-40's and P-47's.
 

Chandler

Well-Known Member
Mac said:
I thought it leaned toward seal, a chocolate seal or dark russet.

Heh -- and I thought it looked russet -- was a dark scene and I'm sure our TVs and cable service are miles apart! ;)

To the size, it looked like it fit well in the shoulders, but seemed real long and the cuffs were tunneling a lot.

Be interesting to find out where it came from, I'd bet Flight Suits/Gibson & Barnes.

Chandler
 

Mac

Member
You may be right about Flightsuits/G&B. That was my first thought, but I thought the hide looked thinner than what I remember from a Flightsuits HH A-2 I had had. Of course, that was a couple of years ago, and more recent hides could be thinner. The fit did seem like G&B. It was nice seeing, if fleetingly, a decent repro instead of a mall jacket in a TV movie.

Mac
 

Hawkeye

Member
Another great movie for jackets is Air Force, directed by Howard Hawks and released in 1943. Lots of A-2s, some B-6s, and tons of miscellaneous flight gear. An added bonus is the tons of footage of the rare early model B-17s with the small sharkfin tail.
 

Steve Canyon

Well-Known Member
In the (recommended) Film-Noir ACT OF VIOLENCE we may notice a lot om moments, where WW-II veteran Frank R. Enley (Van Heflin) is running around with a B3.
Below:
'Never go for hunting without your B3': Van Heflin's devoted wife (Janet Leigh) brings her husbad his B3, he has forgotten (how could he...!?):

actofviolence1948b3.jpg
 

asiamiles

Well-Known Member
Steve Canyon said:
In the Film-Noir ACT OF VIOLENCE we may notice a lot om moments, where WW-II veteran Frank R. Enley (Van Heflin) is running around with (and wearing) a B3.
Don't recall him ever wearing the B-3...he wears a Tanker to go on the fishing trip and I guess it turns out to be warm enough that he doesn't need to put on the sheepskin. Great film!
 

Chandler

Well-Known Member
Steve Canyon said:
Came across...

The hides all look so good in those shots from Pearl Harbor, but the doggone cuff tunneling stands out as so off-authentic. Yeesh.

Mac -- to the hide weight in Thin Ice, it could just be the real estate on that jacket -- it looks large already and, as said, Selleck is big to begin with. Spread the hide over a 48 or 50 size and there's more of it to billow and fold, looking thinner than it probably is.

Chandler
 

Steve Canyon

Well-Known Member

havocpaul

Active Member
Thanks for that Steve, I still can't seem to post my pics without the links. That B-3 in 'Bus Stop' looked really cool especially when draped over Marilyn!
 
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