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M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatrick

bazelot

Well-Known Member
I lucked out on my last M-445 jacket purchase. The listing did not say but it was named to Ace Floyd C. Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick was the CO of VMF-441 at Okinawa. On April the 15th he shot down 3 Vals. He was an ace by the end of May and finished the war with 5.5 kills.
THis jacket is in great condition with no tears and if it was my size it could be worn. THe shearling is still amazingly strong (especially at the shoulders were they usually blow up) and there is just some loss of dye on the lower front right of the jacket but it is just cosmetic (I wonder why there was so much wear on this section of the jacket, any ideas). The pictures can be deceiving as it looks like the shearling is cracked but it's not, the finish is just wearing off.
This truly an outstanding jacket and the fact that it was owned by an ace makes a lot more special.


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Some pictures of Kirkpatrick and his plane:

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Roughwear

Well-Known Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

Tom, this is one of the more interesting posts I have read recently. Your M-445 does appear to be a wearable jacket, but as it belonged to an ace I suspect it will not be worn much. Was it an "estate" find or an on line auction purchase. It is great to have the pictures of Kirkpatrick too and I suspect more can be discovered about him with a little research.
 

dujardin

Well-Known Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

splendid jacket, congrats

i like the 1st photos (B/W)
good details on holster, M422

thankssss
marcel
 

bazelot

Well-Known Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

Roughwear said:
Tom, this is one of the more interesting posts I have read recently. Your M-445 does appear to be a wearable jacket, but as it belonged to an ace I suspect it will not be worn much. Was it an "estate" find or an on line auction purchase. It is great to have the pictures of Kirkpatrick too and I suspect more can be discovered about him with a little research.

That was an Ebay auction but the name was not disclosed so I just bought it a a nice named M-445 jacket, I had no idea who it belonged to. THe seller got it in a thrift store. USMC pilots are easier to research than USN pilots as there were not as many.
Tom
 

Maverickson

Well-Known Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

Hi Tom,

What a great find!

This picture you found with Floyd Kirkpatrick in Okinawa with one of his squadron member wearing his M-422A should dispell any myths that leather jackets were not used in combat during the Pacific campaign!

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In doing my research with those late war veterans in the Pacific they indicated to me that at that time they were in fact wearing their issued shearling gear. As explained, when at altitude they nearly were frozen to death and simply could not wear enough layers to have kept warm! Not to mention, that may explain the wear to your jacket.

Cheers, Dave
 

TankBuster

Active Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

Great purchase Tom! Take good care of it. Ace items demand a premium price on the market. I'm sure this jacket would be not exception. Great find!!
 

Dr H

Well-Known Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

Excellent find, great jacket and refreshing to hear that it was a serendipitous purchase.
I'm sure that you'll treasure it.
 

bazelot

Well-Known Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket that belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

Thanks guys. It does not happen very often but I did luck out on this one. It is the only jacket that I own that comes from an ace. I love researching those jackets.
 

bazelot

Well-Known Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

Maverickson said:
Hi Tom,

What a great find!

This picture you found with Floyd Kirkpatrick in Okinawa with one of his squadron member wearing his M-422A should dispell any myths that leather jackets were not used in combat during the Pacific campaign!

In doing my research with those late war veterans in the Pacific they indicated to me that at that time they were in fact wearing their issued shearling gear. As explained, when at altitude they nearly were frozen to death and simply could not wear enough layers to have kept warm! Not to mention, that may explain the wear to your jacket.

Cheers, Dave

I also read that some pilots that were shot down over Chi Chi Jima wore shearling jackets as well.
 

RCSignals

Active Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

You never know what is going to show up in a Thrift store. Incredible.
 

bazelot

Well-Known Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

I will sell it soon as I have no space for shearling jackets
 

bazelot

Well-Known Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

Peter Graham said:
What size is it Tom ?

I would say a size 40 (wartime). I fit in it but but it's tight.
 

bazelot

Well-Known Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

Listed in the Buy/Sell section.
 

wvarnam

New Member
Re: M-445 Navy Jacket thta belonged to ace Floyd C. Kirkpatr

Very nice jacket Tom, saw your post on USMF not long ago. A real stunner!

Will
 
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