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.
Some pictures of Kirkpatrick and his plane:
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.
Some pictures of Kirkpatrick and his plane: