917_k
Well-Known Member
Hey All,
Having joined the forum back in 2017 I've been something of a silent lurker, so thought it was about time I contributed something. When I first joined I owned no jackets and the interest was really just born out of discovering the whole Japanese 'Americana' thing (I picked up a Real Mccoys catalogue in an independent magazine shop and having collected militaria as a kid, was sufficiently intrigued), 'workwear' and heritage clothing fashion. Anyway, fast forward to now and I'm fully hooked and have started building a small collection......
I wanted to share some photos of a recent Ebay find, partly to share this with the other forum members, but also to garner some opinions on this piece.
Based on the patches, on the face of it the jacket appears to have belonged to Lieutenant General James E. Chambers:
https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/104922/lieutenant-general-james-e-chambers/
Interestingly enough, there are stitching marks visible from previously removed patches, the outlines of which seem to correspond with squadrons he was previously assigned to before ending up with the 563rd TFS.
The zipper is Riri so has been replaced at some point and the nits look a little to tidy, so may have also been replaced. I'm not so clued up on dating these things, but assumed from the label 1961?? It's got a rescue orange liner and I understand these were present on very early 60s jackets.
Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated. I guess no one would bother sticking these patches on a jacket for the fun of it, and the dating and everything else lining up, suggest it is genuine (i.e. belonged to the individual in question). I assume pilots would retain the same jacket and simply remove and add new patches as they change squadron?
Rob
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Having joined the forum back in 2017 I've been something of a silent lurker, so thought it was about time I contributed something. When I first joined I owned no jackets and the interest was really just born out of discovering the whole Japanese 'Americana' thing (I picked up a Real Mccoys catalogue in an independent magazine shop and having collected militaria as a kid, was sufficiently intrigued), 'workwear' and heritage clothing fashion. Anyway, fast forward to now and I'm fully hooked and have started building a small collection......
I wanted to share some photos of a recent Ebay find, partly to share this with the other forum members, but also to garner some opinions on this piece.
Based on the patches, on the face of it the jacket appears to have belonged to Lieutenant General James E. Chambers:
https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/104922/lieutenant-general-james-e-chambers/
Interestingly enough, there are stitching marks visible from previously removed patches, the outlines of which seem to correspond with squadrons he was previously assigned to before ending up with the 563rd TFS.
The zipper is Riri so has been replaced at some point and the nits look a little to tidy, so may have also been replaced. I'm not so clued up on dating these things, but assumed from the label 1961?? It's got a rescue orange liner and I understand these were present on very early 60s jackets.
Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated. I guess no one would bother sticking these patches on a jacket for the fun of it, and the dating and everything else lining up, suggest it is genuine (i.e. belonged to the individual in question). I assume pilots would retain the same jacket and simply remove and add new patches as they change squadron?
Rob
View media item 755View media item 752View media item 754View media item 753View media item 751