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Nice period photos of A-2's

Grant

Well-Known Member
Incredibly brave C-47 crew (and one paratroop) knowing they were about to fly into heavy AAA.
Lined up for D-Day, lead aircraft of the 89th Squadron of the 438th TC Group, the Georgia Jane. Pilot is Major Clement Richardson of Salinas CA and the navigator is 1st Lt Marty Corbin of Chillicothe OH. Dropped 18 paratroopers from the 101st Airborne on Ste Mere Eglise at 12:48 am.

DDaY.jpg
 

Micawber

Well-Known Member
Weren't those much larger? Or am I thinking of the US Navy version?

I see now, I guess I may have never paid attention to this one.

No the M-4 was like a skull cap as opposed to the M-3 which was based on the standard M-1 infantry type lid - minus liner but with a basic webbing support inside and hinged earflaps.
 

Gilchaya

Active Member
A unique patch made for the crew with the name of there B17 “ Chow Hound “
 

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Chandler

Well-Known Member
An aviation cadet models his new A-2 jacket. Note the drape/lay of the leather. Looks like his pinned wings to the front, not caring about re-sale value. Also note his tie is black, so this could be early or pre-war.

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I like how stiff it looks -- and hope he wasn't sorry for stickin' a pin through the hide!

The tie is probably dark olive. I have my dad's and uncle's uniform ties of the same dark wool material.
 

Brettafett

Well-Known Member
Makes sense they were sized up... Im sure they were issued this way on purpose. They were to wear over multiple layers of other gear, no T-shirts.
I think the odd photo of trim A-2s is due to size availability or lack of perhaps. The tall guys maybe struggled to get 44s, 46s and above.
 

leper-colony

Well-Known Member
I like how stiff it looks -- and hope he wasn't sorry for stickin' a pin through the hide!

The tie is probably dark olive. I have my dad's and uncle's uniform ties of the same dark wool material.
Maybe. Black ties were for use up until Dec 1941 when there was a change. There was an interesting clarification,as well, of tucking the tie and between what buttons. Some considered the collar button as top, otheres considered the next button down as the top shirt button. The clarification was the collar button was not the top. Ties were to tuck between 1st and second buttons, after the collar.

Edit: what I was remembering actually happened a bit later http://www.90thidpg.us/Research/Original/AR60040/index.html
 
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