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ORIGINAL H.L.B CORP N.Y. SPEC M-445A HEAVY WINTER JACKET

Jorgeenriqueaguilera

Well-Known Member
Gents,

Today I wanted to share a superb example of the Spec M-445A, made by H.L.B. CORP. N.Y. under Contract No. 98192 in 1942.

The Spec M-445 series was a flight jacket for the "Heavy-Winter” adopted by the USN in the 1930s, and was developed for the same purpose as the USAAF B-3. This jacket was used in combination with the Spec M-446 Flying Trousers series to form a cold weather flying suit. The rough design is similar to the "Light-Winter Spec M-444”, which uses slightly thinner shearing.

The Spec M-445A is the second model of the Spec M-445 series, and the improvement is that the end of the zipper is moved up and the front end is closed with a button. This design enhances maneuverability while sitting.

The condition of this example is superb and all parts are original to the jacket. The leather is very soft and supple. Talon zipper works perfectly.

Left chest shows the ghost stitching of a name tag removed at some point.

US stencil under the collar looks sharp.

Something particular about this jacket is that it even conserves the cutter tags on the back and inside the pockets.

Hard to believe this example is almost 80 years old!

That being said, enjoy the pics!

Regards,
Jorge
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mulceber

Moderator
Jorge
I’m running out of adjectives to describe your amazing jackets , so all I can come up with is
WTF!!. ;)

Yeah, I’m gonna have to start reaching for a thesaurus someday soon. In the meantime, I’ll just say “incredible!”

Also, I notice that the spec label is in the lower front torso, instead of the upper back. Does anyone know why they did that?
 

Jorgeenriqueaguilera

Well-Known Member
Thank you guys! As much as I would like to, it is very risky to use these models as a daily wearer, and since this one has still the tag on the back, most likely it will just stay there. IMO it’s part of its uniqueness. Besides I can always find another without tags in good shape. Patience is my last name...
 

mulceber

Moderator
Thank you guys! As much as I would like to, it is very risky to use these models as a daily wearer, and since this one has still the tag on the back, most likely it will just stay there. IMO it’s part of its uniqueness. Besides I can always find another without tags in good shape. Patience is my last name...

Or a repro that you can use and abuse without fear that you’re damaging something important.
 
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