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Quick B-15 question - lining - ever quilted?

CBI

Well-Known Member
Hello. As a leather guy, my knowlegde of cloth flight jackets is limited. I am considering purchasing an original WWII era cloth B-15. The jacket looks good, a bit worn but the one issue I have is that the lining is some sort of fabric quilted thing, not the furry/fleece like lining I have seen with all other WWII era B-15's. The seller says he has photos of the owner wearing the jacket (a B-29 crewman). I think some of the later B-15 models (nylon)have the quilted liner? It does not look like a re-done liner, looks factory direct. Were there any WWII B-15 contracts that had this type of lining?

Also, the tag of this jacket does not state the maker and I don't see a size on it. I think the size tag might be on a tab below the label (like A-2's).

Any ideas?

thanks :)
 

deeb7

Gone, but not forgotten.
CBI said:
I think some of the later B-15 models (nylon)have the quilted liner? It does not look like a re-done liner, looks factory direct. Were there any WWII B-15 contracts that had this type of lining?

None of the issued B-15 series had a quilted liner ... it's a civilian market jacket, popular, and sold in large quantities after WW11.
 

CBI

Well-Known Member
I have never seen a cloth B-15 with quilt so I assumed something like this (civi version) - thanks SO MUCH for the verification! I will pass on the purchase ..................

:)

I might as well throw this out again that I am in the market for an original or BR/ELC repro of a WWII era B-15. I am a 44R however I seem to be wearing size 42's in cloth (Tanker, B-10).

thanks all
 

TankBuster

Active Member
David is right. No quilted linings or paperclip style zips. The contract labels are normally a good place to start in identifying a real B-15. There are a TON of post war civie style B-15 and B-15A jackets out there. Really nice large wearable ones are very tough to find. It's been a long time since I've seen a really nice larger size B-10 or B-15 on Ebay.
 

CBI

Well-Known Member
yes, the BR version looks great and would be my repro of choice and through HPA its a bit cheaper than ELC's model. I would perfer to not pay full price as it seems high for cloth (although the workmanship looks excellent) or to put it another way, I am used to paying for leather and don't want to take too much away from that "account" for anything but.

Again - thanks
 
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