the 174sm is the 184sm
love the discussion as i started out an 'authentic' snob, meaning i would only get authentic milspec a-2s or g-1s...however, going through the jackets on ebay i started falling in love with the schott 174sm...i just couldn't go for the 2-piece back
when i saw that the schott 184sm had replaced the 174sm, but had upgraded to the more authentic g-1/g-2 biswing back, the jacket became much more irresistible...now, taking off the mouton collar, the jacket became an authentic repro for the anj3/g-2 (there were versions with collar snaps and epaulets)...the only thing 'wrong' for authenticity about the 184sm are the side entry slash pockets on top of the patch pockets...but i made my peace with that since the style has infected my thinking
now, rather than thinking of it as a design-flawed g-2, a-2, anj3 or g-1, i look at it as a piece of Americana, and also as a motorcycle jacket
mine is coming in the post in the next few days...got it about $150 below list from a supplier on ebay...new legit from schott...he's 8875terry on ebay if anyone's interested...i also found a few legit schott resellers on the net, pilot websites, offering the same jacket for about $380 as well, though 8875terry can get black...the websites offered only brown
needless to say, with all my 'authentic' military flight jackets, i opted for the black