"Service test" cloth 37J1s?

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Warrant Officer Chief Mechanics George Walsh, l, and Emmett Thurman, r, aboard the dirigible USS Akron.
Walsh went down with the Akron in 1933. Thurman survived the crash of sister ship Macon in 1935.

Thurman wears what looks like a prototype or service test cloth 37J1. No originals or specs exist.
However, here are 2 Marine pilots wearing something similar in 1931-'32.
Note they have no stormflap or box pleat pockets. Collar is short, with a one-button latch.

In 1932, style 37J1 was re-speced in Jungle Cloth, as the 37J1A.

 

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Another look at the same 2 pilots, from a photo labeled Quantico, VF-9M, 1931-1932.
"FHS" (at left above); "Jerry Jerome" (at right above). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_C._Jerome

This group pic, and the previous one presumably taken at the same sitting, must date before Nov. 21, 1931. That day, Lt. Ben Nott, who is labeled in the grouping, crashed fatally during a flying demonstration at New Bern, NC.

 

[Falcon_52]

Interesting. It almost appears like a cloth A-1 type jacket but with a zipper (small, low pockets on the waistband). Good find! Thanks for posting that.

 

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More Marine flyboys, some wearing widely spaced, A-2-type pockets and some with stencils on the back instead of the front. I have only seen those features on John Wayne's 37J, which I figured was made by a studio.

Hard to tell if A or B type collars, so who knows, maybe another test batch. Or batches. Or a contract with no surviving examples.

First pic is a squadron out of Aircraft One at Quantico. This air group contained 6 squadrons and was organized along with the Fleet Marine Force in 1933.

This is a better picture of the A/C One insignia, worn by a transport pilot.

The following is actually 2 shots. No info about either.

Lt. Col. Roy Geiger, then USMC chief of aviation, giving us a better look at the wide set pockets.

 

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Naval Reserve Air Squadron, Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, 1932, Lt. Edwin Conway (4th from l, top) commanding. We see unpleated pocket jackets again but these appear to have storm flaps. Also a bunch of nice cape 37Js of course.

Lt. Conway is seen here with the Mickey Mouse and Statue of Liberty squadron crest. He was killed Jan. 17, 1933, during exercises at Point Lookout, LI. His Loening amphibian's engine failed and he attempted a water landing, but instead hit the beach.

 

[Geeboo]

I am moved by your passion & knowledge about 37J1

 

[zoomer]

Well sir, I'm a 20s and 30s kinda guy. If it happened then, and people have forgotten it, I'll remind 'em. Music, art, media, technology, all kinds of stuff.

As for the 37J1(A/B), I think it occupies a place as important as the A-2 in the way of elegant, economical design. Altho it can't equal the A-2's heroic legacy, I hope to see it recognized for what it is, and made more widely available.