Show us your US(A)AF Eye Candy

[Silver Surfer]

been meaning to put this one here. as seen in the elc monarch comparison thread,, here are some more detailed pix of my original monarch a-2. it is interesting to. me that for the most part,, a-2 contractors made their jackets with small arm holes, and shoulder widths not a whole lot wider than the body widths. the exceptions to that are the dubow contracts and the monarch contract.

both contracts have proportionately narrow shoulder widths, but both makers figured out how to make their a-2s accommodating, and easy wearers. dubow did so by making the arm hole generous in size, and making the arm hole almost like a "raglan" design, where as monarch achieved ease of movement by insetting and rotating the sleeve seams. this particular monarch a-2 is tagged a size 44, but fits as a 40-42 long. my guess is that the odd sizing is due to horizontal shrinkage tot he hides over the years. the jacket is original, and is in wearable [once in a while] condition....dracula collar and all.

 

[mulceber]

Oof, that jacket is a beauty, Vic. For all the wear it's received, it could be mistaken for a well-worn, high-end repro.

 

[MaydayWei]

A damn fine jacket, mate. Thanks for sharing that.
As @mulceber said, could be mistaken for a well-worn GW.
From what I've seen, your entire collection is in incredible condition!

 

[B-Man2]

This jacket is stunning .
Every time I see one like this I always think to myself, if only that jacket could talk and tell us where it’s been and what it’s seen . Just gorgeous Vic .

 

[Silver Surfer]

thanx, all.

 

[Micawber]

Very nice Vic.

 

[blackrat2]

Thanks for posting this Vic
Awesome jacket and the colour is really stunning to look at

 

[ausreenactor]

been meaning to put this one here. as seen in the elc monarch comparison thread,, here are some more detailed pix of my original monarch a-2. it is interesting to. me that for the most part,, a-2 contractors made their jackets with small arm holes, and shoulder widths not a whole lot wider than the body widths. the exceptions to that are the dubow contracts and the monarch contract.View attachment 56195View attachment 56196View attachment 56194View attachment 56197View attachment 56193View attachment 56198View attachment 56199View attachment 56192 both contracts have proportionately narrow shoulder widths, but both makers figured out how to make their a-2s accommodating, and easy wearers. dubow did so by making the arm hole generous in size, and making the arm hole almost like a "raglan" design, where as monarch achieved ease of movement by insetting and rotating the sleeve seams. this particular monarch a-2 is tagged a size 44, but fits as a 40-42 long. my guess is that the odd sizing is due to horizontal shrinkage tot he hides over the years. the jacket is original, and is in wearable [once in a while] condition....dracula collar and all.

Obviously a well worn example. The ELC Werber 'caramel' looks very close to this...

This Monarch is a ripper...

 

[Silver Surfer]

another lighter colored star a-2 such as burt's. the jacket is original and in above average condition. and yes, it is an occasional wearer. it sports a nifty incised 96th bs chest patch, shoulder patch, and name tag [r.e. clark]. the stitching of the name tag and shoulder patch match, while the chest patch was installed over where a previous patch was stitched on, and looks to be hand done. the knit elements are nearly perfect, as is the liner. tagged a size 40, and fits as a generous real size 40.

 

[B-Man2]

B-E-A-U-T-i-F-U-L

 

[Lorenzo_l]

What a beautiful, mint specimen of an original Star A-2. Thanks for sharing, Vic.

 

[mulceber]

Breathtaking.

 

[Grant]

Hey Vic, nice to see my old Monarch is still a beauty! You've taken good care of her.

 

[Flightengineer]

another lighter colored star a-2 such as burt's. the jacket is original and in above average condition. and yes, it is an occasional wearer. it sports a nifty incised 96th bs chest patch, shoulder patch, and name tag [r.e. clark]. the stitching of the name tag and shoulder patch match, while the chest patch was installed over where a previous patch was stitched on, and looks to be hand done. the knit elements are nearly perfect, as is the liner. tagged a size 40, and fits as a generous real size 40. View attachment 56873View attachment 56874View attachment 56875View attachment 56876View attachment 56877View attachment 56872

Awesome jacket, Vic. May I take this opportunity to satisfy my curiosity and ask you what are the shoulder measurements for this jacket? Thanks.

 

[Silver Surfer]

dr g, the monarch is still one of my fav occasional wearers....and to think I almost lost it. the measurement from shoulder seam to shoulder seam at the top back of the star is 18" exactly. and many thanx to all for the kind words.

 

[ausreenactor]

another lighter colored star a-2 such as burt's. the jacket is original and in above average condition. and yes, it is an occasional wearer. it sports a nifty incised 96th bs chest patch, shoulder patch, and name tag [r.e. clark]. the stitching of the name tag and shoulder patch match, while the chest patch was installed over where a previous patch was stitched on, and looks to be hand done. the knit elements are nearly perfect, as is the liner. tagged a size 40, and fits as a generous real size 40. View attachment 56873View attachment 56874View attachment 56875View attachment 56876View attachment 56877View attachment 56872

Awesome....

My Bronco has the double rings of stitching... a move in unit... from School/Command to a Squadron? Was there much movement across Groups at all? Anyone with some fidelity on that.....??

 

[Silver Surfer]

not only between groups within the same theater, but from england-Europe to the cbi theater, or vise versa. not to mention guys going from support to aircraft assignment, bomber command to fighter groups, guys training newbies after 35 or so missions, etc.

 

[Officer Dibley]

This jacket is stunning .
Every time I see one like this I always think to myself, if only that jacket could talk and tell us where it’s been and what it’s seen . Just gorgeous Vic .

Burt, i think the first couple of years of its’ history would be great. The following 70 years is a tale of being forgotten in a footlocker .....
dave

 

[Flightengineer]

This is really awesome thread with amazing vintage jackets. I have only MA1 Skyline from the originals of the USAF and I think that there is no point in publishing it here since it has already been shown on this forum and there are so beautiful A2s that nylon will probably be superfluous.

 

[mulceber]

This is really awesome thread with amazing vintage jackets. I have only MA1 Skyline from the originals of the USAF and I think that there is no point in publishing it here since it has already been shown on this forum and there are so beautiful A2s that nylon will probably be superfluous.

We’d love to see it. This is a thread for all issued USA(A)F jackets, period.