Vicburt,, most i have seen have been sizes 38 and 40, with size 42s coming in a distant third.
interesting in that with the given height, abd pix of wwll air men, the weight seems off. i mean, most of the pix i have seen of those guys make them out to be on the thin side. more like at 5'9" a weight of 135lbs-145lbs, not 154.3
Nice fit!Hard to judge by the period photos but most were on the smaller side perhaps being just post depression era and working out at a gym wasn’t a thing. Unless you were a farmer you didn’t have broad back and shoulders either which to me accounts for seeing so many 38 and 40 jackets appearing on auction sites. There were many exceptions but most enlisted were fresh out of high school or college. Small stature types
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Some were kids !There were many exceptions but most enlisted were fresh out of high school or college.
Or in many cases the depression had left many families with nothing and the teenage kids found a better life in the military . That was the case with my dad who joined the army in early 1940, at the age of 17 because it was a better life for him.how true. there are many examples of 16 and 17 year old guys finding some way to bullshit their way into the aaf, army, navy, and marines during wwll. bad ass teens.
good point!Tall or shirt these gentlemen were far from 'average. Just sayin'