Type A-2 How they were made in 1942 and why the anomalies

[DiamondDave]

Good answer !
What is it the Americans say ? Give Aero a break !
Just a small British family business.

Sure, until it’s Ken taking the piss, and then we all just have to accept it? No more.

DD

 

[DiamondDave]

It is without a doubt Good Wear. Given the right set of variables some GWs will pass as originals. GW really does take apart jackets and makes patterns from them. No one in the world including the Japanese is more obsessed with detail and the vagaries of sewing construction.

Seconded. Finest made to original details anywhere in the world. Fact.
DD

 

[Bombing IP]

iF the jacket is in the $200 to $300 range it not going to be accurate close up only from a distance .If your charging over $500 to whatever your claiming its an authentic replication of the type A-2 and should be held under the magnifying glass for incorrectness .We have some members here that can critique reproduction jackets to the ninth degree look at this a free upgrade to the benefit product . Why do some people have to see it as having a chip on there shoulder . John re the small family business give a break is that helping the company to bloom , especially from you Mr critical on your own fascination with shearling jackets detail . Not a comment I would expect from you ? . We generate the fruits of our labor to fund our purchases at the price they cost why should we accept less than the best the company can offer . My second point if a jacket only takes an hour to make where is the cost involved when we have to fork out $900 to what ever , for a basic leather shirt sort of not complicated at all ? .
The way I see things here is we have a show and tell crew and an A-2 type intelligentsia which far exceeds even the Imperial war museum collective knowledge and the 2 groups are forum incompatible .

Jeff

 

[ausreenactor]

What is sad is that the company bearing the name of Aero makes such a mediocre representation of the original Aero- missing details, weird patterns and horrible sewing.

The Acme board would be rolling in their graves if they knew they had moved on to leather jackets from Coyote eradication.

The low percentage of A-2s in the total number of jackets produced by Aero probably put it down the list. Supply v demand. The demand is obviously there for what they supply.

 

[ausreenactor]

The wartime contracts of 15142 and 18775 were 100,000 jackets. That's a lot of jackets, and I didn't even count the contracts from prior to Dec 7, 1941.

Aero has been producing garments for over 20 years since I bought my first Aero... Aero has repeat customers...

 

[Grant]

Repeat customers who don't care or are ignorant of what makes an accurate Aero A-2. I wound bet it's both. To each his own..

 

[ausreenactor]

Price is the driver these days. Accuracy has slipped down the priority list..

 

[Grant]

Not for eveyone

 

[Srahimian24]

Not for eveyone

Seconded, count me in the camp where accuracy is high on the priority list

 

[ausreenactor]

The preference for AVI, Five Star, Dubow (Platon) and Headwind in the posts these days would say the majority are moving the other way. Those who have a robust stock of ELC, GW, RM, BK, BR or high end can move their stuff around to part fund new purchases. A GW still represents great value/accuracy. ELC are pushing some away with the pricing. I think Headwind and Dubow will emerge as the more popular jackets in coming years. A refresh on the 'Current Inventory' track the movement in purchase preferences over the years...

 

[ausreenactor]

For US based customers GW and DD jackets (before the wind down) were easily the preference when you factored in shipping etc. HPA offered some reasonable pricing on ELC product. Buzz Rickson stuff was still more expensive than GW. You are blessed in the US on an Accuracy vs Price scale.

 

[dinomartino1]

Why does a thread about war time jacket productions become another kick aero in the bollocks and accuracy in modern jackets thread, what has any of that got to do with how war time jackets where made.

Do Aero say they make the most accurate A2 ?

NO, only BK states that.

 

[ausreenactor]

Why does a thread about war time jacket productions become another kick aero in the bollocks and accuracy in modern jackets thread, what has any of that got to do with how war time jackets where made.


NO, only BK states that.

It's Jeff's thing..... The word 'zealot' comes to mind.

 

[Bombing IP]

I have never considered myself a zealot ,brought up Catholic and after I finished schooling never went in a church again .In fact I have no interest in religion from A to Z . I do not know what type of picture I paint to the other members of the forum ,I disagree on some points but if I come across as a zealot I will leave the forum .

Jeff

 

[ausreenactor]

The other Jeff. You're gold!

 

[crism1]

Agree with Ken, it was 99,9% most likely a mass production item with no frills in mind. This mean of production coming from he US, which was the pioneer of the assembly factory work, makes even more sense for a war time period. Just because the jacket design is nice doesn't mean we have to hold onto the idea that the production was all buttflies and hyper skilled job.

 

[Skyhawk]

I tell my crew to F* up on purpose, just to make the jackets look authentic.....

Just kidding

 

[ZuZu]

Why does a thread about war time jacket productions become another kick aero in the bollocks and accuracy in modern jackets thread, what has any of that got to do with how war time jackets where made.


NO, only BK states that.

I was just commenting on the fact that all of Ken's SPECULATION about making WW2 jackets seems not to have made him or his WW2 A-2s very accurate. He is definitely NOT Moses come down from the mountain tellin' us how it was! He starts the post promising that this would "explain" the variations in WW2 jackets. The informed BS that follows does not do so. I do wish his vast experience would translate into better repros- and I kinda get the feeling that he was sideways making excuses. All those variations (which I think are a bit exaggerated) were simply the product of industrial sewing.

 

[John Lever]

iF the jacket is in the $200 to $300 range it not going to be accurate close up only from a distance .If your charging over $500 to whatever your claiming its an authentic replication of the type A-2 and should be held under the magnifying glass for incorrectness .We have some members here that can critique reproduction jackets to the ninth degree look at this a free upgrade to the benefit product . Why do some people have to see it as having a chip on there shoulder . John re the small family business give a break is that helping the company to bloom , especially from you Mr critical on your own fascination with shearling jackets detail . Not a comment I would expect from you ? . We generate the fruits of our labor to fund our purchases at the price they cost why should we accept less than the best the company can offer . My second point if a jacket only takes an hour to make where is the cost involved when we have to fork out $900 to what ever , for a basic leather shirt sort of not complicated at all ? .
The way I see things here is we have a show and tell crew and an A-2 type intelligentsia which far exceeds even the Imperial war museum collective knowledge and the 2 groups are forum incompatible .

Jeff

Beyond a certain point accuracy doesn't interest me that much. My priorities are colours and quality of materials. That's why I only ever buy really old ELC jackets, The current ones might be better in terms of accuracy detailing and patterns but the sheepskins are poor, all of them including the Perry mixed batch.
I might buy something new that is not a true repro from Freewheelers, Thedi or Whitefeather.
Re the family business comment, if you don't like Aero A2's then just don't buy them, go somewhere else. Just simple customer choice.

 

[Saint-ex]

Beyond a certain point accuracy doesn't interest me that much. My priorities are colours and quality of materials.

That's why I'm ready to buy an Aero A-2.
I had the opportunity to compare Eastman and Aero A-2 in a shop, and I preferred the appearance of Aero, for leather and knitwear.

So I agree with Zuzu in the substance that if certain details are not correct Aero should correct them, because it does not seem to me to have an impact on the cost. And it's a shame to make a good job and not take the last step, to have a perfect repro.

But from a customer point of view, in my environment, everyone does not care about the X shape of the epaulette, the way the zip tape is connected to the collar ...
And myself, if after reading you I start to think, if I buy one, I prefer to buy a correct repro, but I'm not ready to put the difference between an Aero and a GW, because these details are not worth the price difference in my eyes.