What's This?

[tda003]

Amazing original or (likely) a repro, but by whom?

 

[Chandler]

Same company as your Flight Suits A-2. FS changed its name to Gibson & Barnes right after they made that A-2 I sold you.

Funny that they made this AN, because I had them make an "ersatz" AN for me way back when. Basically a G-1 with a plain collar. They placed their G-1 label in it, too. It gets wear in my seasonal rotation.

FWIW -- G&B still sells jackets through its website.

 

[Thomas Koehle]

ANJ3 was issued by the government in 2 different version:

1 version was more or less a G1 without mouton ...

1 version was a combination of A2 as well as G1 features (see photo - i think i stole the pics from our forum anyway)

 

[tda003]

Well, I now own it. I'll post pics when it arrives in the Repro thread. Looks new. Got it cheap even with buyers premium. Only bidder.

 

[tda003]

Research shows that G&B made up this jacket but discontinued production when it didn't sell. Stands to reason. It's a true niche market. The originals didn't last long, especially since Gen. "Hap" Arnold went from leather to fabric for the Army at around that time and the Navy/Marine Corps had the G-1 (M422A).

 

[Chandler]

Check out this thread from 2008, particularly post 11 by Bill French. He had FS/G&B make an AN for him back when (sort of like I did).

Maybe because we asked for them they thought they would sell. Dunno.

GB goatskin Historical A-2

Grabbed some shots of my older Gibson & Barnes goatskin size 44. Not sure on the age of this one, another E-Bay purchase. I'm pretty sure this was manufactured right when Flight Suits first started using the Gibson & Barnes moniker, but before they started with signifying years as their...

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

 

[tda003]

Thanks. I'll post pictures and a review when I get the jacket.

 

[tda003]

Chandler, Thanks for sharing that. It always interests me to learn some new piece of history.
Waiting for the shipper to open so I can get the jacket shipped. California time vs. Florida Panhandle time.

 

[Chandler]

He had FS/G&B make an AN for him back when (sort of like I did).

I should have pointed out how much better his example looks than mine -- he gave them specific instructions, I just asked for their Civilian G-1 without a mouton collar.

And no collar snaps -- which they, somehow, misconstrued to mean WITH collar snaps.

Oh well, I still wear it in rotation, and it works when I need a leather jacket that isn't so rugged looking.

Can't wait to see your example.

 

[tda003]

Pictures and comments: It seems very well made. The leather is soft and supple. No US on back of collar. No sure if this was a feature of the originals, but seem to recall that it was. As shown, epaulettes, no wind flap and leather collar.. Other than a small tear in the lining, it's like new.View attachment 67805View attachment 67806View attachment 67807View attachment 67808View attachment 67809View attachment 67810View attachment 67813View attachment 67817

 

[Chandler]

... no wind flap...

Of course you mean no M-422-like wind flap, it *does* have an A-2-style wind flap.

 

[tda003]

Sorry. Too many interruptions today. I have edited to correct mistakes. The pics are posted under "AN-J-3 Copy?"