Which WWII A-2 Leather Did They Prefer?

[Officer Dibley]

That’s a very interesting perspective Griff. Thank you for posting it.
Dave

 

[KariJ]

So did a lot of peoples parents/grandparents.
Both my grandfathers served in WW2. One grandmother worked in a munitions factory, the other making bombers.
One set of grandparents survived living in the East End of London through the Blitz then lost everything thanks to a V1. Both my parents earliest memories are of hiding in shelters whilst being bombed.
We Europeans know all about WW2 and respect all who lived through it in uniform and not.

Both my grandfathers died in war. Also my grandmother worked in ammo factory.

 

[Pilot]

Lost approx. 60% of my parents ( and parents in law ) family ( French and German).... Sorry back to jackets...

 

[Boyo]

back to the original thought, certainly a flight jacket was prized possession and certainly were acquired by personnel not originally intended to wear one.. some may have been more desirable than others I imagine. there is a reason Patton wore a B3 while on a tank..

 

[Officer Dibley]

And how many fighter jocks swapped an A-2 for a tanker !

Field Marshall Montgomery wore an Irvin a lot.

 

[Pilot]

.... whereas the Luftwaffe pilots took a lot of pride in buying their “ Hartmann “ jackets.
Most of them carefully selected what they had to pay for, in occupied France but also in Germany. So yes here, private purchases were carefully selected.

 

[MikeyB-17]

Certainly flight jackets were sought-after items, hence all the nose art painting and patching, and the fact that they were acquired by non-flying personnel in various branches of the service. I 've read that cadets couldn't wait to get issued their flight jackets. I still doubt that details like what leather they were made from, or what contract they were made under was given much thought. I can imagine that there may have been some trading regarding sizing or maybe even colour (russet/seal), and we know that B-3's and D-1's were traded between ground crew and aircrew, but the stuff we obsess over meant nothing to these boys. They had more important stuff to worry about.

 

[Nickb123]

I had the privilege of taking a flight in Nine-O-Nine a few years ago. Wore nothing special or fitting; a Gibson and Barnes G-1. But good enough.

In the air, I couldn't get the idea of what hell it must have been flying in those coffins. I actually ended up imagining a hatred toward any icon of war. Maybe I overthought it, but in that mindset, the jacket was not a source of affection. I can totally see how WWII vets wore them around painting the house or kept them in the closet all those years. Not much of a celebration.

 

[Southoftheborder]

When my fathers wartime service medals finally turned up a few years after the war ended he gave them to me to wear as I pedalled my three wheeled toy trike around outside the house. I was about four but I remember it well. He said he didn't want reminding about the bloody war and that for two pins he would throw them in the river.

 

[jeremiah]

I hear that. My father never spoke much of the war. Even when I asked. Before he passed my mom said he started to talk about the things he had seen.
no wonder he never wanted to talk about it.

 

[KariJ]

Certainly flight jackets were sought-after items, hence all the nose art painting and patching, and the fact that they were acquired by non-flying personnel in various branches of the service. I 've read that cadets couldn't wait to get issued their flight jackets. I still doubt that details like what leather they were made from, or what contract they were made under was given much thought. I can imagine that there may have been some trading regarding sizing or maybe even colour (russet/seal), and we know that B-3's and D-1's were traded between ground crew and aircrew, but the stuff we obsess over meant nothing to these boys. They had more important stuff to worry about.

You don'n only have to imagine, that still is a "common practice" nowadays. Or is common practice in organisations that I know (Im not Einstein)

When new recruits enter the national service or military academy they are shared equipment from line. Measuring system is mostly build inside quarter masters "head" and an individual is given pieces of uniform that are "about". Preferences are not asked nor needed because QM office must equip about 2000 individuals during a day in every training unit. After that those guys swap better fitting pieces of uniforms first between themselves and in the end of the day most have fitting uniform. Next time when you go for changing your clothes you know the size that fits you.

There are differences even inside same model number between different suppliers. Very soon ppl learn that a certain piece of garnment/uniform/equipment made by one supplier just feels or fits better or is more durable. In that way I think it is more than possible that also in that time some of A2 models would and could have been more "preferable". I think the reasons for preferences would have been based on this kind of utilitarian premises rather than reasons like looking more "cool" etc. That was the point I tried to explain also before and kept posting pictures of my woollen socks when we were discussing about how incorrect some providers A2 might be against the real real or real truth.

In real military organisations real and accurate is what you really get

 

[airfrogusmc]

I was a Marine Corps CH 46 crew chief (D and F models) in the mid 1970s and we had no idea or as Grant mentioned could give a "rats ass" about what type of leather our jackets were made of. Many preferred the WEP cloth jackets. Flight status was a badge of honor and most flight jackets, when I was in, were a record (squadron and air station patches) of where you had served.

Enlisted air crew didn't receive flight gear until they were on flight status or "flight skins". It was a process and you had to earn your wings through intense training, testing and flight hours so your jackets became a symbol of pride and a history of where you had served.

We cared more our birds meeting the flight schedule safely than what our jackets were made of or if we were going to get a 96 while we in port. I can't imagine it being any different in WWII or Korea.

My father was on Omaha Beach D-Day.

 

[mulceber]

My grandfather had similar experiences after island-hopping as a Marine in the Pacific. Never talked about the war, and the only one of his medals he kept was the Purple Heart.

 

[269sqnhudson]

And how many fighter jocks swapped an A-2 for a tanker !

Field Marshall Montgomery wore an Irvin a lot.

I'm certain they were issued them alongside A2s, definitely in the 31st, 20th and 55th Fighter Groups. Rather than swapped.

 

[269sqnhudson]

I really do agree with a number of comments here but to elaborate a little; when you don't know if you are going to survive the next few hours/days/weeks and face the prospect of a very painful death or wounding in the immediate future I think you will look for distractions, heavy drinking was a huge 'problem' in RAF Bomber Command for example. I think it highly unlikely that you would care in the slightest about the type of leather your A2 your leather was made of.
My Grandfather had a relatively calm first tour on Lockheed Hudsons but his fellow wireless op/air gunner in the turret was decapitated by friendly fire over Norway while my Grandfather was stood beneath him. His 'flying jacket' (he always called it that) was covered with brain matter and the Quartermaster refused to issue him a new one. It bothered him a lot and he even served another tour, on Wellingtons this time, with the same jacket.
If you'd have asked him what kind of zip it had or anything like that he certainly would not have known or cared.

 

[Smithy]

Servicemen in combat and aircrew didn't give a flying firetruck what leather their jacket was made from, what colour it was, who made it, etc. All they cared about was doing their job. Clothing and kit is just a tool to wear/use whilst doing that job.

The only clothing I have known WWII veterans to be slightly proud of was their "dress/parade" uniform because that was a reflection of their service - what service and unit they served with, the rank they attained, and campaign and gallantry awards showed where and when they served and in the case of gallantry awards, distinguished service in those theatres.