Willis and Geiger A2 possibly from the Korean War period!

[Roughwear]

The contract label is very similar to that used by Dubow on its last contract A2 from 1942 -W33-038ac1755(11631) . The seller says it dates from the Korean War period.

This is not a reproduction by Willis & geiger in the 1980s & 90s, but a correct original military contract issue from Korean War.

I suspect it's an early '80s repro as the leather looks similar to their later repros, but may well be wrong! Any thoughts on it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/9-Original-US-Lea ... tsupported

 

[fishmeok]

'80's- had a couple just like that over the years. How could it be Korean War and still say "Army Air Corps" on the label
Cheers
Mark

 

[Roughwear]

Thanks Mark. I was hoping someone would spot the reference to the USAAF on the spec label.

 

[Chandler]

How could it be Korean War and still say "Army Air Corps" on the label

Har! Good catch -- not to mention that the A-2 had already been nixed from government issue by that time.

Chandler

 

[Grant]

Sure, it's a lame ass repro, but the USAF did issue A-2's during the Korean War. My dad told me they were so ill prepared for combat they took whatever they could get their hands on before they shipped out. Dad ended up with a D-1, matching shearling pants and a B-15A. He said A-2's were available but were completely useless to keep warm which was what they're main concern was. He did say the F-86 and 84 jocks on base wore them look cool.

BTW, the shortage didn't only apply to clothing. Dad always commented on how they were short on spare parts for the WWII era B-26 Invaders they flew.

 

[Chandler]

He said A-2's were available...

Is he sure they were issued, or worn by vets who had them from previous tours of duty?

Arnold nixed the A-2 as a requisition item in, what -- '43? I'd think the stores of A-2s would have dwindled to nothing by 1950, especially with the newer clothing developments. Be interesting to hear any stories of the A-2 in QM stores this far past its official issue life.

Chandler

 

[Swing]

He said A-2's were available...

Is he sure they were issued, or worn by vets who had them from previous tours of duty?

Arnold nixed the A-2 as a requisition item in, what -- '43? I'd think the stores of A-2s would have dwindled to nothing by 1950, especially with the newer clothing developments. Be interesting to hear any stories of the A-2 in QM stores this far past its official issue life.

Chandler

I've read of a P-51 unit early in the war getting a supply of A-2s from a QM in Japan. They felt the leather would be better protection in case of a fire than their B-15s would be. How much wheeling and dealing was done to get their hands on those A-2s is anyone's guess. But yes, some A-2s were still in stock as late as the early 50s, and you will see some of them with USAF should decals on them (rather than USAAF).

~Swing

 

[Swing]

Sure, it's a lame ass repro, but the USAF did issue A-2's during the Korean War. My dad told me they were so ill prepared for combat they took whatever they could get their hands on before they shipped out. Dad ended up with a D-1, matching shearling pants and a B-15A. He said A-2's were available but were completely useless to keep warm which was what they're main concern was. He did say the F-86 and 84 jocks on base wore them look cool.

BTW, the shortage didn't only apply to clothing. Dad always commented on how they were short on spare parts for the WWII era B-26 Invaders they flew.

IIRC, this was really becoming a problem by the end of the war, and they're weren't a lot of moth balled planes left back in the US to put into service or scrounge parts from.

The air war in Korea amazes me. A handful of units and men were asked to do a huge amount of fighting with limited resources, and they did it well.

~Swing

 

[Grant]

The air war in Korea amazes me. A handful of units and men were asked to do a huge amount of fighting with limited resources, and they did it well.

~Swing[/quote]

Yeah, my dad said they were short on everything. The worst was not having accurate maps and navigation for all the night combat they flew in WWII vintage aircraft with no radar. He lost a lot of friends who simply got lost at night and flew into the side of a mountain or ran out of fuel, bailed out and were never heard from. Flying night combat in Korea sucked.

Getting back to A-2's in Korea, just got off the phone with dad. He recalled when he was going through twin engine training in Oklahoma there were A-2's available at the depot. Also, as they were shipping out for Japan and Korea from Sacramento he recalls seeing them available. He also remembers seeing an entire C-119 crew flying parts into K-2 Taegu all sporting A-2's. He said they were available if you wanted one - even recalled seeing a cook on base in Sacramento wearing one. Again he was more interested in keeping his ass warm so much to my dismay he never got one.

BTW, he couldn't believe there are a bunch of grown men sitting around talking about A-2's all day. Haha