Rough Wear Clothing Co. W535 ac 18091 size 44

Rough Wear had five contracts for A2s and this was the second, awarded on 6th March 1941. The contract was for 17,628 jackets, making it the largest pre-War contract until August 1941 when 30,000 jackets were ordered from Rough Wear under the W535 ac 20958/ 42-1401P contract.

All jackets in the 18091 contract were made from goatskin and this was the first USAAC contract made from goatskin. This jacket is numbered 7050 and is a size 44. The goatskin is relatively thin, making the jacket feel lighter than many horsehide and cowhide A2s. Consequently it is very comfortable to wear!

The jacket is 100% original. It has clearly seen plenty of use in the War, but remarkably the lining is in amazing condition, with just a couple of tiny holes and without the usual wear at the neck. The waistband is in almost perfect condition, but I have repaired the cuffs. At some stage the vet (Smith) wore the jacket to decorate in and there are a few traces of paint on the knits.

The goatskin is really supple and strong and has developed a beautiful patina during the last 73 years. There is no rot or repairs and the stitching has not decayed. The nickel- plated Talon zipper is in perfect condition.

another wonderful acquisition!!!!

Looks super!!!!

Lovely jacket, thanks so much for generously sharing photos!

I wonder about the odd quantity of the contract, and if it had anything to do with the contract being made of goatskin.

I agree the number Gary Eastman says were produced does sound strange. It's possible the contract was actually for 17,500 or 18,000. Gary uses the price of the contract and the cost of each jacket to come up with the production number. However I do find the number odd as almost all contracts were for thousands of jackets at this time. Seeing the original contract papers might help to clarify the actual number of A2s ordered under the contract.

Or maybe some clerk just looked at the USAAC-USAAF Military Personnel Strength that day and ordered one for every Officer, or for all personnel posted overseas. About 17.5k in both cases as of March 1941. Govt procurement often works in mysterious ways.