B-3 jacket
Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:05 pm
just got my hands on a B-3 jacket. i think this is a fairly early one due to the fact that it has the air force crest on the shoulder and it has only two large pieces of leather making up the back.it also has only one seam on the sides with a little triangle at the bottom as opposed to the usual rectangular piece and two seams. my question is that it has the numbers 819 painted in white on the left sleeve under the crest. i have done a squadron search and a bomb group search with no solid leads resulting. i have seen navy jackets marked like this but i havent a clue what to make of these markings. any suggestions???? thanks.
Last edited by groundpounder on Sun Sep 14, 2008 8:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:39 pm
Shoulder decal would indicate late rather than early, IIRC, it was 1943 before this was standardised on new but could also have been applied to an early jacket that had gone through refurbishment after '43, although with the B-10 coming into service this was less likely to happen I would have thought...... 
However, I've learnt never to say never when it comes to uniforms and flying clothing.....
However, I've learnt never to say never when it comes to uniforms and flying clothing.....
Sat Sep 13, 2008 4:54 pm
Any pics you have would be great. However, i think your best bet would be to head on over to www.vintageleatherjackets.org. sign yourself up, post a few photos of the jacket and I can almost guarantee a quick and accurate answer to your questions. Look forward to seeing you there!
Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:38 pm
Sun Sep 14, 2008 10:34 am
just set up an account at that website. i have visited it before and i agree that it is an excellent source of info. i dont know how to post pics though.
Sun Sep 14, 2008 1:36 pm
boy, those guys sure take their time on allowing you into the forum. been waiting for 4 ours now to get in. is it a security risk to ask about leather jackets???
Tue Sep 16, 2008 2:49 pm
Did you get in groundpounder? I just registered too.
Wed Sep 17, 2008 9:58 am
yes i got in, it took about a day for them to get back to me. some cool stuff on there though.
Sat Nov 15, 2008 8:43 pm
Groundpounder,
I had an AAC B-6 leather flight helmet with 619 stenciled on the side of it pictured in Mick Prodgers book, "Vintage Flying Helmets" on page 255 and we figured the 619 could also have been a stateside training squadron or group too. I also had a WW II Pith Helmet with an AAC and a squadron number stenciled inside of the helmet which was really unusual and we thought the same thing about it like we did my B-6 helmet. Mike
I had an AAC B-6 leather flight helmet with 619 stenciled on the side of it pictured in Mick Prodgers book, "Vintage Flying Helmets" on page 255 and we figured the 619 could also have been a stateside training squadron or group too. I also had a WW II Pith Helmet with an AAC and a squadron number stenciled inside of the helmet which was really unusual and we thought the same thing about it like we did my B-6 helmet. Mike
Sat Nov 15, 2008 11:51 pm
mike, how did you get your helmet in that great book??Fighter Ace wrote:Groundpounder,
I had an AAC B-6 leather flight helmet with 619 stenciled on the side of it pictured in Mick Prodgers book, "Vintage Flying Helmets" on page 255 and we figured the 619 could also have been a stateside training squadron or group too. I also had a WW II Pith Helmet with an AAC and a squadron number stenciled inside of the helmet which was really unusual and we thought the same thing about it like we did my B-6 helmet. Mike
Sun Nov 16, 2008 2:05 am
tom d. friedman wrote:mike, how did you get your helmet in that great book??Fighter Ace wrote:Groundpounder,
I had an AAC B-6 leather flight helmet with 619 stenciled on the side of it pictured in Mick Prodgers book, "Vintage Flying Helmets" on page 255 and we figured the 619 could also have been a stateside training squadron or group too. I also had a WW II Pith Helmet with an AAC and a squadron number stenciled inside of the helmet which was really unusual and we thought the same thing about it like we did my B-6 helmet. Mike
Tom,
I got to be friends with the author of the book and it turned out that I had some rare and not so rare USAAF, NAF and Japanese items that he wanted me to take pictures of for his book so I had items pictured on 13 pages of his book which was a real honor to me as a WW II Aviation collector. For the last 6 years or more I've been liquidating my collection little by little to private collectors. Mike
Sun Nov 16, 2008 4:26 am
mike are you liquidating due to the crapped out economy?? or just moving on to new things?? have you gotten your asking prices?? or near them?? please pm me what you have left w/ prices. best, tom
Fri Feb 20, 2009 3:58 pm
after all my years of collecting jackets and scanning period photos, I have never seen any issue leather jacket overseas with the winged star decal.
It seems to have been done after the jackets were sent back to QM for refurbishment and re-issue.
The numbers stenciled on the jacket was typical of stateside training issue.
These would've been turned back in before the airman went to his next assignment.
Mike
It seems to have been done after the jackets were sent back to QM for refurbishment and re-issue.
The numbers stenciled on the jacket was typical of stateside training issue.
These would've been turned back in before the airman went to his next assignment.
Mike