WWII Uniforms and Flight Gear

WWII Uniforms and Flight Gear
Ed Nored Private Collection
photos copyright ©2006 by Ed Nored, used by permission Bomber Crews 1 Bomber Crews 2 Bomber Crews 3 Bomber Crews 4 Fighter Pilots
F-2 Booklet F-3 Booklet

Photo #1 - Shown above are the two types of parachute First Aid Kits or packs. They carried three basic items: a tourniquet, Morphine Syrette and one bandage. All items pictured in the display case came from the zippered version of the parachute First Aid Kit, including an original Morphine Syrette. The First Aid Kit on the left is a reproduction. The photograph is of a fighter pilot wearing the zippered version of the First Aid Kit. Early photos of the zippered version show up in some bomber crew photos, but not many. Among fighter pilots, the zippered version is well used throughout the war.

Photo #2 - Above is the typical fighter pilot rig -- the B-8 chute with the seat cushion on top of the dinghy. The seat pad is shown separately on the right as is the Type C dinghy on the left. Note the two hooks on the side of the dinghy that connect to the parachute harness. The long line with the hook on the end was to clip on to your Mae West.

Photo #3 - Shown above is an example of the typical fighter pilot flying with the 8th or 9th AF out of England. The 1941 pattern, RAF life preserver, is worn over the B-10 jacket. The headgear is the C helmet with MK VIII goggles. B-3A gloves cover the hands and under the right arm are a pair of RAF designed Escape boots. The boots have a small pocket inside them that contains a knife. If a pilot was shot down in enemy territory, he would use the knife to cut the upper part of the boot off making it easier to walk home. The ANH-15 flight helmet is shown along with the B-8 goggles. For the most part the C helmet and A-11 helmet were worn the most. The scarf is cut from a piece of camouflage pattern parachute and shows up in many photos as well as the white silk material from the local parachute shop.

Photo #4 - Above are two nice examples of the AAF logo stamped on the sleeve of the B-10 and a very rare example of a pair of A-9 pants with the logo. The American-made B-3A gloves are very thin and more like a women's glove. If I was a pilot concerned about keeping my hands warm and trying to better protect myself against potential fire, I'd be wearing the RAF gloves. You should also note the two handles sticking out of the RAF life preserver at the lower chest. Those are grab handles to pull a man out of the water.

Photo #5 - The above display is based on a wartime photo of P-38 pilot Lt. Hanzo flying with the 8th AF, 20th FG, 79th FS. Hanzo is shown wearing a "tanker" jacket and matching bib coveralls. The coveralls are not shown above. Over that he wears the RAF flying boots, RAF 1941 pattern gloves with the RAF white rayon/silk glove liners, and of course the RAF type C helmet. On the helmet sits B-7/An-6530 goggles. He wears the B-3 Mae West and over that the B-8 parachute. A T-44-C internal microphone with RAF type bell plug has been installed into the A-14 oxygen mask. Many of the American fighters had british radios installed that required the "bell" shaped plug. In the wartime photo, Hanzo is shown holding an RAF "K" type dinghy. The Americans copied this life raft type of container and called it the type C. The one in my photos is the wartime dated C life raft or dinghy container. This container had two large hooks at each end that fastened to the parachute harness. The RAF container is very hard to find. Lt. Hanzo was shot down and taken prisoner Feb. 11th 1944. Examples of 303rd BG crews wearing the RAF boots are in the photos for Lead Crew's 280 and 295.

- click image for a larger view -

Photo #6 - The figures above represent two P-38 pilots that flew with the 370th FG, 402nd SQ, based in England. On the left is Lt. Cy Coenen. Two excellent wartime photos of Lt. Coenen show him in full flight gear. Over his shirt and trousers he wears the AN-6550 flight suit with an A-2 jacket over that. The white silk scarf is around the neck. His boots are the RAF 1940 pattern. His gloves are the RAF 1941 pattern with the RAF silk/rayon white liner gloves. The Mae West is a B-3 under the B-8 chute. A First Aid Kit is tied to the harness upper right chest area. His head gear is the RAF C type helmet with American receivers taped into the rubber ear cups with Mk VIII RAF goggles on top. On the forehead area of his helmet, he has a leather name tag sewn in with his name stamped into it. The A-14 O2 mask hangs from the helmet equipped with the T-44-C internal microphone with the large RAF "bell" shaped plug for the radio. All these items, except for the tape on the helmet earcups and leather name tag, are shown above.
The figure and items displayed on the right is based on a wartime photo of the C.O.of the 402rd. SQ, Major James Tucker. In the wartime photo, he is standing in front of his P-38 named "Margie II". He wears the B-10 jacket with the classic whistle attached to the zipper pull. A white silk scarf is wrapped around the neck as shown and the classic crusher officer's cap sits beautifully on his head. In the photo, his hands are in his pockets. I'm sure his flight gear was identical to his friend Lt. Coenen. The gloves shown above are the B-3As. Major Tucker had a wife and 2 young kids waiting for him at home but never made it. On August 10, 1944, while strafing a target in France, ground fire set his plane on fire and he crashed into a field.
In September 1944, Lt. Coenen got a chance to use his B-8 chute over France after ground fire hit his P-38, named after his wife "Peg of My Heart II". There's more to their story in the book "The 370th Fighter Group in World War II" by Jay Jones (Schiffer).

[photos and comments copyright and courtesy of Ed Nored]

The uniforms and gear presented here are from the private collection of Ed Nored. Any reproduction or other use of these photographs is strictly forbidden. 303rdBG.com was granted exclusive rights to these photographs solely for historical purposes. These items are not for sale on eBay or elsewhere.