WWII Uniforms - Flight Gear 1943

WWII Uniforms and Flight Gear
Ed Nored Private Collection
photos copyright ©2006-2010 by Ed Nored, used by permission
Introduction / Photo Shoot Flight Gear 1943 Flight Gear 1944-1945 / F-2 Heated Suit
Flight Gear 1944-1945 / F-3 Heated Suit Headgear / Oxygen Masks / Boots Flak Vests / Helmets / Misc
Parachutes 1943-1945 "Little Friends" Fighter Pilot Gear Dressing for a Mission
Flight Gear 1943

(2-1) Shown above is certainly one of the most iconic pieces of flight gear of WWII – the A-2 jacket. Each jacket has its own color, texture and character. They were made even better by air crew who personalized them with bomb group and/or squadron patches. Shown above and below is the A-2 that belonged to S/Sgt Joseph Berry, who flew 30 missions as a tail gunner with the 392nd Bomb Group (B-24s). The Bomb Group patch and an 8th AF insignia has been sewn on to chest and sleeve.

(2-2) Above is the backside of S/Sgt Berry's A-2 jacket. The art work shows a B-24 coming out of the American Flag with 20 bombs dropping. Berry was from the state of Rhode Island. "Trips Daily" was the name given to the B-24. The nose art of the plane depicts an "outhouse" with the crescent moon symbol, and the figure of a women wearing an apron, head scarf, with corn cob pipe scurrying to the house. In large letters below the house is "Trips Daily." If you happen to have the 392nd BG history book, a photo of the nose art is on page 135. Joe's jacket shows 20 bombs. These symbols, just like the ones painted on the planes, recorded how many missions he had been on. His paperwork verifies 30 missions.

(2-3) Shown above is Joe's uniform he wore home. The patch of blue material behind his wings shows he was in combat. Joe is shown standing in the center of the photo on the left. In the photo on the right, he is shown kneeling far right with "Trips Daily" in the background. Upon receiving the grouping, I discovered two items not described from the seller. His Rosary beads and cross were in the pocket of the uniform above, and discovered in one pocket of the A-2 was the bullet from a .50 Caliber machine gun. It was covered with that sticky green patina, confirming it had been there a very long time. It seems to me that for a gunner, it would have be an obvious souvenir to bring home. Also shown are the smaller version of the gunner wings. A good amount of paper work also accompanied the grouping. It's a real honor to own this veteran's items.

(2-4) Shown above is a the early war period B-3 life preserver or "Mae West." The date of manufacture is September 1942. This vest is a much more comfortable vest to wear than the B-4. It's a tad bit narrower and more flexible. It is easily identified by its square leather piece on the front.

(2-5) Shown above is the B-4 life preserver and the original box it came in. The B-3 was made of material on the outside and a rubber bladder inside.. The B-4 was all rubber and more rigid. The date of manufacture is February 1943. It replaced the B-3.

(2-6) Beginning with the above photo and a few others I will do my best to show you the gear that the early crews wore. Above on the left is the B-3 Mae West over the A-2 jacket with headset over officers crusher cap. On the far right is the B-3 jacket with B-6 helmet. If you have never seen the item in the center before, let me confirm that it is as blue as you think it is -- the famous F-1 "blue bunny" heated suit. To see examples of this suit go to the 359th Eisenhart Crew. Eisenhart is wearing the F-1 and is shaking the hand of Gen Travis, who is wearing the F-2. Another example is the Cogswell Crew. Look at S/Sgt Paul Davis. Also see the Fyler crew and Lt. Jackson in Lead Crew #75.

(2-7) You should understand that because new and improved flight gear arrived, it didn't mean that all of the early items of flight gear was thrown away. You can still see traces of it in 1945 including the F-1 suit. Two of the quickest items to disappear would have been the heavy leather shearling B-3 jacket and A-3 pants. Pictured above is the A-4 flight suit which in some cases would have been worn over the F-1. Go to Lead Crew Mission #191 and check out Lt Nance. In Lead Crew Mission #219, 1Lt Blythe is wearing the A-4 flight suit underneath the F-2 heated uniform.

(2-8) Over the F-1 and over the A-4 suit, if desired, came the A-3 leather pants, shown here without the A-4. After the pants, the B-3 jacket would top things off.

(2-9) Shown are the gloves that go with the F-1. The cords of the gloves that plug into the connectors at the wrist have been cut off and disposed of long ago. From a collecting aspect, the gloves and the booties that go with this suit are extremely rare. The cord and plug leading from the glove are nearly the same as the plug you have on any of your present day lamps or appliances. To see gloves hanging from the F-1, see Lead Crew Mission #30. The man with the gloves is wearing what appears to be the AAC B-1 flight suit. The yellow tag on the suit states this particular F-1 has been inspected and found to be "serviceable" and dated 1945. I will let the next owner of this suit determine if it works or not. Click on Dressing for a Mission to see a crewman donning the F-1 suit for a mission. See him about to plug in his glove to the connector on the sleeve of the F-1 and see him connect his heated shoes

(2-10) Shown above and below are the correct heated shoes for the F-1. The label inside shoe reads, "Shoe Pilot Electrically heated 24 volts D.C. Type D-1." After slipping the heated shoes on and plugging them into the suit, the wearer would then slip them into the A-6 boot.

(2-11) see the caption above

(2-12) Typical gear and look of the first year in England. The parachute would not have any red paint marking on it at this time, so overlook that please. Lead Crew Mission #24 has the chute as well as B-2 caps, throat mics, A-9 gloves and QAC harnesses. The HBT general purpose bags probably contained oxygen masks personal items etc. Lead Crew Mission #21 shows more similar items.

(2-13) In 1943 the 8th AAF acquired the R.A.F. parachute and harness referred to as the "Observer harness." It is shown above over the B-3 Mae West and A-2 jacket. Attached to the harness is the early style First Aid Pak. It contained the morphine syrette, tourniquet and a single bandage. This item is extremely rare and very hard to find, so I am happy to have it and be able to share it. This First Aid pouch was slowly replaced with the type you see tied to my harnesses in the photo shoot around "909", but I have noticed they still show up on fighter pilot photos late in the war, including Ace Kit Carson of the 357th FG. The crewman above also wears the B-6 helmet with the R.A.F. Mark 7 VII goggles. R.A.F. gloves lie unused in front of him, as well as another example of a B-2 cap with name tag on bill. To see parachute and harness, see the Moser Crew of the 359th BS. A standard issue G.I. helmet hangs from the harness. The crews removed the liner so it would fit over the flight helmet gear and any crewman was happy to get one. See the helmet as well as an early First Aid Pak in the 359th Campbell Crew photo. Also worth noting with this crew is that three of the men do not have the ear cups that hold the receivers to their flight helmets permanently attached. The are still using what appears to be the HS-38 radio headsets. Another example of the RAF harness, this time with the zippered First Aid Kit attached, is in Lead Crew #121. RAF Mark VII goggles can be seen on Lead Crew Mission #35. Another example of the harness and chute can be seen in the 359th Loughnan Crew.

(2-14) The man above is based on several of the men in the Vere A. Wood Crew of the 427th. I was surprised to see this crew still equipped with the gear typical of 1943, with the photo dated March 29, 1944. The man above wears an A-4 under the B-3 Mae West. An unmarked QAC has a A-8b oxygen mask hanging in front of it. My mask shown is a postwar example. A good condition wartime A-8b is extremely rare. The B-6 helmet is under the Mk VII goggles. He has A-9 gloves, the AN-6513 1a parachute, and across from it the K-20 camera. You can see the K-20 camera in the hands of 2Lt Wilson in the Lead Crew photo for Mission 142.

(2-15) The goggles are the AN-6530s. As mentioned earlier, the B-7 goggles are nearly identical when seen in photos of crews. The B-6 helmet displays a leather name tag and the parachute is attached to the harness.

(2-16) This is the classic look of the early days. The A-2 over the dark green A-4 suit with headset over the crusher. R.A.F. 1941 pattern gloves cover the hands and an early AN-6513 chute is attached to the QAC.

(2-17) There are a few items used that 1st year in England that I do not have examples of to show. In 1943 you see 3 types of chutes being used. The QAC harness, the R.A.F. harness and the B-7 backpack type chute. Refer to Lead Crew Mission #26: There's a good close profile of this early chute being worn by Captain Roller. Both Roller and LtCol Marion are wearing the B-2 cap. Marion has on a A-4 flight suit. A good example of the front of the B-7 is worn by S/Sgt Smith of the Roy C. Sanders Crew. Note the waist band, an interesting characteristic of this chute. By early 1944, the B-7 had been replaced with the B-8 chute. Another MIA item is a AN-H-16 flight helmet. It had considerable use by the 8th AAF. It showed up after the B-6 helmet and before the A-11. From a collecting point of view, it is a difficult item to find in good condition. To see the An-H-16, look at the 360th Christian Crew

(2-18) As mentioned in the previous caption, an original B-7 back type parachute is hard to find. Shown above is the very similar AN-6512-1 (AN simply stands for Army/Navy) parachute with snap fasteners instead of the Bayonet type hardware you see in the B-7s worn by the early 303rd BG crews. The above chute was made March 15, 1943. The next back type chute would be the B-8 which shows up late 1943.

(2-19) Based on 1Lt Vern Moncur, the B-3 jacket with officers hat.

(2-20) Shown above is another example of the B-3 jacket. This particular model has the more desired 2 tone leather for the pocket, trim and added shoulder pieces.

(2-21) Above are two examples of the HBT coveralls worn by the ground crew . The short billed HBT hat shows on the mechanic who has the 4 buckle overshoes under his right arm. The other suit hanging on the right is the early AAC B-1 flight coveralls. It should be pointed out that some of the aircrew at times would wear any of the HBT coveralls.

(2-22) Shown above is the D-1 jacket and B-2 cap worn by many of the ground crew and support personal. Sometimes the jacket will have pockets. The D-1 weighs about half that of the B-3.

[photos and comments are copyrighted 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 copyrighted photographs is strictly forbidden. 303rdBG.com was granted exclusive rights to these photographs solely for historical purposes. The items shown are not for sale.