WWII Uniforms and Flight Gear (4)

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 #39 - 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.

Photo #40 - 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.

Photo #41 - 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.

Photo #42 - 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.

Photo #43 - 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.

Photo #44 - 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

Photo #45 - 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.

Photo #46 - 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.

Photo #47 - Based on 1Lt Vern Moncur, the B-3 jacket with officers hat.

Photo #48 - Two examples of A-9 pants are shown above. On the left is the earlier version. It has belt loops and buttoned pockets. The newer version on the right has slant/zippered lower pockets as well as added material in the knees. The belt loops have been removed. These pants are heavy and suspenders are more appropriate.

Photo #49 - Above is the B-15 jacket with the A-11 pants. Improved flight gear was being prepared right up to the end of the war. They finally installed an exit pocket for the heated suit cord. Previously, the men were passing it through the fly or side pocket. There are many flight crew photos with men wearing the B-15 jacket, but few that show the A-11 pants. The bailout bottle is shown outside the pocket of the A-11. To see an example of the B-15 and A-11 pants, see 2Lt Harry A. Welsh of the 359th Beasley Crew.

Photo #50 - The H-2 bailout bottle is shown secured into the straps of the A-11 pants, and to he right is its optional pouch, with straps used to tie on to the leg or parachute harness.

Photo #51 - The bailout bottles were used for crew bailing out at high altitudes. There are many stories from veterans bailing out of planes and then passing out. Only at a lower altitude do they regain consciousness in time to pull the rip cord. With the early H-1 bottle, you had to reach down and turn the valve, and then place the end of the hose in your mouth or stick it under your oxygen mask. With the late war H-2 bottle, you reached down and gave a quick pull on the green wooden ball or "green apple" and it started the oxygen flow. You did not have to connect the airline, because when you suited up for the flight you would have already connected it to the new and improved connection provided at the base of the oxygen mask. I see more photos of fighter pilots with the bottles tied to the parachute harness then I do bomber crew personal. Two good examples are of 56th FG aces "Gabby" Gabreski and Gerald Johnson. If you were wondering about the U.S. Air Force stamping on the H-1 bottle containers, this is authentic. The April 2006 issue of World War II Magazine, has an article on 8th AAF crews. Included is an excellent quality photo of a bomber crew taken in March 1943. It shows two men wearing the bailout bottles.

Photo #52 - Here's a nice comparison shot of how flight gear material improved over time.

Photo #53 - And finally, a treat from the folks back home, courtesy of the American Red Cross.

[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.