Original U.S. WWII 1st Reconnaissance Squadron or 391st Bomb Squadron Patched A2 Flight Jacket with 8th Air Force Patch Over 391st Bomb Squadron Patch – Period Applied Insignia

Original Item. Only One Available. The Type A-2 leather flight jacket is a military flight jacket closely associated with World War II U.S. Army Air Forces pilots, navigators and bombardiers, who often decorated their jackets with squadron patches and elaborate artwork painted on the back. Sometimes casually referred to as a bomber jacket, its original designation was “Jacket, Pilot’s (summer)”, and its wartime usage was limited neither to pilots nor to bomber crews. The A-2 jacket was awarded to an Army Air Forces officer upon completion of basic flight training, and always before graduating to advanced training. No standard system of distribution was used, though generally airmen lined up in front of boxes containing jackets of various sizes and given the appropriate size jacket by the base quartermaster. A-2s were exclusive to commissioned officers until early in World War II, when also issued to enlisted aircrews. The A-2 was a treasured item to the airman and was worn with as much pride as his wings. As airmen progressed through various duty stations they often added and removed squadron patches, rank marks, and occasionally elaborate artwork depicting the type of aircraft they flew or a copy of the artwork painted on their airplane. Bomber crews often added small bombs to the right front of their jackets indicating the number of missions they had flown. As a result, many jackets ended up with numerous stitch marks as patches of various sizes were removed and replaced when the owner changed units. This is a very interesting patched A2 flight jacket which has a great period-applied patch for the 391st Bombardment Squadron with an 8th Air Force patch on top. This squadron was originally the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) from 1940-1941, before being redesignated the 391st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) from 1942-1945. The jacket was likely worn by a member of the 391st. The jacket shows that there was a larger patch on the jacket before the current patch, but due to the wear of the stitching of the current patch, we are certain that it is a period-applied replacement or reissue as opposed to a later collector-added patch. The jacket retains its original data tag: TYPE A-2DRAWING NO. 30-1415A.C. NO. W535ac29 9PROPERTYAIR FORCE U.S. ARMYBRONCO MFG. CORP.NEW YORK, N.Y.36 There is no name we could find. The zipper is marked TALON and still works despite some oxidation and wear. The knit cuffs and waistband are retained but show heavy fraying and tearing as is expected. The lining is the original lining of the jacket, and it shows heavy wear with some tearing in spots. A fantastic A-2 Jacket worn by a member of the 391st Bombardment Squadron, 34th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force.